Frijoles Rojos (Colombian Red Beans)

Frijoles Rojos (pronounced: free-ho-less roh-hos) are Colombian style red beans. The combination of sazon, green onion, and tomato give these beans their unique flavor. They can be enjoyed for lunch or dinner and are best paired with rice. They can also be made into Colombian bean soup. However, I like to add them to salad bowls, wraps, tacos, and more!

Frijoles Rojos are hearty, comforting, flavorful, and so easy to make!

I love this recipe because its vegetarian and because of how easy it is.

Another super convenient thing is that they can be enjoyed the next day for “calentado”. This is when you take last nights leftover beans, rice and add it to freshly made eggs for an amazing and easy breakfast. I’ll share a calentado recipe soon!

What You’ll Need:

• 4 cups of water
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ lb of dry small red beans
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes
• ½ cup finely sliced green onion
• ½ cup fresh cilantro
• ½ cup of chopped white onion
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 3 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon sazon
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• ¾ teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

• Rinse your beans under water for about 30 seconds. Then, place in a bowl and submerge under water overnight.
• The next day, remove the water and rinse the beans again.
• Into the Instant Pot, add 4 cups of new water and beans.
• Select the pressure cook feature and cook for 45 minutes.
• At the end of the one hour, add the bay leaves, onion, tomato, green onion, garlic, salt, sazon, olive oil, onion powder, garlic powder, and black pepper.
• Then, sauté for 5 minutes.
• Add the fresh cilantro and combine.
• Serve with cilantro-lime rice, plantains, avocado, and enjoy!
• Yields 6-8 servings.