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    Posted In: Cuban Recipes, Delish, Main Entrees
    July 28, 2014 — Updated January 12, 2022 — by Julie — 1 Comment

    Home » Delish » Main Entrees » Cuban Red Beans (Frijoles Colorados)

    Cuban Red Beans (Frijoles Colorados)

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    This Cuban red beans recipe is made with dried kidney beans, chorizo, smoked pork hocks, and spices. A hearty dish that can be enjoyed as a side dish or main entree.

    Cuban red beans in a large pot with a ladle.

    If you love chicharos Cubanos and Cuban black beans then you’ll love these red beans too! These beans pair perfectly with a side of white rice and fried plantains.

    Why You’ll Love This Recipe

    • You don’t have to soak the beans overnight.
    • Packed with flavor and makes the best leftovers!
    • This recipe is super versatile, you can omit the pork hocks and chorizo and make it vegetarian.

    Ingredient Notes

    Butternut Squash – Any type of squash will work.

    Smoked Pork Hocks – It adds lots of flavor!

    Chorizo – If you can’t find Spanish chorizo, feel free to use salami or pepperoni.

    ingredients for red beans.

    Step-By-Step Instructions

    1. Start by arranging the dried kidney beans on a baking sheet and sorting through them. Make sure to discard any stones or broken beans. Rinse them and set them aside.
    2. Place the beans, pork hock, and 10 cups of water in your instant pot. Press the “pressure cook” function on your instant pot and select 1 hour and 5 minutes. Once the time is up, do a quick release. When the pin in the lid drops down, safely open the lid.
    3. Remove the pork hock and discard any fat.
    4. Heat some oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and chorizo and cook for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Stir in the sazon, cumin, oregano, sofrito, and tomato sauce. Cook for 1 minute.
    5. Add the cooked beans and ham hock meat to the pot along with the bay leaf, dry white wine, potatoes, and butternut squash. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until the potatoes and butternut squash are tender.
    6. Uncover, season generously with salt and pepper, and cook until the beans thicken. This should take about 10-15 minutes. Enjoy!
    rice, beans, chicken, and avocado salad on a plate.

    Top Tips

    • If you don’t own an instant pot or pressure cooker, you can boil the beans on the stovetop for a couple of hours or until they’re tender.
    • Don’t feel like making these from scratch? Use canned red beans instead.
    • Make sure you season generously with salt and pepper!
    • If you don’t have dry white wine on hand, add a splash of vinegar instead.
    • Usually, I advise people to tailor the recipes here to their tastes, but for the best Cuban red beans, you need to keep the pork hocks, butternut squash, and chorizo in the recipe otherwise it won’t quite be the same. This is savory comfort food at its finest.
    • If you don’t have homemade sofrito on hand, use store-bought or simply omit it.

    More Recipes You Might Enjoy

    • Cuban Carne Con Papa
    • Congri
    • Instant Pot Cuban Black Beans
    • Cuban Shrimp Creole

    Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. And consider following me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

    Cuban red beans in a large pot with a ladle.

    Cuban Red Beans

    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Course: Entree, Side Dish
    Cuisine: Cuban
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
    Total Time: 2 hours
    Servings: 8 servings
    Calories: 342kcal
    Author: Julie Maestre
    This Cuban red beans recipe is made with dried kidney beans, chorizo, ham hocks, and spices. A hearty dish that can be enjoyed as a side dish or main entree.

    Equipment

    • Instant Pot

    Ingredients

    • 16 oz dried red kidney beans
    • 1 smoked pork hock
    • 10 cups water
    • 1 Spanish chorizo sliced
    • 1 tsp Sazon
    • 8 ounces tomato sauce
    • 1 tbsp dry white wine
    • 1 tsp oregano
    • 2 tsp cumin
    • 1 bay leaf
    • 1 potato cut into 1 inch cubes
    • 2 cups butternut squash cut into 1 inch cubes
    • 1 small onion finely diced
    • 3 garlic cloves finely minced
    • 1/4 cup sofrito
    • salt and pepper to taste
    • 2 tbsp oil

    Instructions

    • Start by arranging the dried kidney beans on a baking sheet and sorting through them. Make sure to discard any stones or broken beans. Rinse them and set them aside. 
    • Place the beans, ham hock, and 10 cups of water in your instant pot. Press the "pressure cook" function on your instant pot and select 1 hour and 5 minutes. Once the time is up, do a quick release. When the pin in the lid drops down, safely open the lid.
    • Remove the pork hock and discard any fat. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and chorizo and cook for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Stir in the sazon, cumin, oregano, sofrito, and tomato sauce. Cook for 1 minute. 
    • Add the cooked beans and ham hock meat to the pot along with the bay leaf, dry white wine, potatoes, and butternut squash. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until the potatoes and butternut squash are tender. 
    • Uncover, season generously with salt and pepper, and cook until the beans thicken. This should take about 10-15 minutes. Enjoy! 

    Nutrition

    Calories: 342kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 408mg | Potassium: 1069mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 3854IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 91mg | Iron: 5mg
    Tried this recipe?Mention @cookedbyjulie or tag #cookedbyjulie!

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    Filed Under: Cuban Recipes, Delish, Main Entrees

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Juan says

      September 22, 2021 at 8:23 pm

      5 stars
      love cuban red beans i also used to live in jersey but in in florida for many years .enjoy your cooking

      Reply

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    Hi, I'm Julie! I’m extremely fortunate to make a living doing what I truly love – creating and sharing my favorite “can’t live without” recipes with readers from all over the world.

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