These Spicy Garlicky Beans are loaded with garlic, red pepper, shallot, and chile flavors for an irresistible side dish the whole family will love! Whip them up to go with your favorite Mexican dish or entree.

Quick Spicy Garlicky Beans
Don’t want to spend a lot of time on your side dishes? These spicy garlicky beans are super quick and easy to make. Not only are they a quick and easy side dish, but they are great in tacos, Huevos Rancheros, in stews, and more.
These beans do have a spicy kick, but if you’re not into heat, you can simply leave the chilies out for a milder dish. Additionally, you can add chorizo, ham, or bacon to give them a meaty flavor. No matter what your family's taste buds want, you can easily customize it to their liking.
Check out my web story on these delicious beans!
How To Make Spicy Garlicky Beans
These beans are packed with delicious flavors that you’ll get from using all the ingredients. Before you start, make sure you have the following ingredients:
- Beans- You will need both a can of pinto beans and a can of red beans for this recipe. We used canned beans to make this recipe quick and easy.
- Garlic- You’ll want to use fresh, finely minced garlic cloves for the best flavor.
- Shallot- This is an onion variety that has a delicate and sweet flavor. It’s the perfect addition to beans.
- Oil- We used olive oil for sauteing the shallot and garlic, but you can use avocado oil, vegetable oil, or butter for this step.
- Sofrito- You can find sofrito premade at your local grocery store. Look in the Mexican cuisine section.
- Stock or beer- You’ll need a liquid to simmer your beans in. You can either use vegetable stock or beer. We use beer because it enhances the flavors.
- Guajillo peppers-These peppers have a mild heat, and add a sweet, fruity, tangy, smoky flavor to your beans.
- Chiles de árbol- 6 times Hotter than a jalapeno, if you don’t like heat, leave them out. Otherwise, these chilies make this dish spicy!
- Mexican oregano- Regular oregano is an Italian spice, but Mexican oregano adds lemon and citrus flavors with undertones of licorice.
- Bay leaf- Bay leaves are used for flavor, but aren’t really good to eat, so pull them out before serving your beans.
Once you’ve gathered all your ingredients, you’ll be ready to whip up a delicious Mexican side dish everyone will love.
- First, heat your oil in a small pan over medium heat until shimmery.
- Add the shallot and cook until soft or about 5-minutes.
- Then, stir in the garlic and cook for about 40-seconds.
- Add the sofrito, bay leaf, peppers, chiles, oregano, and stock or beer. Stir to combine everything and season with salt and pepper.
- Finally, add your cans of beans and toss to mix well.
- Cook your beans for about 10-minutes stirring occasionally until the liquid is thickened and reduced.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Remove the bay leaf and chiles. Serve and enjoy!
Tips and Tricks to Perfect Spicy Garlicky Beans and FAQs:
- Be sure to stir the beans often to prevent them from burning on the bottom.
- If you don’t want the beans to be spicy, leave the chiles and peppers out of the beans. They will still be just as delicious.
- The secret to making these beans taste like their from a restaurant is the long simmering time. This softens the beans and brings out all the flavor as well as marries the flavor from the add-ins into the beans. So, don’t shorten the time.
- Giving the beans a little “smush” after simmering creates that great restaurant style texture.
FAQs
You want to simmer your beans for about 10-minutes. So keep the heat on medium to medium low the entire time you are cooking them. If it begins to boil, turn the heat down.
It will take you about 5-minutes to prepare this recipe and 15-minutes of cooking time. So, you should have these delicious spicy garlicky beans on the table in about 20-minutes or less.
Beans make great leftovers. In fact, the spices and seasonings make them even more delicious the next day. To store any leftovers, simply place them in an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
Yes, these beans are healthy. In fact, pinto beans in themselves are a great source of protein, folate, zinc, iron, magnesium, and fiber. If you are a vegetarian or vegan, this dish can be combined with rice for a complete nutritious meal.
What To Serve With Spicy Garlicky Beans
Spicy garlicky beans make an excellent side dish for Mexican dishes like One Pot Salsa Chicken Thighs, Cheesy Chicken Taquito and Bean Casserole, or my One Pot Cheesy Taco Skillet. Additionally, you could add them to my One Pot Spicy Taco Rice Skillet for a hearty meal. These beans are even great in tacos, stews, burritos, and on top of cheesy nachos. The possibilities are endless.
For more delicious side dishes, click here.
Spicy Garlicky Beans Recipe
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Spicy Garlicky Beans
Pinto and red beans with tons of garlic, red pepper, shallot, and chile flavor for an irresistible side dish everyone loves.
Ingredients
- 6-8 cloves garlic, minced finely
- 1 shallot, minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 tablespoons sofrito
- 1 cup stock or beer
- 2-3 dried guajillo peppers
- 2-4 dried chiles de arbol (omit if you’d like less spicy)
- 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 can pinto beans, drained
- 1 can pink beans, drained
Instructions
- In a small pan, heat olive oil until shimmery.
- Add shallot and cook to soft, stirring frequently to prevent burning, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in garlic, and cook to fragrant - about 40 seconds.
- Add sofrito, bay leaf, chiles, oregano, and stock or beer, stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper, a pinch or two of each.
- Add beans and toss to mix well.
- Cook to reduce liquid, stirring occasionally to prevent beans from burning, about 10 minutes, until liquid is thickened and mostly reduced.
- Add any salt and pepper, to taste, as needed.
- Remove bay leaf and chiles before serving.
Notes
Can add chorizo, ham, bacon for a meaty flavor.
Great in tacos, Huevos Rancheros, stews, and more.
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 242Total Fat 7gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 1mgSodium 428mgCarbohydrates 32gFiber 7gSugar 5gProtein 10g
Nutrition is automatically calculated by Nutritionix - please verify all nutrition information independently and consult with a doctor or nutritionist for any and all medical and diet advice.
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