Frijoles Antioqueños (Antioquian Bean Pot)

About This Recipe

Frijoles antioqueños are the backbone of Colombia's paisa region around Medellín — a pot of red beans simmered for hours with pork (often a mix of bacon, ribs or chorizo), plantain and a garlic-heavy sofrito until the beans break down into a thick, deeply savory stew. This is one of the most authentic dishes to make from this slug's ingredients, and it's traditionally the anchor of the enormous bandeja paisa platter, though it's just as satisfying eaten on its own with white rice. Browning the garlic properly — not burning it, but letting it turn deep gold in rendered pork fat — is what gives the pot its savory backbone, so this step deserves real attention rather than being rushed. Diced ripe plantain added partway through cooking breaks down slightly and adds natural sweetness that balances the pork's richness, a hallmark of paisa bean cooking. This is a genuinely long-cooked dish, and like most bean pots, it's better the next day once the flavors have had time to settle — plan for that if you can.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 450 gdried red kidney beans(soaked overnight)
• 150 gbacon or salt pork(diced)
• 200 gpork ribs or pork belly(cut into chunks)
• 8 cupswater(plus more as needed)
• 6 clovesgarlic(thinly sliced)
• 1onion(finely diced)
• 1green bell pepper(finely diced)
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 1ripe plantain(peeled and diced)
• 1 tspground cumin
• 2 tspfine sea salt(or to taste)
• 0.25 cupchopped cilantro

Instructions

1. 1

   Render the pork

   In a large heavy pot over medium heat, cook bacon and pork ribs until the fat renders and the pork picks up some color, about 8 minutes.

2. 2

   Brown the garlic

   Add sliced garlic to the rendered fat and cook, stirring constantly, until deep golden but not burnt, about 2 minutes. Remove garlic and pork pieces temporarily if the pot is very hot to avoid burning.

   Watch the garlic closely in the last 30 seconds — it goes from perfectly golden to bitter and burnt very quickly.

3. 3

   Cook the sofrito

   Add onion and green pepper to the pot and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook 1 minute more.

4. 4

   Simmer the beans

   Drain soaked beans and add to the pot along with 8 cups water, cumin and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer, partially covered.

5. 5

   Cook low and slow

   Simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding water as needed to keep the beans just covered, until the beans are very tender and starting to break down.

6. 6

   Add the plantain

   In the last 30 minutes of cooking, stir in diced plantain, letting it soften and partially dissolve into the pot.

7. 7

   Finish and serve

   Stir in remaining salt to taste and cilantro. Serve hot over white rice, ideally with avocado and fried plantain on the side.

Variations

• •

  Add a piece of Colombian chorizo in the last 30 minutes for extra smokiness.

• •

  Make it vegetarian by omitting the pork and using 2 tablespoons olive oil plus a smoked paprika pinch for depth, though it will lose the traditional richness.

• •

  Serve as part of a full bandeja paisa with rice, ground beef, chicharrón, fried egg, avocado and arepa.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 5 days; the flavor deepens significantly overnight. Freeze in portions up to 3 months. Reheat with added water since the beans thicken considerably in the fridge.

Frequently Asked Questions