Nicaraguan Bean Soup with Chicharrón

In Nicaraguan home kitchens, few dishes feel as comforting as bean soup with chicharrón, a recipe born from the habit of letting nothing go to waste — not yesterday’s beans, not the crispy leftovers from frying pork. It shows up often on cool evenings or as a simple weeknight dinner, when what’s needed is something hearty, affordable, and quick to make with ingredients most households already have on hand.

Red beans, also found in gallo pinto and mashed beans, are one of the pillars of the Nicaraguan diet, and this soup is one of the most beloved ways to enjoy them. Chicharrón adds deep flavor and a texture that contrasts nicely with the creamy broth, turning a humble dish into a meal hearty enough to feed the whole family.

Nicaraguan Bean Soup with Chicharrón

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• Author: Recetas123
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
• Total Time: 5 hours 55 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings
• Category: Soup
• Cuisine: Nicaraguan

Print Recipe

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Ingredients

• 500 g of dried red beans (2 ½ cups)
• 300 g of chicharrón (fried pork belly), chopped (1 ½ cups)
• 2 liters of water (8 cups)
• 150 g of white onion, chopped (1 medium onion)
• 100 g of green bell pepper, chopped (¾ cup)
• 15 g of garlic, chopped (4 cloves)
• 100 g of ripe tomato, chopped (1 medium tomato)
• 30 ml of oil (2 tablespoons)
• 5 g of ground cumin (1 teaspoon) (optional)
• Salt, to taste
• 10 g of chopped cilantro (2 tablespoons) (optional)
• 1 unit of whole congo chili pepper (1 whole chili) (optional)
• Water for soaking

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Preparation

1. Soak the beans, place them in a large bowl covered with plenty of water and let them sit for at least 4 hours or overnight; then drain and rinse them well.
2. Cook the beans, put them in a large pot with the 2 liters of water and cook over medium heat for 60 to 75 minutes, until completely soft, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface.
3. Make the sofrito, heat the oil in a skillet and sauté the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and tomato for about 5 minutes, until soft and fragrant.
4. Stir the sofrito into the beans, add the mixture to the pot along with the cumin and the whole congo chili, and cook 10 more minutes so the flavors combine.
5. Blend part of the soup, remove the congo chili, scoop out half of the pot’s contents, blend it until creamy, then return it to the pot to thicken the broth without losing texture.
6. Add the chicharrón, season, and serve, stir in the chicharrón pieces, adjust the salt to taste, cook 10 more minutes over low heat, and serve the soup hot in bowls, sprinkled with chopped cilantro.

Kitchen Tips

• If you’re short on time, cook the beans in a pressure cooker for about 25 minutes instead of soaking them overnight.
• Choose well-fried, crispy chicharrón so it keeps some texture even after simmering in the broth.
• Adjust how thick the soup is by blending more or less of the beans, depending on the consistency you like.
• If your chicharrón is very salty, cut back on the salt you add at the end of cooking.

Traditional variations

• In some rural areas, the soup is served with white rice spooned right into the bowl and stirred together at the table.
• Other families blend all of the beans completely, making the soup fully smooth, closer to a creamy purée.

Traditional Serving

It’s served piping hot, right after cooking, so the aroma of the chicharrón and sofrito really comes through.

It’s often paired with warm corn tortillas or plain bread, finished with a drizzle of Nicaraguan crema and a sprinkle of crumbled dry cheese on top.

Recommended sides

• White rice
• Corn tortillas
• Nicaraguan crema
• Crumbled dry cheese
• Sliced avocado

Origin and Tradition

This soup began as a practical way to use up leftover cooked beans from earlier meals, turning them into something new instead of letting them go to waste. Red beans are a daily staple in Nicaraguan cooking, also found in gallo pinto and mashed beans, which shows just how central they are to the country’s everyday table.

Chicharrón, meanwhile, comes from the tradition of using every part of the pig after a home butchering, a common practice in rural areas where nothing goes to waste. Adding it to bean soup turns a simple dish into a hearty, filling meal that can feed a whole family with just a handful of ingredients.