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How to Cook Pinto Beans
5 from 20 votes

How to Cook Pinto Beans

This recipe details the preparation of pinto beans starting with an overnight soak to expand and remove debris, followed by cooking beans with olive oil, onions, fresh herbs like thyme and bay leaf, garlic, and optional spicy peppers. The beans simmer in water with chicken bouillon until tender, resulting in flavorful beans suitable as a side or ingredient.

Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
2 hrs
Additional Time
12 hrs
Total Time
14 hrs 15 mins
Servings: 4
Calories: 416 kcal
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American, Mexican

Ingredients

  • 2 cups pinto beans dried
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil plus more, or pork lard
  • 1 yellow onion , finely diced
  • 4-5 thyme sprigs, fresh
  • 1 bay leaf fresh or dried
  • 3 cloves garlic , peeled and smashed with a knife
  • 4 Pepperoncini peppers optional, or ½ teaspoon red chili flake, whole dried
  • 4 teaspoons chicken bouillon paste or cubes
  • 8-10 cups water
  • kosher salt , as needed

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. The night before you are cooking your beans, sift through the pintos beans to make sure there are no small pebbles. (Yes, this is a thing.) Rinse them with water and then put them in a bowl giving them plenty of space to expand. Cover with a plate or plastic wrap and put in the fridge to soak.
  2. The next day, drain and rinse the beans. These should expand to roughly double the size, giving you 4 cups of beans.
  3. In a large heavy bottom pot, heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Be sure that this pot is large enough to let those beans expand yet again. When the oil is hot, add in the onion and saute for 4-6 minutes until opaque.
  4. Gently add the soaked beans, the fresh thyme, the bay leaf, the garlic, the peppers/chilies, the bouillon, and the water. Add 1 ½ teaspoons of salt. The water should cover the beans by at least an inch in the pot you end up using. If you need to add more or have less, add or get rid of accordingly.
  5. Bring everything to a boil on high heat. As soon as you get a good bubble, bring that heat back down to a simmer. Skim the top of the liquid of any scum that has formed. The more of this you can get rid of the better, but don’t drive yourself crazy. Once you are happy, add a healthy glug (or three of olive oil or a heaping spoon of lard.) Keep an eye on the beans and stir every 15-20 minutes or so.
  6. About an hour into the process, taste a bean. It should be easy to bite into and starting to take on flavor. Add another teaspoon of salt here.
  7. At the 90 minute mark, do another quick taste test. Add more salt if needed and see how cook the beans are. Keep checking a bean every 15 minutes or so until they are done. They should be creamy and tender.
  8. When you reach that point you can serve them in their broth or drain them and serve them on their own with your favorite protein.
  9. If you liked this recipe, come back and let us know how it was!

Notes

  • Sort beans carefully to remove small pebbles before soaking and cooking.
  • Use vegetable broth instead of chicken bouillon for a vegetarian-friendly dish.
  • This cooking method can be adapted for other types of dry beans beyond pinto beans.

Nutrition Information

Calories 416kcal (21%) Carbohydrates 64g (21%) Protein 21g (42%) Fat 9g (14%) Saturated Fat 1g (5%) Cholesterol 1mg (0%) Sodium 516mg (22%) Potassium 1393mg (30%) Fiber 15g (60%) Sugar 4g (8%) Vitamin C 9mg (10%) Calcium 138mg (14%) Iron 5mg (28%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 4 Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 416

% Daily Value*

Calories 416kcal 21%
Carbohydrates 64g 21%
Protein 21g 42%
Fat 9g 14%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Cholesterol 1mg 0%
Sodium 516mg 22%
Potassium 1393mg 30%
Fiber 15g 60%
Sugar 4g 8%
Vitamin C 9mg 10%
Calcium 138mg 14%
Iron 5mg 28%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.