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How to Cook Pinto Beans

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It’s very convenient to buy canned beans at the store, but to cook dried, bagged beans instead of canned is so easy and tastes much better, plus you can adjust the amount of salt that goes into them. Also, the smell of cooking beans in the house is pretty delicious, in my opinion!

This basic recipe is great for meal prep, too. It’s so easy to cook a batch of beans to make different dishes during a week.

Sometimes I like to eat them plain, like a simple bean soup. But most times I like to make refried beans with bacon, bean chipotle sauce for enfrijoladas, or to use in chili. There are many different ways to use and eat pinto beans, and I definitely hope to share some of my favorites here with you in the future. 🙂

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How to cook basic pinto beans

Price per recipe:  $1.8

Price per serving: $.15

So easy to make and a lot cheaper than canned beans, plus you can control how much salt goes into them.

Course Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch, Side Dish
Keyword beans, de, frijoles, how to cook beans, la, Mexican, olla, pinto
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings 12 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 pound pinto beans $1
  • 1/4 onion $.25
  • 3 cloves of garlic $.50
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt or chicken bouillon (add more to taste) .05

Instructions

  1. Sort the “bad” beans out (the ones that are broken or split).

  2. Rinse them.

  3. Place them in a large deep pot with the onion and garlic.

  4. Add warm water (about 6-8 cups of water).

  5. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. When it starts to boil lower the heat and let it simmer.

  6. Check the beans after 30 minutes to make sure they still have water. Add more water if needed and keep simmering. I usually keep my tea pot with warm water close in case I need it.

  7. The beans usually take about 1 1/2 hours to cook. Sometimes a little less than that.

  8. The beans are fully cooked when you can press them and they are soft to the touch. When the beans are cooked you can add the salt or chicken bouillon. 

Recipe Notes

  1. Don’t add salt until the beans are fully cooked. They take longer to cook if you add the salt in the beginning.
  2. If you have never cooked beans before, check the beans every 30 minutes to make sure they don’t run out of water. It is a common mistake to leave them without water and burn them. 

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