Simple Pinto Beans Recipe (2024)

There are two simple ways to improve this recipe, whilst not changing an ingredient.
BROWN the bacon before adding, not to crispness but to the point of concentrating its flavor, which mere stewing cannot do.
CUT UP the onion, at least into eighths, and once again BROWN it first. An onion with more surface area and more caramelization yields more flavor.
My grandparents and parents from Colorado would not omit these steps, though they didn't use paprika.

I followed the recipe exactly the first time and It's very good and pretty authentic to what I've eaten on cattle drives in Wyoming and elsewhere. The second time I made this just yesterday I made it with flageolet beans from Rancho Gordo, I also added a ham hock and a heavy tablespoon of tomato paste for additional flavor and colour as well as smoked paprika to remind me of the camp fire. I had some this morning for breakfast with coffee and they are my new favorite.

Nice recipe as is or to tweak and customize. The possibilities are endless. I recommend brining the beans as well, plus coarse chop the bacon and onion, saute a bit before adding, and use smoked paprika. To ramp it up, add a can of tomatoes with chiles, oregano, Worcestershire, ancho chile powder, a tiny bit of cumin and brown sugar, and a little juice from pickled jalapenos. Doing so doesn't make it chile, it's still going to be a pot of beans but with delicious super powers. :-)

My daughter had a vegetarian restaurant and used Colgin's liquid smoke in any bean recipe that called for bacon or smoked ham. Usually about a teaspoon for a pound of dry beans. The advantage of that is it contains no sodium if your monitoring sodium intake. Never missed the meat! Smoked paprika is also a good addition.

Excellent recipe, if pinto beans can be simple and elegant this is it! I used very thick sliced Boars Head smoked bacon, did a rough chop on it, browned it with the onion before adding it to the beans and added diced fresh jalapeño along with the other recommended spices! So delicious!

use less water to get creamier sauce allow an extra hour of simmering

Remember these are called "cowboy" beans. No cowboy is gonna leave out the chili pepper or use olive oil. My grandmother from Seymour Texas, was born somewhere around 1890, made beans. She always saved bacon grease and used it as seasoning for everything - call it Texas Olive Oil. Her recipe for beans was simple. Two generous scoops of bacon grease to a pot of dry beans and water, salt pepper and a whole smoked pork sausage. Boil until the beans are tender, serve with corn bread and collards

Doesn't need the TBS of salt. The bacon is plenty salty enough. Otherwise, terrific.

I use 1 pound of beans, a half tablespoon of kosher salt, a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper, and a quarter teaspoon of cayenne. That’s it. Nothing else. (Well, water to cover by one inch of course.)You DO NOT need to soak the beans overnight, or at all. Bring all ingredients just to a boil and then simmer gently. Make certain it’s simmering, not boiling. Takes maybe two hours. Depends on how old the beans are. Make certain to add the salt at the beginning.

I used Vaquero beans from Rancho Gordo. They are delicious

Be aware that the predominant spice and flavor is paprika, so don't add the full amount unless you really love it! This recipe is described as simple and basic, however my family would not eat this (and we cook plenty of well spiced and seasoned foods).

I made a terrible mistake. I didn't have kosher salt on hand, so I used regular sea-salt, which, I realize in retrospect, is much finer grained. The result is almost inedible (and I have a very high tolerance for salt). I offer this confession only as a warning to others who sub in a garden-variety salt—make the tablespoon a teaspoon if you want something edible!

I doubled the recipe because we were having 13 for Independence Day dinner, but I think the original recipe would have been adequate. These were a hit. Good flavor without the overly sweet notes of traditional baked beans. I definitely recommend this.

You should also try Craig Claiborne's Cowgirl beans.

Didn’t have a slab of bacon. Charred jalapeños and onion in bacon grease, added beans, fried for 2 minutes. Used leftover water from making salsa verde. Added cumin to spice mixture.Will definitely make again.

My husband made this recipe . Browned the pork belly before adding beans. Used no salt & added 1 Tbsp tomato paste. Delicious!

This is my hands down favorite bean recipe. So simple and so good!

I never even look at a pinto bean without throwing some episote into the pot. It's available at Mexican markets. Don't ask me how it works, but it makes the beans taste just perfect and without the known side effects (think Blazing Saddles).

Vegan version-first skip the bacon. Add garlic with the onion. Add one or two canned chipotle peppers in abodo sauce, adding sauce to suit your preference. Heat and smoke!

I did cook the bacon thoroughly before adding, and careful weighing showed a 70% reduction in weight. I added back some of that in olive oil, which worked very well. It was possibly more bacon-y after cooking, since I used 6oz post-cooking weight of bacon, equivalent to 20oz raw. I used Spanish sweet smoked paprika since the type wasn’t specified, and was surprised that it worked so well I don’t think I’ll bother trying any other.

I initially made this with excellent bacon (sorry, I no longer remember the brand) and loved it. Recently, I made using Boar’s Head, thick cut, smoked bacon ($8.99.) Nope. The bacon fell apart and the Smokey flavor dissipated. Hot sauce to the rescue! I think the better brand began with an “A.” I will definitely make, again, but only with the really good bacon….

I cooked the pinto beans in their soaking liquied.I Cooked bacon in skillet before adding to pinto beans. i used sliced bacon and cooked it in a pan while heating up the beans to a boil. added the grease to the beans it made it awesome along with the bacon

I used a couple of slabs of country ham, sautéed for a couple of minutes on each side then sautéed the onions, add to the beans in a oven safe casserole ( you could use a cast iron Dutch oven) that has a cover - also added couple of sprigs of fresh parsley and rosemary. Baked at 350 degrees for two hours…. Didn’t add salt, but a pinch of tony chachere’s creole seasoning… served with green rice (see arroz verde by tejal rao).

Way too salty. One teaspoon of salt would’ve been plenty. Not a great bean recipe

did with flageolet beans and Harrington ham hock. Fab!!

We didn’t have bacon so just went without. Also subbed a hit of Aleppo for the cayenne because I was planning to feed to our 2 year old. Absolutely fantastic. The best pot of beans I’ve ever made. Every bite was better than the last. We scarfed the whole pot in 2 sittings (2 adults, 1 toddler). Seriously a life changing recipe for me that I will hope to make forever. Thank you DT !!!

Not having any bacon, I made a vegetarian version using smoked paprika. Rather than soaking the beans, I precooked them in the Instant Pot from dry (25 mins., high pressure, full release). I sauteed the onion in a bit of oil with the smoked paprika and the bay leaf, then added the beans and their broth and brought them to a simmer. After an hour, I added the salt and the cayenne (I used a little extra salt, since I didn't use bacon), then simmered for another hour or so. They were delicious.

Add 2 tbsp brown sugar3 smoked rib meat 1tbsp paprika plus some smoked paprikaadjust cayenne down or replace with adobe pepperUsed one container of chicken broth1/2 teaspoon cumin

This recipe is also good with turkey bacon.