This delicious, savory southern Pinto Beans recipe is a time-tested, traditional favorite! The recipe includes stovetop, slow cooker, pressure cooker, and freezing instructions.
Around my house, growing up, pinto beans and cornbread were well-loved additions to any meal or sometimes was the entire meal themselves. It was one of our family favorites, which is why it made such a regular appearance at our table.
My grandmother and mother shared this delicious pinto beans recipe with me, and it has remained a satisfying favorite in my own family. Rich and comforting, these pinto beans are nutritious and full of flavor.
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My Granddaddy loved so many traditional southern foods, including these pinto beans. He was a man of few words most of the time, but other times, he was full of insight, a silly joke, and lots of “Southernisms”.
Granddaddy would make you laugh when he told a story. He’d get right to the funniest part of the story and then start laughing so hard that it would take forever (it seemed) until he could compose himself enough to finish. Of course, we all would laugh along with him because he was laughing so hard that it would make you laugh just as hard. Goodness, I sure do miss him.
Several years back, when I first shared this recipe, Sam looked at me one morning and said, “Mama, it looks like it’s gonna come up a cloud.” All I could think of was, “Praise the Lord, I’m raising a Southerner!” Grandaddy (and my daddy) would be so proud to know he knew what that term meant and used it correctly in a sentence. So it made me start thinking of other “Southernisms”. And nothing goes with them better than these Pinto Beans and cornbread for supper!
When my Grandmother made this pinto bean recipe, she always cooked them on her stovetop. She’d wash the beans two or three times and then let them soak all night long. The next morning, she’d rinse them one last time and start them cooking over low heat on her stove. She’d pull a ham bone from the freezer and nestle it into the pinto beans to make those beans even more delicious.
Her pinto beans would cook all day on the stove with her checking on them ever so often to make sure they didn’t run out of water as they cooked down in her big pot.
Even though I love to cook them all day on the stove, I also love tossing them into my slow cooker and forgetting about them until supper time. But, I have included Grandmother’s stovetop method as well as an electric pressure cooker method!
Here’s how to cook them.
How to Cook Pinto Beans
Ingredients
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, notes, and estimated nutritional information.
- pinto beans – Use dried beans and pick through them for anything that doesn’t belong, like pebbles or beans that look bad. You’ll rinse them well, too.
- dried spices – oregano, chili powder, garlic powder
- salt and pepper
- onion – finely chopped
- ham bone – You can also use cooked bacon. I use both, and either is delicious.
Tip for Leftovers
Refried Beans make a delicious way to use cooked pinto beans! Plan a Tex-Mex dinner night to use some of your frozen or leftover pintos!
Step-by-Step Instructions
You can cook your beans using whichever cooking method you prefer: stovetop, slow cooker, or Instant Pot (pressure cooker).
1. Slow Cooker Pinto Beans
Add the dried beans to a stockpot, cover with water, and allow to soak overnight. Generally, you’ll need about 10 cups of water for 2 cups of dried beans.
The next morning, drain away the liquid and pour the dried beans into the slow cooker. Stir in the seasonings and remaining ingredients and combine well. Cover with water and cook on high setting for 5 hours.
2. Stovetop Pinto Beans
Add the dried beans to a stockpot, cover with water, and allow to soak overnight. Generally, you’ll need about 10 cups of water for 2 cups of dried beans.
The next morning, drain away the liquid. Stir in the seasonings and remaining ingredients and combine well.
Add water to cover the beans well. Bring the beans to a boil over high heat and boil for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to low and allow the pinto beans to simmer until they tender when pressed against the side of the stockpot with a wooden spoon, 2 to 3 hours. Add water to the beans as needed.
3. Instant Pot Pinto Beans
Add the dried beans as well as the remaining ingredients to a 6-quart Instant Pot. Add fresh water until the dried beans are fully covered, taking care not to fill the pressure cooker more than half full.
Seal the pressure cooker and cook the beans under high pressure for 30 minutes. Use either the “quick release” method or the natural release method with your pressure cooker. The quick-release method will quickly release the pressure from your pressure cooker so that you may remove the lid. The natural release method releases the pressure more slowly but allows the beans to continue cooking a bit longer and are somewhat more tender.
Storage Tips
Once cooked, allow them to cool completely.
To refrigerate – After the pinto beans are completely cool, put them in airtight containers, place them in the refrigerator, and use them within 3 to 5 days.
To freeze – Portion the beans into airtight, freezer-safe containers, including vacuum-sealed bags. If using freezer bags, remove as much air as possible, label, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
To reheat – Place beans in a saucepan and reheat on low heat until heated throughout, adding a bit of water if necessary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes it’s best to soak them. It helps thoroughly clean the beans and makes them softer so they don’t take as long to cook to a desired softness.
More Favorite Southern Recipes
A majority of my recipes are southern, but I’m including a few here that seem to be favorites for many of us:
Here’s my Pinto Bean Recipe. I hope you love them as much as we always do!
Pinto Bean Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried pinto beans, picked over and rinsed
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 ham bone, or 1/2 pound cooked bacon
Instructions
Slow Cooker Pinto Beans Recipe:
- Add the dried beans to all large stockpot and allow to soak overnight. Drain the dried beans and pour into crock of slow cooker. Add in all other ingredients and combine well. Add water until the beans are fully covered.
- Cook the pinto beans on high until beans are tender, about 5 hours.
Stovetop Pinto Beans Recipe:
- Add the dried beans to all large stockpot and allow to soak overnight. Drain the dried beans and add in all other ingredients and combine well. Add water until the beans are fully covered.
- Bring the beans to a boil over high heat and boil for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to low and allow the pinto beans to simmer until they tender when pressed against the side of the stockpot with a wooden spoon, 2 to 3 hours. Add water to the beans as needed.
Instant Pot Pinto Beans Recipe:
- Add the dried beans, as well as all of the remaining ingredients, to a 6-quart pressure cooker. Add water until the beans are fully covered, taking care not to fill the pressure cooker more than half full of water.
- Seal the pressure cooker and cook the beans under high pressure for 30 minutes. Use either the “quick release” method or the natural release method with your pressure cooker. The quick release method will quickly release the pressure from your pressure cooker so that you may remove the lid. The natural release method releases the pressure more slowly, but allows the beans to continue cooking a bit longer and are somewhat more tender.
Notes
Storage Tips
Once cooked, allow them to cool completely. To refrigerate – After the pinto beans are completely cool, put them in airtight containers and place in refrigerator and use within 3 to 5 days. To freeze – Portion the beans into airtight, freezer-safe containers, including vacuum-sealed bags. If using freezer bags, remove as much air as possible, label and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. To reheat – Place beans in a saucepan and reheat on low heat until heated throughout, adding a bit of water if necessary.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Add a dash of pepper sauce to these and you’ve got yourself a delicious meal!
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
From the Add a Pinch recipe archives. Originally published 2011. Updated to include pressure cooker and stovetop instructions.
Oh my, I do love pinto beans! I believe I need to put some on the stove right now. My mouth is watering already!
As for southernisms – I am a southeastern Virginia girl, raised by Virginia and North Carolina mountain folk. Previous comments have covered a great many of the sayings of my youth, but there are a few that I particularly love. “Bless your heart” is the classic one – and just try to convince a yankee that it isn’t something sweet! I think those people just weren’t raised right, bless their hearts.
We always had sweet tea, (ever tried to order that in a west coast restaurant?) sweet milk, and light bread. “Can’t dance and it’s too wet to plow” meant “might as well…,”
“over yonder,” “up the road a piece,” “can you carry me to the store,” and “she ain’t no better than she ought to be,” meaning that you can’t expect anything more from somebody with her background. We also had lots of nicknames; Bitty Sue, Little Bo, Sissy (for sister), Bubba (for brother), etc.
This just took me on a trip down memory lane! Thanks – now I’m off to start my beans!
“Boy, I’m gonna slap a fart outa you that’ll whistle like a freight train” my son would “giggle like a girl” when his Papa would say this.
Stumbled upon your blog via your Pinto Bean recipe, but I’m drawn right in by all this cozy chatter. I’m fixin’ to print off this list for my fridge! Haha, I’m from New England, but married a country boy, and we’re now living log cabin style in Maryland.
Beans are in the pot, off to print, and I’ll be back. Love your blog!
Sincerely,
Mae
If you’ve “got your squirrels all up one tree”, it means you are doing well.
The housekeeper would warm me not to make a mess by saying, “It’ll be between you and me and mainly me.”
My grandmother would say “p’shaw!”
My father’s different type of comment was “you can fall in a bucket of s–t and come out smelling like a rose”, meaning you are chosen and are always going to do well.
Wow. I realize this is an old post, and I was going to add a few of my families most used terms, and thought “naw” (as in “no”), but then I read yours and saw that your grandmother said “p’shaw”. I swear I thought my grandmother was the only Southern woman that ever said that! She was a deeply Christian woman, and I never ever heard her say a curse word, but “p’shaw” dropped on the regular! what a sweet memory. And I love this recipe for beans. I’ve been making them for years ON THE STOVE, and started making them just last year in the slow cooker. Duh. love it.
“happier then a tick on a dogs back” 🙂
My mother used to say “why buy a cow if you can get the milk free,” “busier than a cat on a hot tin roof,” “their elevator don’t go to the top floor,” and I know more but this old mind is drawing a blank. I use my left over pinto beans in a pot of chili. Never waste anything. Oh yes, “waste not, want not.” And “shut the door, were you raised in a barn?”
I used to hear my family say “don’t get above your raising” a lot during the 60’s.
People were “gob-smacked” a lot where I came from …and my Grandmother was convinced that when someone was smiling for no reason…”that one is up to no good”.
Purty as a speckled pup…happy as a pig in a corn patch…cross as a Billy Goat…she’s a long tall drink…in a blink…go pick a hickory switch….sit a spell..you reckon…near dark…about time…now then…give me some sugar…honey, you ain’t changed a bit.(I love that one)…on a lark…so many more!!! I still love going home and listening to my family bantering back and forth. When I have a phone conversation with someone back home my own family knows immediately because it all comes back and I am “in the thick of it” for the next day or so.
I have Pinto bean recipe that I make for my family and we all love it…with cornbread of course!
Being raised in Arkansas, I use the phrases “tump” (to turn over & dump out) and “fixin to” all the time. Others that I’ve heard some of the “old-timers” around here use are “y’uns” (all of you), “poke” (paper sack), “ain’t they?” (for isn’t there?), “can you carry me to the store?” (can you drive me to the store), “a mess of greens”, “looky yonder” (look over there).
My Mom’s family always said; “Good night nurse!” and if someone just couldn’t sit still; so and so was acting “like a maggot on a hot rock” and “come here so I can hug your neck”
Beans look like my mama’s…bless her heart.
When someone did something pretty smart, “There ain’t no flies on him!”