Different Flavor Options For Plain Pinto Beans

by Texas Homesteader ~
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I cook a large amount of dried pinto beans at one time. Then I portion out and flavor them in several different ways. It’s fast because the beans have already been cooked. And we enjoy lots of variety for different meals too!

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Batch-Cooking Dry Pinto Beans

I enjoy cooking from what we already have in our freezers and pantry. But we’re eating good, y’all!

Recently I was looking through the pantry and I spied a large 2-lb bag of pintos. Aaaaah the lowly pinto bean. I wonder if I should cook a whole 2-lb bag of them? Will we get tired of them before they’re all eaten?

I decided to cook them up and see how many different ways we could enjoy them before our palates got bored. Come see!

Cooking Dry Pinto Beans In An Instant Pot

First I spread the dry beans on a white plate. This helps me spot any little rocks that often get mixed into dry beans. That rock is the ‘Where’s Waldo’ of the bean world, I swear!

After I’d sorted out any damaged beans and tiny rocks, I poured the beans into a colander and rinsed them well.

I’ll cook them in my *6-Quart Instant Pot electric pressure cooker. (Have I mentioned lately how much I love that thing??!!)

Although some say you don’t have to soak dry beans when cooking in a pressure cooker, I’ve always found they just cook better if I do.

So I covered the sorted & rinsed beans with water and set them on the counter to soak while I went about my day.

About an hour before supper I poured out the soaking water and rinsed the beans. I put them back into the pot and added fresh water to a level of about 2″ above the level of soaked beans.

I would have loved to use Homemade Broth here and I certainly will when I have it in the pantry again. But for now water will have to do.

Light Seasoning For Batch-Cooking Dry Beans

Typically I like to use my homemade Pinto Bean Seasoning when I’m cooking a pot of beans. RancherMan always raves about it.

But since I’ll be using different seasonings as I remake these beans in subsequent meals I don’t want to season them with anything but salt & pepper right now. So I added a little salt & pepper (about a teaspoon of each) and put the lid on.

I pressure-cooked these beans for 30 minutes on high pressure, then I allowed a natural release for 10 minutes. After that time I did a quick release and brought the inner insert out of the Instant Pot.

Pinto Beans as a Main Dish

Of course that first night we enjoyed those cooked pintos with Homemade Jalapeno Cornbread for our supper. It was delicious on a cool night!

When we’d eaten our fill that first night I placed the leftover beans in the fridge. They’ll be magically transformed into different bean dishes in the next few days.

Ranch-Style Flavored Beans

The next night I wanted a little oomph. So I took 2 cups of those cooked plain pintos and added a Tablespoon of chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon each of garlic powder & onion powder, and 1/8 teaspoon each of cumin & paprika.

Bibbidy-bobbedy-BOO those plain pintos were now changed into zesty Ranch-Style Beans!

We enjoyed the Ranch-Style beans side dish with our boneless pork chops & some Buttered Garlic & Sage Rice.

I also made sure to have enough leftover Ranch-Style Beans to mash & substitute for the refried beans in my Enchilada Casserole that I’ll make for us later in the week.

Simple BBQ Beans

Another night RancherMan was going to grill charcoal chicken. My favorite! So I pulled out another 2-cups of those regular cooked pinto beans.

Then I stirred some of my Mix-n-Pour BBQ Sauce into them. Presto-Changeo again – this time into BBQ Beans.

So now those ordinary beans have a little BBQ zip to go with our grilled chicken. And it’s completely different than the other bean options we’d already enjoyed.

Beans Made Into Hummus

I have a super-simple hummus recipe and I typically make it with chickpeas or other white bean. But I’m not gonna lie, I will make hummus from almost any leftover cooked bean!

It’s not uncommon at all for me to make Hummus From Leftover Beans.

So I took 1.5 cups of the plain cooked pinto beans and added my standard Hummus Seasonings, some garlic and some olive oil.

Into my ninja blender I put it all and whirred it into delightful smoothness.

RancherMan enjoys this hummus rolled into a Mix-n-Pour Tortilla as a light lunch or a mid-afternoon snack.

NOTE: I never, EVER have leftover hummus! And it freezes beautifully too. So I made several batches, labeled them and placed them in the freezer for future eating.

Bean & Cheese Burritos

We can whip together bean & cheese burritos fast. Top a tortilla with heated beans, sprinkle a little cheese and roll them up. Add a little zesty salsa and you’ve got a healthy and filling lunch.

We enjoyed these burritos for lunch a couple of times to use up more of those delicious beans. So many ways to enjoy them!

And RancherMan says: “You can roll almost anything in a tortilla and make a meal!”

Freeze Leftover Pinto Beans

By now I’m only left with a couple of servings of those original plain pinto beans. I’ll freeze them in 2-serving sizes to bring out for an inexpensive, healthy side sometime down the road.

Whew – that’s a lot of mileage from a lowly 2-lb bag of dried pinto beans!

~TxH~

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9 thoughts on “Different Flavors Dress Up Plain Pinto Beans”

Debbie at

I got lost in the amozing rabbit trail of great recipes you have shared on your website!! Bean week coming up here in Oklahoma!! Thank you so much for the inspiration!

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Sherry at

Have you ever tried pinto bean salad? It doesn’t sound very good, but it is really good – especially on a hot day when you want a cold protein lunch! Pinto beans (drained), diced cucumber, diced onion, mayo & a little salt. Sometimes I add fresh chopped dill or cilantro. YUM!

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  No, I’ve never heard of nor tried pinto bean salad Sherry. But you can bet your boots I’m gonna try it. Sounds right up my ally! I’m often looking for hearty, healthy cold foods for hot Texas summer days. Thanks for the tip. ~TxH~
  
  Reply ↓
Leesa at

How much salt and pepper do you add for the 2 pounds of pinto beans? Thanks in advance.

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  I typically add about a teaspoon of each. To me, this is the perfect amount of salt for the beans since we don’t typically eat much salt. For others it could be barely on the light side. But I feel you can always add salt when serving, but if you add it during cooking you can’t take it out! So I typically go somewhat light on the salt especially if I’m serving guests. That way it’s perfect for our tastes and additional salt can be added at serving for our guests who prefer things more on the salty side. Thanks for bringing this to my attention Leesa, I’ve updated the post to include this information.
  
  Reply ↓
Valerie at

Did you use high or low pressure to cook?

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  Mine defaults to high pressure I believe Valerie. Thanks for pointing that out, I’ll amend the post to clarify. ~TxH~
  
  Reply ↓
Miss B at

Your ranch style beans are the best ever! Love them!

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  I’m so glad y’all like them as much as we do. They’re a staple here. Delicious, inexpensive and healthy – gotta love it! ~TxH~
  
  Reply ↓