Updated on October 14th, 2022
You can typically make delicious cooked beans, but one of the most popular favorites is the pinto bean. They can be found in almost every well-stocked grocery shop, and they’re famous for their characteristic buttery and creamy feel, as well as for being one of the most adaptable bean types anyone can buy.
Cooking pinto beans on the stovetop will give you great-tasting results, especially if you know the right way and how long to cook it. If these are things you’re not so sure about, we advise that you pay attention to the cooking instructions and timing guidelines in this article to guide you to perfect results with pinto bean recipes.
Pinto Beans Nutrition Facts
Tips for Cooking Pinto Beans on Stove
Always clean your beans thoroughly – It is imperative to sort and sift through your dried pinto beans before you begin to cook them. To get this done, first, pour the beans into a large mixing bowl and sift through, eliminating any pieces that are shriveled or split.
Also, be on the lookout for any small rocks that might have gotten strewn about with the beans and toss them out. No one likes to bite into tiny bits of stone while eating beans, so picking them thoroughly helps you reduce the chances of this happening.
Soak the beans for better end results – No one will deny that soaking pinto beans before cooking them takes patience and time, but you’ll be pleased to find out that the final outcome is well worth it. Soaking the beans reduces the entire cooking time and helps them cook more uniformly, resulting in tenderness all the way through.
To soak your pinto beans, simply pour enough water into the bowl to cover the beans by at least 2 inches. After doing this, leave the beans to sit overnight or at least 8 hours on the counter. Drain the beans and rinse them after the soaking period has passed. During this time, the pinto beans will have swollen up, and the amount you soaked will have doubled.
Ideal cooking time – Ideally, you should cook your pinto beans for 2 hours with the lid on after soaking. After these 2 hours have elapsed, check the beans and taste them. They should be creamy and delicate at this point, but if they are not, continue to cook them for an extra 15 to 30 minutes.
Generally, with bean recipes, you should plan for a cooking time of about one to four hours, depending on the age of the variety you buy. You’ll, however find that most beans are done after two hours of cooking. Fresher beans cook faster, so get them from a reputable supermarket that you’re sure will always stock fresh beans.
Making pinto beans ahead – Pinto beans that have been cooked can typically be stored in a freezer for six months. In quart-size freezer-safe zip-top bags, simply divide the cooked pinto beans into recipe-ready amounts (1½ cup is the typical equivalent of a 15-ounce can). Fill the bag halfway with the cooking liquid, seal it, and place it flat in the freezer.
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Cooking Time for Pinto Beans on Stove
The ideal timing guidelines to follow when cooking pinto beans on the stovetop have been described in the table below:
| Cooking procedure | Cooking time |
| Cooking pinto beans on the stovetop | 2 to 2½ hours |
Stovetop Pinto Beans (12 Servings)
Ingredients
- 1 pound of dried pinto beans
- water, for soaking and cooking
Optional ingredients
- ½ large onion
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon of coarse kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon of dried oregano
Instructions
- Place the beans in a large mixing dish. Sort through the beans, pick out any shriveled or split beans and any rock fragments that may have gotten into the bag, and discard them.
- Cover the beans completely with water (make sure there is at least 3 inches of water covering the top of the beans). Afterward, soak the beans for 8 hours or throughout the night on the counter.
- Drain the beans and rinse them under cold water. (During the soaking procedure, the size of the beans will have doubled)
- Move the beans into a Dutch oven or a big pot. Pour in 10 cups of water and the optional ingredients (if you choose to use them).
- Allow the beans to reach a boil; afterward turn the heat down to a low level. Cook the beans this way for 2 to 2½ hours, keeping them covered. (At the two-hour mark, check on the beans and taste them). At this point, they should be soft and cooked all the way through but still firm and not mushy. If you find that the beans are not entirely done, cook them a little longer).
- Take the cooked beans off the heat and use them in any recipe of your choice (some great examples to try are refried or charro bean recipes), or cool them entirely afterward and preserve them in an airtight container inside the refrigerator.
If you’d like to see more recipe ideas for pinto beans using the stovetop cooking method, we recommend that you check out this video recipe.
Notes
- We recommend adding the extra (optional) ingredients to enhance the flavor of the pinto beans if you plan on eating them plain and not using them as a foundation on which you build up other recipes.
- Pinto beans are pretty easy to cook, you only need to have the right cooking instructions at hand to ensure that your recipe turns out great. Also, consider incorporating a number of tasteful ingredients into your recipe to increase the appeal of your end results.
The entire cooking time for this recipe is 2 hours and 10 minutes, with a prep time of 5 minutes. The timing might seem rather long, but adhering to the timing guidelines is key to getting desirable results so you don’t end up with undercooked beans.
