Pinto beans are simmered with onion, tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, and garlic in this easy one-pot recipe. I love making these beans just because they make the whole house smell so good, and the longer they simmer the better they taste. You could add 1/2 can of beer to make "borracho" beans. I personally taste-test throughout the entire cooking process and add extra seasoning as I feel it needs it. These beans could simmer all day long; just make sure they have plenty of water to keep the beans covered.
Ingredients
- pinto beans, rinsed: 1 pound (dried)
- water: 4 cups (or as needed)
- tomatoes with green Chili peppers (such as RO*TEL®): 2 cans (10 ounce cans, diced)
- bacon: 0.5 pound (cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
- yellow onion: 1 piece (chopped)
- chili powder: 1 Tbsp (to taste)
- ground cumin: 1 Tbsp (to taste)
- ½ teaspoons garlic powder: 1 piece (to taste)
- bunch fresh cilantro: 0.5 piece (chopped)
- salt: (to taste)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Place pinto beans into a large pot and pour in enough water to cover by 2 to 3 inches. Let beans soak overnight.
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Drain beans, return to pot, and pour in fresh water to cover; add tomatoes, bacon, onion, chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 3 hours. Check the beans occasionally and add more water if needed.
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Stir cilantro and salt into beans simmer until beans are soft, about 1 more hour. Janice