What Are Pinto beans and How Can I Use Them?

If pinto beans have turned up in a recipe or caught your eye at the store, here's what you need to use them with confidence and how to choose them, cook them, store them, what to substitute, and 289 recipes to try them in.

What are pinto beans?

Pinto and pink beans, although related and used interchangeably in recipes, do not look alike. The Pintos are pale pink, speckled with brown. The pink beans are smoother and more brownish red than the name implies, and are sometimes called “red Mexican” or “red miners”. Both varieties turn red-brown during cooking.

dried pinto beans

When called for in a recipe, unless otherwise specified, the ingredient is normally canned prepared pinto beans. You may wish to prepare them from dried beans yourself, which is much more cost effective.

Dried Bean Purchasing Guide

Dried beans should be clean, uniform in size and quality. Today dried beans are usually sold pre-packaged and a reliable brand will guarentee clean, uniformly sized beans.

1 pound, raw = approximately 2 1/3 cups

1 pound, cooked = approximately 6 cups

Storage

After opening the package place the unused beans in a clean, tightly covered container and store on the pantry shelf.

Kitchen shelf: 1 year

Refrigerator shelf, cooked, covered: 3 to 4 days

Refrigerator freezer, cooked beans and cooked bean dishes, prepare for freezing: 1 month

Deep Freezer, cooked beans and cooked bean dishes, prepared for freezing: 4 to 6 months

dried pinto beans

Basic Preparation

Packaged beans are usually sorted and washed before packaging, so need only be rinsed.

Bean bought in bulk should be sorted carefully, discarding broken and defective beans, and washed until the water runs clear.

It's a good idea to soak the beans to replace some of the water lost during the drying process.

In general, if directions are not given on the package, use the amount of water called for in the recipe; save the nutritious soaking water to use in cooking the beans.

There are two ways of soaking dried beans:

Quick method: Measure the soaking water into a large, heavy pot. Add the washed beans and bring to the boil. Cover the pot and cook for 2 minutes; remove from heat and let stand for one hour, then cook according to recipe directions.
Overnight method: Measure the soaking water into a large pot; add washed beans; cover pot, and let stand for 6 to 8 hours. To prevent souring and hard skins the two minute boil above is recommended even when the beans are soaked overnight.

Add one teaspoon of salt per cup of soaked beans. If ham, bacon or salt pork is to be added use a smaller amount of salt.

Always try to cook in the soaking water. Cover the pot and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer according to the recipe.

Stir carefully but not too often to avoid breaking apart the beans. When done they should hold their shape as well as be tender. Cooking time can range from 20 minutes to 1 ½ hours depending on the type of bean and how long they have been stored.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 cup (240g)

Amount per Serving

Calories 206Calories from Fat 17

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 1.9g 3%

Saturated Fat 0.4g 2%

Trans Fat ~

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 705mg 29%

Total Carbohydrate 36.6g 12%

Dietary Fiber 11g 44%

Sugars 0.5

Protein 11.7g

Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 4%

Calcium 10% • Iron 19%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your caloric needs.

recipeland.com/nutrition

Quick facts

Where to find pinto beans: Pinto beans are usually found in the canned goods section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

Food group: Pinto beans are a member of the Legumes and Legume Products US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.

In Chinese: 斑豆
British (UK) term: Pinto beans
en français: haricots pinto
en español: frijoles pinto

How much do pinto beans weigh?

Amount	Weight
1 cup	240 grams

Legumes and Legume Products

Beans 235 Beans with pork, canned 45 Beans, dried 19 Black beans 445 Black beans, dried 29 Great northern beans 58 Kidney beans, canned 128 Red kidney beans 519 Red beans 47 Navy beans, dried 26

Recipes using pinto beans

There are 289 recipes that contain this ingredient.

Chasing Chili

Chasing chili builds a slow-simmered base with ground beef chuck, lean pork, soaked pinto beans, and whole cumin seeds. A two-meat, scratch-bean chili built for a crowd.

Brownsville Chili

Texas-style Brownsville chili with ground beef, dried pinto beans, jalapeños, and a hint of cinnamon. A border-town big-batch chili serving up to 32 with that distinctive sweet-savory backbone.

Chili Super Bowl

Big-batch Super Bowl chili with ground beef, pinto beans, and tomato juice base, simmered low for hours with a deep spice blend of cumin, cayenne, and paprika. Feeds a crowd.

Alamo Chili

A simple but savory chili made with succulent stewing beef, pinto beans and jalapeno peppers.

Bullard's Best Yet Chili

Bullard's chili pairs lean venison with pork in a hearty bowl of pinto beans, tomatoes, peppers, and cilantro, seasoned with chili powder and cumin. A from-scratch wild game chili worth cracking a beer for.

Beef & Beans

Slow cooker beef and beans with cubed chuck, salt pork, and pinto beans simmered in tomato paste, garlic, chili powder, and cumin. Old-school cowboy comfort food, low and slow until the beef pulls apart.

Pinto Bean & Feta Cheese Quesadillas

Pinto bean and feta cheese quesadillas with a chunky bean puree seasoned with jalapeno, cumin, chili powder, and red onion. A hearty vegetarian quesadilla with a Mediterranean-Mexican mash-up.

Modified Chili Con Carne

A from-scratch chili con carne made with dried pinto beans, lean ground beef, and a smoky blend of cumin, oregano, and chili powder. Simmers into a thick, soul-warming bowl that's lower in sodium than most.

Cowboy Pintos Vegan

Cowboy pintos are a hearty vegan bean pot: dried pintos slow-simmered with tomatoes, onion, carrot, celery, thyme and cilantro until creamy. Spoon it over rice or barley for a stick-to-your-ribs meatless bowl.

Arcadian Eight Bean Chili

Arcadian eight bean chili packs six bean varieties, ground beef, bacon, and dried poblanos into a smoky simmered crowd-feeder. Cinnamon and coriander give this chili an unexpected depth.

Franks' Chili Beans

Old-fashioned chili beans from scratch with dried pinto beans, ground beef, red chili sauce, and a splash of vinegar. A six-hour slow simmer for deep, rich, no-shortcuts flavor.

Chunky Vegetarian Chili

Chunky vegetarian chili packed with kidney beans, pinto beans, corn, and rice cooked right in the pot. Mexican-style tomatoes plus chili powder and cumin make a hearty one-pot meal in 45 minutes.

Amy's Chili with Hominy (Vegan)

Amy's vegan chili with hominy, pinto beans, chickpeas, zucchini, and a hint of molasses for depth. The dump-and-simmer one-pot weeknight chili that's hearty enough to skip the meat entirely.

Bandera Chili

Texas Bandera chili with ground chuck, tomato sauce, lite beer, and jalapeño pinto beans. Bold chili powder and a long simmer build the kind of deep, beefy stew that gets better the next day.

Aaron's Hillbilly Chili

Hillbilly chili made the back-porch way: ground beef, pinto beans, crushed tomatoes, and a splash of jalapeño pickling liquid for kick. A no-fuss Appalachian-style chili finished with vinegar.

Mexican Beans & Rice

An easy and tasty side dish - spicy beans and rice.

Cheese Enchiladas with New Mexican Chile Sauce

This is a cheese enchilada casserole. Beans, cheese, onions, Mexican chile sauce (not very spicy) and corn tortillas are layered in a casserole and then it's baked in the oven until bubbly.

Cheese Enchiladas with New Mexican Chile Sauce

This is a cheese enchilada casserole. Beans, cheese, onions, Mexican chile sauce (not very spicy) and corn tortillas are layered in a casserole and then it's baked in the oven until bubbly.

Toasted Pita & Pinto Bean Salad

Crispy toasted pita bread with seasoned pinto beans, diced cucumber, tomato and fresh lettuce, easy and tasty.

Amarillo Chili

Texas-style green chile chili with bacon, beef, pork, and whole green chiles. Simmers for 2 hours until thick and smoky, finished with pinto beans.

Abilene Texas Chili

Abilene Texas chili simmers ground beef and beans in a tomato vegetable juice base with paprika, cumin, cayenne, and Mexican oregano. Hearty bean-style Texas chili that feeds a crowd of 16.

Homemade Refried Beans

It's quick and easy to make, and it tastes a lot better and healthier too.

Bean Patties

Crispy pinto bean patties with cheddar and Worcestershire on whole wheat buns, topped with a tangy yogurt-horseradish sauce. Vegetarian burgers in 20 minutes.

Taco Bean Salad

Quite tasty and filling. I used black bean instead of pinto beans, I also squeezed half of the lime juice into the dressing, and I omitted the tomatoes that I didn't have on hand. I did think a ripe yet juice tomatoes would add more great flavor. Served it on a bed of lettuce and home-baked tortilla chips.

Pinta Bean & Butternut Tacos with Fresh Green Salsa

Roasted butternut squash with cooked seasoned pinta beans, stuffed into the warmed tocos, sprink some crumbled feta cheese on top, a perfect side dish or vegetarian main dish.

Spicy Cowboy Beans

Spicy cowboy beans bake pinto beans with smoked ham, green chilies, brown sugar, and chili powder for a smoky-sweet Tex-Mex baked bean side. A long-simmered chuckwagon classic.

Bean Veggie Burgers with Mexican Spicy Guacamole

This yummy veggie burger won't disappoint you! Several kinds of spices are mixed into mashed beans, spiced cuacamole spread on top of the burger... Enjoy delicious burgers without feeling guilty!

Indian Spiced Two Beans & Sweet Potato Crock Pot

Chickpea, pinto beans, sweet potato and spinach are slowly cooked in crock pot with cumin, coriander, lemon juice and honey. It's an ideal weekday dinner, just throw everything into your crock pot, and push the start button. By the time you are home after work, your hearty and delicious dinner is served.