Pinto beans are the most popularly consumed beans in Mexico and United States. They are used in making chili, dips, soups, refried beans and filling for burrito. Cooking pinto beans is no different from other dried beans recipe. Rather you will find it very easy and suitable for fixing a quick meal. Needless to say, the best way to cook pinto beans is by soaking the beans overnight. This saves both cooking time and preparation effort. Deciding the appropriate seasoning is all you need in cooking delicious pinto beans. Read more on pinto beans nutrition facts.

How to Cook Pinto Beans?

In case, you forget to soak beans one night before, you can still cook them without spending much time. For cooking pinto beans without soaking, bring 1 gallon water to a boiling temperature and add cleaned beans. Continue boiling till water quantity reduces to about half. Again add water and repeat the process of boiling, until the beans are cooked. Once softened, you can cook them in any manner to suit your taste buds. Following are some popular methods for cooking pinto beans:

Cooking Pinto Beans on Stove
Ingredients
2 cups dried pinto beans (soak overnight)
1/2 pound salt pork
1 large onion (chopped)
1 clove garlic (crushed)
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt to taste
Water
Directions for Preparation

After soaking pinto beans overnight, drain off water and rinse the soaked beans lightly. Pour enough water to cover the beans and add salt pork, garlic, onion, chili powder, oregano and cumin. First, bring the mixture to a boiling temperature and then, reduce heat to medium low. Simmer for about 4 hours, or until pinto beans can be mashed easily with a fork. Check seasoning and add more salt, if required. When the mixture thickens, remove from heat. You can serve this with corn bread and chow chow.

Cooking Pinto Beans Mexican Style
Ingredients
2 cups pinto beans (soak overnight)
1 yellow onion (chopped)
1 tablespoon garlic (minced)
2 bay leaves
4 tablespoons butter or oil
Salt to taste
Water
Directions for Preparation

First of all, sort pinto beans and remove dirt and rocks. Consider soaking the beans one night before to reduce cooking time. Drain beans and keep ready for cooking. Heat lard (or oil) in a large and thick pan over medium high heat. Saute onions until softened and add garlic and bay leaf. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Pour 6 cups of water and add pinto beans. You can also use vegetable or chicken broth instead of water. Wait till the mixture boils and reduce heat. Cover lid and simmer till pinto beans are done. Add salt and serve with shredded cheese toppings. Check out Mexican foods.

Pressure Cooking Pinto Beans
Ingredients
1 pound pinto beans
1 ham hock
Salt and pepper to taste
Water
Directions for Preparation

For cooking pinto beans fast, you can use a pressure cooker. In this recipe, you will need a 6 quart sized cooker having pressure of about 10 lb. Add cleaned pinto beans in the cooker and pour water twice the quantity of beans. Add ham hock for seasoning. Put the cooker over high heat and wait until you get 3 hisses per minute. Reduce heat and continue cooking for about 55-60 minutes. Following this, remove from heat and pour cool water over cooker. When there is no pressure left, remove lid and check for doneness. Add salt and pepper to taste, stir well and serve.

For more information, read on:
Dried Beans Recipes
Pressure Cooker Recipes
Crockpot Recipes
So, this is how you can cook pinto beans and as you see, the recipes are very easy to try out at home. Whether you are cooking canned pinto beans or dried pinto beans, preparation directions are the same. You can also consider slow cooking pinto beans in crock pot. Add 3 cups soaked beans, ½ pound bacon, I tablespoon salt and fill pot with water. Cook for about 8 hours, until beans are tender. The remaining steps for simmering and seasoning remains the same. Whichever way you cook pinto beans, you will get a delicious dish that complements your meal menu.