A Big Pot of Simmered Pintos
Updated May 27, 2025
- Total Time
- 2 hours 15 minutes (includes 2 hours unsupervised simmering)
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1pound (about 2¼ cups) pinto beans, washed and picked over for stones, soaked for at least 4 hours or overnight in 2 quarts water
- 1medium onion, cut in half
- 2 to 4large garlic cloves (to taste), minced
- 1bay leaf
- Salt to taste (I think beans need a lot, at least 1 teaspoon per quart of water used)
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
274 calories; 1 gram fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 50 grams carbohydrates; 12 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 17 grams protein; 224 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Place beans and soaking water in a large, heavy pot. Add halved onion and bring to a gentle boil. Skim off any foam that rises, then add garlic and bay leaf, reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes.
- Step 2
Add salt and continue to simmer another 1 to 1½ hours, until beans are quite soft and broth is thick and fragrant. Taste and adjust salt. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, remove and discard onion and bay leaf. For the best flavor refrigerate overnight.
- Advance preparation: The cooked beans will keep for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator and freeze well.
Private Notes
Comments
For refrigeration and freezing, is it better to store the beans in the cooking water or drained?
Thanks for adding this recipe. Although I already cook beans this way, but I've noticed that a lot of cookbooks and recipe sites don't provide a basic way to cook beans from scratch that are simply flavored. I learned this method from a Mexican cookbook.
The only thing I would recommend is adding a some olive or vegetable oil to the pot.
Regarding the salt, I generally add 1.5 tsp.
1 pound dried beans = 3 to 4 - 15oz cans or 57 ounces
So I took the skin off of the onion along with both ends and then cut it half. I cooked for 2 hours total and the onion broke up in pieces. I took the biggest pieces out and left the smaller ones in. Very yummy.
Made these pretty much as written. Soaked overnight. Added a couple pieces of my homemade Tasso and doubled garlic. After first hour added a can of rotel tomatoes and the stems from a bunch of cilantro that I rubber-banded together (hoping no rubber toxins would escape). Absolutely delish!
I cooked the onions in some bacon fat (sometimes butter), added the garlic and bay, then added my soaked beans and two quarts of chicken stock I made last week. I like a fair amount of salt, at least 2tsp, and a bit of freshly ground black pepper.