Homemade Pinto Beans

 

For week #40 of my 2018 challenge to try one new whole-food plant-based (WFPB) recipe each week, I made these homemade pinto beans. In my opinion, they taste much better than canned beans and are definitely worth the effort. I researched various recipes and ultimately came up with this flavor combination, which was delicious.

Well, I finally did it…

After YEARS of people telling me that I need an Instant Pot in my life, I finally took the plunge.

This was my first recipe in the Instant Pot, and I have to say that I am loving it already!

Note: An Instant Pot is not required to make this recipe. You can mix up the ingredients and cook the beans stovetop or in a crockpot also. It will just take longer.

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What I like about this recipe:

• Delicious flavor

• Cheap

• You can easily control sodium content. (Canned beans can be high in sodium.)

• Great source of plant-based protein (and iron, zinc, fiber, folate, and potassium).

• Versatile - Pairs well with a number of Mexican dishes. You could also use black beans instead of pinto beans.

What I ended up using/doing:

• 1 16-oz package (or about 3 cups, if you buy them in bulk) of dry pinto beans

• 10 cups water

• 1 yellow onion, diced

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 10-oz can of Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 Tbsp lime juice

• 1 tsp oregano

• 2 Tbsp chili powder

• 1/2 tsp cumin

• Salt to taste (start with 1 tsp and increase depending on taste preference)

Steps:

1. Rinse beans under water using a colander. I didn’t presoak my beans, but you could. (Soaking beans before cooking removes some of the indigestable sugars, which can cause flatulence.)

2. Combine above ingredients in an Instant Pot, regular pot, or crock pot.

3. Cook until beans are tender. (In the Instant Pot, I pressure-cooked it for 25 minutes and allowed it to release on its own, which took another half hour or so. Stovetop this would probably take a couple hours, and in a crock pot this could be combined in the morning and allowed to cook throughout the day.)

4. Remove bay leaves.

5. Enjoy!

This post was originally published on October 11, 2018.