Slow cooker pinto beans
A pot of creamy pinto beans cooked all day with onion, jalapeño, smoky paprika and tomatoes, spooned into bowls with warm tortillas for a nearly free dinner and a freezer full of beans.
- 540 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 8
- About $0.81 a serving
- 340 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 8 servings.
- 1 lb dried pinto beans, picked over and rinsed
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 jalapeños, 1 seeded, both chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can diced tomatoes and green chiles, not drained
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 lime, halved
- 16 corn tortillas
- 1 avocado, diced (optional)
- ½ cup queso fresco, crumbled (optional)
From your pantry
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 bay leaves
- 7 cups water
- 2 tsp salt
Each serving has about 340 calories, 16 g protein, 62 g carbs and 3 g fat, and costs about $0.81 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
- No limes? Lemons work.
- No avocados? Guacamole works.
- No queso fresco? Cotija cheese or feta cheese works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Spread the beans on a plate, pick out any small stones, and them in a strainer.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Put the beans, onion, jalapeños, garlic, cumin, chili powder, oregano, smoked paprika, bay leaves and water in the slow cooker and stir.
Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 5, until the beans are creamy all the way through.
Timer: 480 min
Dolly’s tip: Tomatoes and their acid keep beans firm, which is why they wait until the beans are soft.Stir in the Rotel and salt, turn the slow cooker to High, and cook 30 minutes more.
Timer: 30 min
Fish out the bay leaves, mash about a cup of beans against the side to the pot, and stir in the cilantro and the juice of half the lime.
Thicken. Thickening means cooking a sauce or soup until it’s less runny, by simmering it down or adding something like cornstarch. A thicker sauce clings to food instead of pooling on the plate.
How you’ll know: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger holds its shape.
Wrap the tortillas in a damp paper towel, a stack at a time, and microwave 1 minute, until soft.
Timer: 1 min
Ladle the beans into bowls, top with avocado and queso fresco, and eat with the warm tortillas and the rest of the lime.
Food safety: If you’re pregnant, buy queso fresco labeled “made with pasteurized milk,” and for extra care, warm it until it’s steaming hot.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
