Smoky and seasoned slow cooker pinto beans are full of flavor and take hardly any effort to make. Add dry beans to the slow cooker or crock pot in the morning, and they’re tender and ready to serve by dinner!
No-Soak Slow Cooker Pinto Beans
A batch of pinto beans is one of the easiest things you can make in the slow cooker. These easy crock pot pinto beans are my go-to Tex-Mex side dish on a weeknight, and they’re perfect to use in place of canned beans in recipes for enchiladas or burritos. You can even mash the cooked pinto beans to make slow cooker refried beans!
I serve these flavor-packed pinto beans garnished with a sprinkle of fresh cilantro, extra sliced jalapeños, and chopped cherry tomatoes or pico de gallo. But you can even serve them like a bowl of slow cooker chili, topped with a dollop of sour cream.
Why Cook Beans in the Crock Pot?
- Skip the soaking step. Cooking dried pinto beans on the stove requires soaking them first, usually overnight, but the slow cooker lets you skip this step.
- All-in-one. These beans come out of the slow cooker tender, seasoned, and ready to serve.
- Full of flavor. All those hours of low and slow cooking infuse the beans with so much flavor, without the effort of standing over a stove.
- Use them in any recipes that call for canned beans. You’ll never buy canned beans again once you’ve tasted them fresh from the crock pot!
Ingredients Needed
These are the ingredients you’ll need to make flavorful pinto beans that are ready to serve from the slow cooker. Refer to the recipe card for the exact measurements.
- Dried Pinto Beans – Pinto beans are easy to find in most grocery stores in the US.
- Olive Oil – Avocado oil is my favorite alternative.
- Onion – Finely chopped white or yellow onion.
- Jalapeño – Serrano peppers or poblano peppers are good alternatives. Removing the seeds tames the heat.
- Garlic – Freshly minced, or you can substitute each clove with 1 tablespoon of pre-minced garlic.
- Bay Leaves – You can skip these if you need to, but they do add nice depth of flavor.
- Spices – Smoked paprika and cumin, plus dried oregano, basil, and coriander. You could substitute these individual herbs and spices with taco seasoning if you’d like.
- Vegetable Stock – Slow cookers require liquid. I like to use a combination of water and stock for flavor. Reduced-sodium chicken stock or broth would also work.
Should I Soak Pinto Beans Before Cooking in the Crock Pot?
Nope. One of the perks of cooking dry beans in the slow cooker is that soaking isn’t necessary. I still recommend rinsing the dry beans, though, to remove any dirt or debris. Use a fine mesh sieve and rinse the beans under cold water.
If you do soak your pinto beans beforehand, it’ll reduce the overall time that they take to cook. This can be an option if you’d like a shorter slow-cooking time.
Tips for Perfect Slow Cooker Beans
- Season at the end. Don’t season the beans with salt and pepper at the start of cooking, as salt slows water absorption, prolonging cooking time. Instead, wait until they are done to give your pinto beans one last hit of seasoning.
- Don’t skip the sautéeing step. I don’t recommend adding the onion and jalapeño to the slow cooker raw. Sautéeing is key to enhancing the flavors.
- Add bacon. To add even more flavor to the beans, sauté chopped bacon in the skillet before cooking the onions and jalapeño. You can cook the veggies in the bacon grease and add everything to the slow cooker.
- For creamier beans, stir in a tablespoon of butter or olive oil at the end of cooking.
- To thicken slow cooker beans, scoop out about a cup of the cooked beans, mash or blend them, and return them to the slow cooker. This is my easy trick to thicken pinto beans naturally. Alternatively, you can make a slurry with equal parts cornstarch and cooking juices. Stir the slurry into the beans to thicken them.
FAQs
I cook my pinto beans for 8-9 hours on High. I suggest checking them at the 6-hour mark first. All slow cookers are different, and some may cook the beans faster or slower than others. If they’re not done yet, just leave them to cook for longer, as needed.
Pinto beans are cooked when they’re tender but not mushy or falling apart. Mash a couple of beans against the side of the slow cooker with a fork. If they’re easy to squish, they’re done.
Yes! You can substitute pinto beans with dry black beans, kidney beans, cannellini beans, or navy beans.
Ways to Use Slow Cooker Pinto Beans
One of my absolute favorite things about these crock pot pinto beans is that I can use them just as I would a can of beans. They’re just perfectly seasoned and so much fresher!
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Additional (for serving):
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Prep the beans. Rinse the beans and discard any damaged beans. Transfer the beans to the slow cooker.
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Make the flavor base. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onions and jalapeños to the heated oil and cook, stirring frequently, for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the garlic, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, and coriander, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer the veggies to the slow cooker.
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Add the liquids. Pour the chicken stock and water over the beans and veggies. Add the bay leaves and gently stir the mixture.
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Cook. Cover with the lid and cook the beans on the HIGH setting for 8-9 hours, or until tender. There should be some liquid left in the slow cooker once the cooking is done. Season the beans to taste with salt and pepper.
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Serve. Ladle the pinto beans into bowls, garnish with cilantro, sliced jalapeños, and cherry tomatoes, then serve.
- Do not season the beans at the beginning of the cooking. This may cause beans to cook more slowly.
- To make the beans creamier, you can add 1 tablespoon of butter at the end of cooking or 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- If you’d like to thicken the beans, remove 1 cup of the cooked beans, mash them, and stir them back into the slow cooker. You could also thicken the beans with cornstarch.
Calories: 266kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 642mg | Potassium: 956mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 536IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 94mg | Iron: 4mg
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make Slow Cooker Pinto Beans
This is how to cook dried pinto beans in the crockpot. Yes, this slow cooker recipe takes 8 hours to make, but it’s a mostly hands-free way to cook pinto beans without soaking or hovering over a hot stove. Start these beans in the morning, and they’re ready to eat by dinnertime. You can even let them cook overnight.
- Rinse the beans. Rinse the dry pinto beans and pick out any damaged beans or debris before you add the beans to the slow cooker.
- Sauté the aromatics. Meanwhile, sauté the onion and jalapeño slices in oil. After 3-4 minutes, add the garlic and seasonings. Cook until the spices smell fragrant. Afterward, transfer the veggies to your slow cooker.
- Add the liquid. Add the chicken stock and water to the beans and veggies. Toss in your bay leaves, and give everything a light stir.
- Cook. Now, cook the pinto beans on High for 8-9 hours, until tender. There should be some of the cooking liquid leftover when the beans are done, and that’s OK. Give the cooked beans and sauce a final seasoning with salt and pepper to taste, and serve!
Storing Leftover Beans
- Refrigerate. Store any leftover crockpot pinto beans in an airtight container. They’ll last in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Reheat. Warm the beans in a saucepan on the stovetop or in the microwave, stirring frequently so they reheat evenly.
- Freeze. You can freeze the cooked pinto beans in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw them in the fridge before reheating or using the beans in recipes.
