I like to stock up on canned beans whenever I see them on sale. However I have been preferring to buy dry beans and then cooking them up from scratch. I’ve learned that this isn’t much more work, and it’s worth it because the slow-cooked beans are so tasty and inexpensive. You can flavor them any way you want. They could be a side dish or a main dish depending on how much your family likes to eat.

Today I am sharing a slow-cooked pinto bean recipe with you. I’ve made this dish a few times and thought it was high time to share it on my blog. I have flavored my beans with grilled onions, garlic, jalapeno, and a few other spices. Grilling the onion, garlic, and tomatoes gives the beans a wonderful smoky flavor that you won’t get otherwise.

Another secret to my flavorful beans is to use leftover trimmed chicken skin. Anytime I buy whole chicken or pieces with skin, I take the skin out or trim the excess. I put the excess skin in a freezer bag and freeze it for later. I get some out whenever I need extra flavor for beans or lentils. Once the beans cook I discard the skin to avoid having extra oil or any other fats.

Instead of this approach, you could try adding another protein like bacon or sausage. You could also go with just vegetables, and add a veggie stock instead of water, and also add salt to taste.

I have served these beans over rice to my family and they really loved them! They like it as a main course, but you could also use this dish as a side to your taco dinner.

I will still buy beans in a can occasionally, but I’ve learned to love making beans from scratch — they are both cheaper and more delicious!

I hope you try this one when you are looking for something really tasty! Do let me know if you like the recipe and how you have changed it. I really enjoy hearing from you.

Ingredients

Beans

• 1 large tomato, cut in half
• 1 yellow onion, peeled, trimmed, cut in half
• 1 whole jalapeno chili
• 1 tbsp. canola oil
• 1 tsp. salt or more
• 10 whole cloves peeled garlic, or about 1/4 cup
• 1 lbs. pinto beans, cleaned, soaked overnight
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tbsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 2 tbsp. chicken base
• 1 cup chicken skins or bacon
• 6 cups water

To serve

• Diced yellow onions
• Tortilla chips
• Chopped cilantro
• Lime wedges

Instructions

To soak beans

Place beans in a large measuring cup or in bowl and sift through them to remove any stones or debris. Rinse them well and soak them with 2-3 inches of water. Keep them soaking in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, or overnight.

Cooking the beans

Place tomato, onion, garlic, jalapeno, and 1/2 tsp. salt in a large bowl. Sprinkle oil over the ingredients. Use a clean hand to toss everything together gently.

Heat an indoor electric grill over medium high heat. Grill veggies, until all sides of the veggies have nice grill marks.

In the meantime, rinse the soaked beans thoroughly, then place it in the slow cooker along with grilled veggies and the rest of the ingredients. Stir well, then cook the beans in high heat for 4 hours, checking and stirring time to time or until beans are cooked. Discard the chicken skins, bay leaves, and jalapeno stem from the beans.

Use a potato masher or any kind of large spoon to break up the grill veggies and some of the beans. Remove jalapeno seeds for less spice before you break up the veggies. I didn’t remove the seeds from mine as I thought it was perfect for our family.

You can serve this beans over cooked rice or as a side for your taco dinner. I served it as a soup with all the toppings I have mentioned in my garnish part of the ingredients list.

Serves 6-8

Did you make this dish? I’d love to know how it turns out! Feel free to like this post and comment or use the hashtag #globaldinein on Instagram. If you would like to be notified of upcoming posts, please consider subscribing to my blog!