14 Ways To Upgrade Pinto Beans

All hail, the humble pinto bean! These popular but totally unassuming beans show up time and time again in dishes, and are perhaps most commonly used as the base of refried beans — and for good reason, too. Pinto beans have the perfect balance of creaminess to nuttiness, which allows them to break down beautifully while retaining their flavor. Plus, they're immensely versatile and work well with other taste notes, so they can slip in and out of dishes seamlessly.

However, how do you allow pinto beans to stand up on their own, instead of being swallowed up in other recipes? Well, it turns out that there are plenty of ways to make pinto beans the star of the show and upgrade them with other elements that allow them to really stand out. By adding creamier or meatier flavors, you can bring out the nuttiness of the beans, while adding unexpected alcoholic ingredients can give them a mellowness and accentuate their slightly savory notes. Certain cooking methods can also change up the texture of the beans and turn them into a tasty snack or appetizer. It's time to change the game on pintos, folks.

Everyone knows that pinto beans are creamy and rich when they're cooked thoroughly enough, but sometimes they need a little help. Well, that help can come in the form of cheese. Adding cheese to pinto beans can give them an extra smoothness and richness, and bring out their nutty notes through the contrast provided by the sharp, salty dairy. In addition, turning pintos into cheesy beans is a good way to make them stretch further and add some extra protein, and it also works as a base to add herbs and spices to further increase flavor.

The versatility of pinto beans means that you can add loads of different types of cheeses. If you want a simple, straightforward option, go for shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack. You can also use mozzarella, but you might find that the neutrality of the flavor doesn't lift the beans very much. If you want a sharper, slightly more funky result, try throwing in some feta or finely grated halloumi (although bear in mind that neither of these cheeses will melt in the same way as others, so you may not get that deliciously gooey result).

Want to completely transform your pinto beans? Bust out your air fryer. When you air fry pinto beans, or any type of beans for that matter, they burst and turn delightfully crispy. Essentially, they turn into a kind of bean popcorn, which works perfectly as a bar snack or as something to munch on between meals. Just like popcorn, in their base form, these beans are nutritious and full of fiber, and they're also super cost-effective.

If that wasn't good enough, they're also incredibly versatile on a flavor level. You can toss pinto bean popcorn in your favorite spice mix to give them a kick, or coat them in a little melted butter to bring out their smoothness. Alternatively, you can season them more simply, by sprinkling them with salt and black pepper. Just make sure that you coat them in a good amount of oil before air frying them, because if you don't, they can come out a little chalky and unpleasant. You'll also need to shake the basket or turn them every now and again, to ensure that they cook evenly.

Pinto beans are seriously at home with smoky flavors, but they're typically served as an accompaniment to them, instead of being combined with a smoky element. Well, it's time to change that up. Adding smoky tones to pinto beans can help bring the bean's flavor to the forefront, with the smokiness acting as a bed for the nutty, gently savory beans to sit.

There are plenty of ways to add smokiness to pinto beans, but we prefer to use barbecue flavors to do so. Fear not, folks: We're not suggesting anything as uncreative as just dousing your beans in barbecue sauce (that could work, but it'd likely lead to a fairly one-note dish). Instead, coat your beans in a combination of barbecue spices, a homemade barbecue rub, or a little smoked paprika and sumac, and then fry them in some hot oil. When fried, the beans will crisp up, turning into a delicious, crunchy snack that goes perfectly with red wine. If you want to keep things a little healthier, you can also roast or air-fry your beans for a similar result.

If you want a super-easy dish that puts pinto beans at its center, and simultaneously honors the flavors that it normally goes with, then all you really need is some taco seasoning. Adding this to your beans immediately livens them up, with the combination of herbs, spices, and aromatics creating a flavor sensation. The garlic and onion powder present in most seasoning blends add a vegetal base, while the dried herbs like oregano or thyme give a herbal lift. Meanwhile, cumin lightly perfumes the beans and brings out their light umami notes, while chili powder brings the heat. You don't even need to add any salt, either, as it's usually included in the seasoning blend itself.

As for how to use taco seasoning, you can sprinkle it over a bowl of beans and serve it straight away, but doing so will give you an undeveloped flavor. Most of the spices in taco seasoning need to be cooked before they're fully aromatic and flavorful. So, we'd recommend sautéeing an onion and your favorite vegetables, and then throwing your beans in with them. Add the taco seasoning and fry everything together until it gives off an intoxicating scent.

You can add pinto beans to the long list of foods that are improved by bacon. It's probably no surprise to anybody, but bacon vastly improves these beans with its smoky, salty, sweet, savory flavor profile. However, what's particularly special about the interplay between pinto beans and bacon is that the beans offer a delightful counterpoint to the intensity of the bacon, helping to mellow it out. In turn, the bacon lifts the gentle flavors of the beans and makes them taste even richer.

Bacon also slicks your pinto beans with fat, making them even richer-tasting and stopping them from becoming too pulpy. What's more, you can cube it up to match the size of the beans, meaning every mouthful will be spoonable and consistent. As for which bacon to combine with your beans, you can use pretty much any type you want. Add unsmoked bacon for a slightly more straightforward flavor, or use the smoked kind for added depth and mellowness. You can even try swapping bacon for pancetta, which can help you save on the chopping and give your beans added punch.

Pinto beans are renowned for their creaminess, but achieving that creaminess can sometimes take a lot of pot-watching and stirring. In our humble opinion, this is unnecessary if you wield the power of your slow cooker. Crock pot pinto beans are one of our go-to ways to center the dish in a hands-off way. When your pinto beans simmer away in your slow cooker, they turn soft and creamy without breaking down entirely, giving you a variety of textures and developing their flavors. You can add pretty much any herb or spice combo you want here, too.

Importantly, though, if you're making slow-cooked pinto beans, you have to start with the right type. Ensure you're using dried pinto beans, and not the canned variety, as cooking these in the slow cooker will reduce them to soup. The added benefit of using the dried variety is that they have so much more flavor, and allow the base notes of the pinto beans to really shine through — and you don't have to do anything to achieve it. Just set it, forget it, and come back to a delicious dinner eight hours later.

When you think of guacamole, you generally don't think of beans being in it — but adding pinto beans to your dip can amp it up enormously. Stirring mashed pinto beans into guacamole gives it an added creaminess and bulk, and a slightly more earthy flavor that works well with the sharper notes. The avocado, meanwhile, pairs excellently with the beans themselves, with its mild taste serving to highlight their nuttiness.

Additionally, adding pinto beans to some fresh guacamole makes it slightly more nutritious and filling. By including pinto beans you get an extra boost of fiber and protein, as well as some extra key vitamins and minerals like iron and magnesium. If that wasn't enough, adding beans helps you stretch the guacamole further, doing so in a cost-effective way. Just make sure your beans are really soft before adding them to your guac, as any chalkiness will just ruin the dip entirely and take away its smoothness.

Pinto beans and salsa are a match made in heaven, and frequently show up on the same table. It's less common that they show up in the same dish, though. However, by transforming your salsa by adding pinto beans, you can make it way more substantial while simultaneously adding a mellow, almost buttery note into the mix. Adding pinto beans to salsa salads helps provide them with a woody note that stops the other ingredients from seeming too tart and sharp. At the same time, the corn, tomatoes, onions, and herbs in a fresh salsa salad, together with a few other ingredients like corn, tomatoes, and bell peppers, will make your beans taste more lively and multi-faceted.

Using pinto beans over another type of bean in this type of salad is a natural choice, as the beans are roughly the size you'll want your vegetables to be cubed. That means there's no need to do any extra chopping. Crucially, it's worth mentioning that if you're adding pinto beans to a salsa salad, then the salad should be fairly dry. Essentially, you're aiming for a pico de gallo texture, instead of a saucy one.

You know what makes pinto beans better? Other beans. That may sound a little strange, but hear us out. Generally speaking, most beans have a similar taste and texture, offering up an earthy, slightly creamy flavor and a pulpy consistency. However, beans do vary slightly in their individual tastes. Black beans, for instance, have a slightly sweet note and a woodiness that almost compares to mushrooms. This can mean that pairing your pinto beans with black beans or any other type helps to accentuate their specific qualities, and lets you taste them in a new fullness.

You have a lot of freedom in which types of beans to pair with your pintos. For a uniform consistency, try aiming for beans with have similar sizes. Black beans, black-eyed peas, and navy beans are all good choices here. You can also go for chopped-up green beans, which provide an even bigger flavor contrast thanks to their slightly sprightlier taste. Conversely, it's a good idea to avoid types that are too chunky, like butter or fava beans. Although, hey, if you wanna mix them, go for it. It's your meal, after all.

Sometimes, to enjoy a food in all its glory, you have to seriously mix things up. That's exactly what happens when you turn your pinto beans into a bean burger. Pinto beans are an excellent choice for making into burgers, because their consistency really lends itself to being formed into patties. They have a density that allows them to remain in shape, but which doesn't become too pulpy or tiring to chew through. Their brownish color also allows them to resemble regular burgers, so you might even be able to sneak them past your kids.

However, the reason we really love using them in burgers is that all of that pinto bean flavor really shines through. The slightly earthy taste of pinto beans holds its own when it's formed into a patty, and its creaminess makes for very moreish burgers. Plus, pinto beans are well-suited to taking on basically any other flavor you want to add in. To give a pronounced flavor that doesn't distract from the beans, try adding in some crushed tortilla chips (which also work as a binder), with onions and cilantro.

We love combining pinto beans with meat, and ham hocks are one of our favorite types to use. When you simmer pinto beans with ham hocks, the beans absorb all of the meat's savory, rich, smoky flavors. Each bite of beans ends up bursting with flavor, and yet the taste of the beans themselves still stays strong and distinctive. As the hocks are usually simmered alongside aromatics like onions, garlic, and bay leaves, the tastes and aromas from those also infuse into the beans. Plus, the beans become creamy and soft, without descending into mush, and the hocks end up fork-tender.

The best way to cook ham hocks and pinto beans is to start with the dried version of the latter. If you try to simmer canned beans with the hocks, the beans will be done way before the meat is, and you'll either have to take out the ham before it's properly cooked or risk turning your beans into a soup. Soak your beans overnight, and then simmer the two ingredients with your added extras for about 90 minutes. Serve it over rice or with a big hunk of bread, and thank us when you're done.

Everyone knows that beer goes incredibly well with a variety of foods — but other than beer batters and beer-infused meat dishes, it tends not to be used as an ingredient in our meals that often. However, harnessing its power with pinto beans can take the legumes to the next level. Borracho beans, or frijoles borrachos, is a dish that combines pintos with bacon, vegetables, and spices, and simmers the whole thing in a beery broth. As the beans simmer, they're infused with the hoppy, malty flavor of the beer, which plays excellently with their nuttiness.

The beer-infused broth also softens the beans beautifully, turning them creamy and rich, while mellowing out the sharper flavors of the bacon and spices in the dish. As borracho beans have to simmer for a while to gain their full flavor, it's best to start with dried beans. This simmering process will also evaporate the alcohol from the beer, which stops it from tasting too boozy (and from inadvertently making your guests drunk). The best part is that you can use pretty much any beer you'd like (apart from sour ones, which will ruin its flavor), although we'd recommend opting for a darker ale to give your food a fuller, maltier taste.

We love braising pretty much anything, but for some reason, the cooking method isn't used that frequently when it comes to beans. Well, we think it's time to change that — and you can start by braising your pinto beans. Braising beans may be similar to merely simmering them, but where it differs is the quick searing you give your pintos before you add your water. This gives the outside of the beans a toasty, slightly caramelized note, deepening their natural flavor and giving each bite way more roundness.

Because braising doesn't generally use as much water as when you simmer your beans in a soup or stew, you'll also end up with a creamier end product. Plus, the beans break down relatively quickly, so you don't have to simmer them for hours on end to get a tender result. Braised pinto beans can be ready in about half an hour if you're working with canned or pre-prepared varieties. Plus, you can add any aromatics, vegetables, or spices you want into the pan with them, as pinto beans are versatile enough to take on most flavors.

Using beans as a stuffing is an underrated move, and one we're all for using more, starting with pinto-stuffed peppers. By using pinto beans as an ingredient in stuffed peppers, you give your meal way more heft while also adding a gently woody flavor note. This note works brilliantly with the sweeter, slightly more citrusy taste of the peppers, and with the piquant flavors of any spices you throw in there. Plus, your beans will be elevated by all the other flavors — instead of falling into the background, they'll be a stand-out ingredient.

There's no need to stop at peppers, though. Try using your pinto beans as a stuffing in different meals, too. Pack stuffed cabbage leaves with pinto beans, and stretch your meal further while adding a gently earthy flavor. Alternatively, replace your regular meat stuffing with beans to give it a vegetal tone that contrasts with the rich protein. Heck, you can even stuff hollowed-out marrows with beans. We told you this ingredient was versatile, guys, and we weren't kidding.