Slow-Cooker Pinto Beans

  • Slow Cooker
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If you have yet to cook beans from scratch and own a slow cooker, this is the recipe for you! It comes together with pantry ingredients, requires minimal prep and thanks to the slow cooker, you’ll be rewarded with plump, perfectly tender beans with almost zero hands-on time. (Navy beans would also work well here.) Seasoned with warm spices and pickled jalapenos, they are a great side dish. Or serve them over rice or with warm tortillas as a meal.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound dried pinto beans, rinsed and picked over (see cook’s note)
  • 48 ounces low-sodium chicken broth (or one 32-ounce carton plus 2 cups water)
  • one 8-ounce jar mild or hot diced pickled jalapeños
  • 2 tablespoons dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 2 dried bay leaves
  • 1/4 cup cilantro leaves plus 1/4 cup chopped cilantro stems, optional
  • kosher salt
  • 3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar or crumbled cotija or queso fresco
  • 1 lime, cut into wedges

Directions

  1. Put the beans, chicken broth, pickled jalapeños and brine from the jar in a 4-to-7-quart slow cooker. Stir in the oregano, cumin, garlic, bay leaves, cilantro stems if using and 1 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook on high until the beans are tender but still hold their shape, 8 to 10 hours.
  2. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Use the back of a spoon to smash the garlic cloves, then stir them into the beans. Serve topped with the cheese, cilantro leaves and lime wedges.

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