My mama made this pinto beans recipe all the time because it was easy, flavorful, and cheap boos! The smoked ham hock adds flavor to the broth while the pinto beans get super tender from simmering. Pinto beans are straight-up Southern old-school eating with no frills, just soul. Get into it!
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How to Make Pinto Beans
These step-by-step photos show how to make pinto beans with ham hocks, but be sure to check the recipe card below for the full ingredient list and detailed instructions. Skip to the → Best Pinto Beans Recipe
1. Start with soaked beans, ham hocks, chicken stock, water, bay leaves, and onion
Add them to a large stock pot and give everything a good stir so the beans are fully submerged.
2. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer and cover with a lid
Cook until the beans are tender, stirring occasionally, then season with pepper, garlic powder, and salt, stirring well so everything is evenly seasoned.
3. Taste your simmered pinto beans and adjust seasoning if needed
Serve hot, and enjoy!
PRO TIP: Soak your beans, boos! I like to soak mine overnight or at least 8 to 12 hours. It helps cut down the cook time and makes the beans easier to digest. If you forget, and trust me it happens, you can quick soak them by pouring boiling water over the beans and letting them sit for about an hour. They will plump up and be ready to cook! Just know they might need extra time on the stove compared to an overnight soak.
Full Southern Pinto Beans Recipe
Southern Pinto Bean Recipe
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 (11 ounce) package pinto beans picked through and soaked in lots of water overnight
- 1 quart chicken stock
- 1 quart water
- 1 onion halved or roughly chopped
- 2 halves smoked ham hock (about ¾ pound total)
- 2 bay leaves optional
- 1 tsp black pepper plus more to taste
- 1 tsp garlic powder plus more to taste
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Add the soaked beans, chicken stock, water, onion, ham hocks, and bay leaves (if using) to a large stock pot.
- Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover with a lid, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are nice and tender, about 1 hour 30 minutes.
- Season with pepper, garlic powder, and salt. Serve.
Notes
How to Store
- Fridge: Let the beans cool to room temp, then transfer them to an airtight container. Make sure the beans are fully submerged in the broth so they don’t dry out! They will keep in the fridge for about 4 days.
- Freezer: Cool completely and freeze in airtight containers with plenty of liquid. They will keep well for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
- Reheating: Reheat the beans in a saucepan over medium heat until warmed through, stirring occasionally. If they look thick, splash in a little water or stock to loosen them back up.
Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Start with good dried beans. Pinto beans last a long time on the shelf, but the fresher they are, the faster they cook, and the more evenly they soften. If your beans have been sitting forever, they may take longer.
- Wash and sort through the beans. You will find twigs, rocks, and debris, and you don’t want to eat them.
- Build flavor from the jump. While old-schoolers like my mama used to use water, I find that you can create a richer broth with homemade chicken stock.
- Choose the right meat. Look for smoked ham hocks in the meat section and make sure they’re actually smoked and meaty.
- Let the beans cook just above a simmer. Low heat helps the beans break down, which gives you a creamier broth.
- Don’t forget to pick the meat! Once everything’s tender, pull that ham hock out, pick the meat off the bone, and stir it back into the pot. That’s good eatin boos!
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Serving Ideas
- Cornbread: Ain’t nothing like sopping up your beans with some hot water cornbread or even sweet potato cornbread for a sweet twist.
- Rice: I love ladling homemade pinto beans over simple steamed rice or, for even more flavor, Mexican rice or Jollof rice.
- Classic Southern Mains: Make some old school chicken gizzards or fried chicken or some delish smothered pork chops. And don’t forget a pot of mustard greens to get some down-home veggies in the mix.
- Southern Dessert: Finish everything off with some peach cobbler or cream cheese pound cake.
Recipe Help
Yep for sure boos. My mama took this shortcut plenty of times! I won’t lie, you will lose a bit of flavor and creaminess with this method, but it still gets the job done. Just add everything to the crockpot, stir, and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours, until the ham is tender and falling apart.
Absolutely. You can use a smoked turkey leg, or add 1 tablespoon of liquid smoke to the pot if you want it vegetarian. I will always say ham hocks give the deepest flavor, but if you have a leftover ham bone, toss it in. Don’t waste good flavor, boos!
Yep! It used the entire package of beans I purchased and makes a large quantity, but can be scaled for smaller amounts.
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Mine are cooking as we speak. Daddy was from West by God Virginia. W VA and Mom was from VA. Hubby calls me a cross between a ridge runner and a stump jumper. lol He was a city boy but took to my country cooking like a duck to water and still does 53 years later. I cook them several ways, but I have always soaked mine for at least over night. Rocks don’t get bigger so they are easier to weed out, but My Grannies both did it because the fine dirt sticks to the beans and if you soak pour the water in a clear or white bowl you can see the dirt, not part of the beans. I rinse 3 or 4 times before I start to cook.my favorite is to pull everything out of the pot before they cook down too thick and drop dumpling in the broth, cook them until done and then pour it all back into the pot. My recipe but I have not had any complaints from anyone and there are never any left over. No matter how we all cook it’s always nice to change everything up once in a while for a little variety.
Do you add the pepper, salt and onion powder in the beginning of the cooking process? Or, do we add those after they have cooked for 1-1:30?
I do all the same cleaning & prepping for the beans, but along with the onion & Ham hocks I add a can of Rotel tomatoes & 1 can of cream of mushroom. Nothing like sittin down & eating these beans, cornbread & cold iced tea.Yum!
Nice recipe, very similar to my grandmother’s. I use dried pintos and pick through them (pain in the butt but well worth it) to find the best. Rinse and rinse and rinse again. Then pour them into a pot and cover with clear room temp water (not tap water, she had well water from a well my grandfather, papaw had doused and dug). Mamaw, my grandmother, boiled her water and filtered it through many layers of clean cloth, then set aside to cool before covering the beans. She would let them soak for up to a day and a half. But, I only soak for them for 18 hours or so then skim off the top and drain and rinse a couple times. I use an old cast iron Dutch oven inherited from Mamaw. It’s small compared to what she used, but she made it to feed a large hungry farm family.
Onion, smoked ham hocks, pepper, very simple slow cooked over low heat. It was delicious served with her cornbread. I can’t quite match my memory of hers though. Close but not quite there. Maybe she slipped in some bay leaves when I wasn’t looking. My cousin suggested juniper berries, but she’s probably pulling my leg.
Great post!
The meat probably had a different taste back then and that’s why you can’t get her exact taste. Who knows but it’s hard to copy their cooking back then. They always kept a secret. Lol
This is it! Five stars!! The beans that bring me back to my own mama’s dinner table. They taste just like them. And even better on the second day!! I didn’t have any chicken stock so I had to use Better Than Bouillon but it worked. I simmered them with the lid on for the first 20 minutes, then the lid off for the remainder of the time because I like a creamy consistency, but that’s just a personal preference. I won’t know how they are on the third day because the family devoured them! Thanks for the memories!!
I made this tonight. Matter of fact, it just now finished cooking. It’s fabulous. I used the quick soak method before I cooked the beans. I’d definitely make this one again. Next time I might add some chilies. Thanks for sharing.
Five stars because the recipe sounds good. But I have a question on the type of pots you use. I have a cast-iron heavy pot with a heavy lid and this is my first time using it. The inside of the pot has a coating that is white. They have a name for it, but I am having brain farts right now, and can’t think of the name. It claims it is the perfect bean and stew pot. This is why we bought it. So is cooking time reduced in these and what about water requirements more water or less? I do know you cook in these things on very low if you use the heavy lid. Any help is appreciated thanks for your time and support.
You need to season your pan. Just google it and there will be tons of seasoning web pages. Also only use human grade biodegradable soap (if you use soap). Cast iron and stoneware are best when you just rinse them with water only while hot. The longer you cook with the pan, the better your recipes will taste.
It sounds like your pot is enameled, which means you should use wood or silicon utensils inside and you can wash with soap like any other dishes. It does not need seasoning if it’s enameled. It will get very hot, so once you get a soup or stew to a boil turn it down to low to let it simmer, especially if using the lid.
Is your cast-iron pot with a white interior a Le Creuset?
Yes but I also use a lot of Staub products!
Do you know how long it would take to cook in slow cooker???
This can go for about 6-8 hours on low for sure.
Excellent recipe!
Fantastic!
Can you use sausage vs ham hocks?
We usually switch to turkey wings or turkey legs instead of ham hocks. I haven’t tried it at sausage.
Just made them. They taste wonderful. Waiting for the cornbread to get done baking. YUMMO. Quick question: what is the serving SIZE? I see all of the other stats, but not sure if that particular but tod info.
Basically a bowl. Hooray! I’m so so glad you enjoyed them.
I thought I would try this ad it seemed simple enough. And boy are they delish. I used pink Himalayan salt and fresh ground pepper. For my cornbread I decided to cook like my mom makes and that is baked in a cast iron skillet. Thank you for posting this simple yet tasty recipe.
Happy Thanksgiving and you have a happy holiday season.
Hooray thank you so so much!! I’m so glad you enjoyed these.