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 beans get super tender from simmering. This is straight up Southern old school eating with no frills, just soul.
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Pinto Beans Ingredients
- Pinto beans: Make sure you wash and sort through the dried beans. You will find twigs, rocks, and debris, and you don’t want to eat them.
- Chicken stock: While old schoolers like my mama used to just use water, I find that you can create a richer broth by using chicken stock.
- Onion: White, yellow, or sweet onion will work.
- Smoked ham hock: You can find these in the meat section at most grocery stores. Very important: make sure they are smoked and super meaty! If you aren’t a fan, just substitute with a smoked turkey leg, which is equally as good. If you don’t want meat at all, you can use 1 tablespoon of liquid smoke. I find the hocks are more flavorful and smoky but if you have a leftover ham bone, don’t let it go to waste and use it to flavor your pinto beans.
- Herbs and spices: All you need are bay leaves, garlic powder, black pepper, and salt to season these perfectly.
How to make Pinto Beans
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
Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Cook just above a simmer for a creamier texture. Keeping that heat low adds more body to the liquid that results in creaminess as the beans break down.
- Newer Beans are Best: Beans are shelf stable but the longer they sit around the longer they take to cook.
- Don’t forget to pick the meat: After cooking, you can pick the meat from the bones and stir into the beans. That’s good eatin boos!
- Soak your beans. It’s important for more even cooking and also better for digestion.
Serving Suggestions
- 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
I personally prefer soaking mine overnight or for at least 8-12 hours. This will shorten the cook time and make them easier to digest. Of course if you forget (been there, done that plenty), you can quick soak them.
If you forget to soak them overnight, you can use the quick soak method. Just pour boiling water over your beans and let them sit for an hour. The beans will absorb some of the liquid and plump up as they sit. Just note they may need to cook slightly longer than beans soaked overnight.
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 however. To make southern-style pinto beans in a crock pot, add all of the ingredients to the pot and stir until fully combined. Cook on low for 7-8 hours, or until the ham is tender and falling apart.
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I appreciate you sharing this recipe…the only thing different is instead of chicken stock I use a can of coke. It adds to the flavor and takes some of the gas away. My family loves them. Hope if you try, you’ll post your comment. Enjoy.
This recipe sounds wonderful
Fried potato’s and cornbread baked with corn and a little dill weed and I’m 12 years old again. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Wow I just know I’m gonna enjoy my pot of beans, got them soaking in the crock pot right now.
I’m an ex-pat of a very southern state and this is a great bean recipe and happy to know I can use smoked turkey.
Suggestion for the hater writing a nasty comment, maybe you should just disappear. Your rudeness is rude and socially unacceptable.
Ruthi, How can you make a comment like that. To Karen:
Ruthi says
December 31, 2020 at 9:41 pm
And ya didn’t learn how to cook them from your Mamma??
My mother died when I was 22 years old. Did I ever ask her. NO. She was supposed to live forever. Don’t think that she might have tried or didn’t have the time. What a nasty comment to send to another member. I have 20 recipes that I would have loved to get from my Mother. That’s not what you think about when they are dying. She never wrote them down, just knew how to do it.
Your one bitter and ugly to what you have to say. If you don’t have some good to say don’t say it. Unless it about the recipe. You don’t need to bring up her mother into it
This is the way my Momma always cooked them and finally I found the RIGHT recipe! Thank you!
And ya didn’t learn how to cook them from your Mamma??
Thank you. This is delicious. I didn’t soak the beans before I cooked them and they are really good. I didn’t have a bay leaf or ham hock but put ham pieces in and it seasoned them well. I will cook these again.
This my go to receipe for pinto beans. For me, the crucial element is the hock. I buy from a local farmers(not smoked) which turn out very tender.
Keep on cooking Grand Baby Cakes!
Is there a substitute for chicken stock.
Yes you can use broth, or vegetable stock/broth as well. or even water but it won’t have as much flavor.
Plain old water! Cook the beans adding water as it cooks down, I cook mine 3hours but I don’t soak mine! When their done in 3 hours your beans have started breaking up and gives you a nice thick broth! If you like them soupy just add more water! All I do is add bacon or ham and salt and pepper to taste!!And some corn bread to the meal and I’m in my comfort place!
When cooking for my vegetarian friends I use “Not-Chick’n Bouillon Cubes” or “Better Than Bouillon Seasoned Vegetable Base” in my cooking water. Both are great, but taste as you go because they are quite salty and it’s easy to overdo it! You may want to add the salt (if needed) after you’ve added the bouillon just to be safe. Obviously, I skip the ham hocks on these occasions! And, since I’m a Louisiana girl, a little cayenne pepper is a requirement.
I just put on a pot of beans and this is the first time I am trying chicken stock. I just use the bullions and added to the rest. I also modified and chopped up a jalapeno to cook with it. Hope they turn out good.
Can this be cooked in a crockpot? If so for how long?
Definitely can be done in the crockpot. You can start at 4 hours he suggests.