This recipe is an adapted version of my friend Nyla’s crockpot pinto beans. One taste of these perfectly delicious beans and you’ll be convinced there’s no need to ever purchase canned beans!
And if you like refried beans, I’ve included directions for using these beans to make homemade refried beans as well.
If you’re new to soaking, please check out “How to Soak Grains for Optimal Nutrition.”
Ingredients
- 2 cups of soaked pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 cups filtered water (or bone broth, if using salted broth, reduce the salt below by half)
- 1 tbsp sea salt
- 1/3 tbsp all-purpose herb seasoning (I like Simply Organic brand)
- 2 garlic cloves, halved
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
Instructions
- The afternoon/evening before you plan to serve the beans, place 2 cups of dried beans in colander and pick through them removing any small stones or other foreign matter.
- Rinse the beans well and place in a large glass bowl, or remove your ceramic crockpot from its base and soak directly in the crockpot.
- Add about four times the volume of very warm water to beans. (I use a combo of half "almost boiling" water to room temp water.)
- Place bowl (or ceramic crockpot) in your oven with the oven light on and the door closed for 8-12 hours. (You might want to leave a post-it on your oven door to remind you not to turn on your oven – trust me – been there done that! Ha ha!)
- If you have time, ideally, it's best to drain the beans, rinse them and put them back through this same soak process again (which would extend the soak time and help to further reduce phytic acid, and further increase digestibility).
- Once soaking time is complete, drain and rinse beans thoroughly.
- Place beans in the crockpot with rest of ingredients. Cook on high for 7-8 hours, or until beans reach desired softness.
- Use leftover beans to make refried beans(see recipe below).
Notes
Homemade Refried Beans recipe: You can easily make refried beans using this same recipe. Simply cook the beans until they are very soft and can be easily mashed between your thumb and index finger. Then, use a potato masher to mash the beans, adding a little olive oil, if necessary, to reach desired consistency. (I like to leave a few bean lumps, but if you like them really smooth, you can use an electric hand mixer to get them really smooth and creamy.) Mmm!