My Grandma, who was from Oklahoma, taught me how to cook pinto beans. My mother used to claim that the beans I made were the greatest she had ever eaten, so I added to the recipe. Serve with cornbread and steamed vegetables the Southern manner.
| Prep Time: | 10 mins |
| Cook Time: | 3 hrs |
| Additional Time: | 4 hrs |
| Total Time: | 7 hrs 10 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried pinto beans
- 6 cups water, or more as needed to cover
- 1 smoked ham hock
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 (6.5 ounce) can tomato sauce
Instructions
- Cover pinto beans with water in a large bowl. Soak beans for 4 hours, changing water every 30 to 45 minutes. Drain.
- Bring 6 cups water to a boil in a large pot. Add pinto beans, ham hock, and kosher salt to the pot. Pour in more water if needed to cover ingredients by at least 1 inch.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until beans are just tender, 2 to 3 hours.
- Remove ham hock from beans; cut meat from the bone, chop the ham, and return to pot.
- Stir tomato sauce and brown sugar into the beans. Continue to simmer until beans are tender and flavors are blended, about 1 more hour.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 353 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 50 g |
| Cholesterol | 23 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 16 g |
| Protein | 22 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 509 mg |
| Sugars | 4 g |
| Fat | 8 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I featured this dish in a buffet lunch for 12 guests. I began preparing it the day before. I took the recipe through Step 4, then put it in the refrigerator overnight. Step 5 was executed in a slow cooker. I used molasses instead of the brown sugar. It was delicious!
I use smoked turkey leg instead of ham hock (relative is allergic to pork) and it turns out perfect.
We like our beans a little sweeter so I doubled the amount of brown sugar. Even then, they are not very sweet, you get just a hint of the brown sugar. This recipe is simple and easy to make. To save time, we soak our beans the night before and do one rinse in the morning. 1 lb of beans is not a lot so if you have 4 or more in your family and you enjoy leftovers the following day, consider doing 2 lbs of beans at a time and a 2nd batch of cornbread
Outstanding! I used a ham bone and took about 2 c of meat off it. I did add a can of roasted green chiles. Yummy. Made a pan of cornbread and we were eating high on the hog!
I am always being asked to share my Pinto Bean recipe. Best recipe ever
I’ve never had much success with dried bean recipes but these turned out great! I used twice as much tomato sauce (one 15 oz. can) and double the brown sugar.
I added some additional spices and will continue to tweak, but this is a solid good recipe.
I made it but without the ham hock. I used a link sausage sliced in 1/4 pieces that I added when the beans were almost done. Really, really good.
I added dried cherry tomato’s I had dried and frozen a couple years ago. They were a good addition, but the original was excellent.
Made it just the way it is written except I probably used a little less water and I soaked the beans overnight. This is so simple yet so flavorful and satisfying. I may play with it in the future like add some onion or celery but am more than happy with the leftovers for now!
Only 6 ingredients! I did a quick soak on beans and followed recipe with no changes. Turned out very flavorful and on a cold night served with cornbread… oh…so good! Thanks for sharing.
Fantastic (added an entire bottle of tamed jalapenos) made a huge mess but well worth it!!
Used a smoked turkey leg in place of the ham hock. Also used vegetable broth in place of water., added half an onion, two garlic cloves and a bayleaf. I thought it was lacking in flavor a bit. Next time I would add more herbs and spices.
Incredibly good as made per recipe, unless you want to add more salt to taste and maybe a touch of red pepper. Yep, better than Grandma made I’m sure.
Instead of ham hock–use smoked pork jowel–great flavor- you will never go back–Joe Stick- ada, Ok.
I love this recipe. I grew up on pintos, it was a family favorite on a cold winters day. My mother made it without the tomato base. I used a can of tomato paste, added three cloves of crushed garlic and a tablespoon of BADIA pinto beans seasoning to my pot. I really enjoyed the outcome! I’ll be Adding this recipe to my favorites
Very good recipe. Full of flavor and super hearty. Will absolutely make again!
No changes and really tasty. Even the picky kids ate it!
Never made with pinto beans always navy beans. Had to add a little more brown sugar so they weren’t so bland.
The first time I made these beans I followed the recipe to the T and they were great. The second time I made these, I switched it up a little. I used cubed ham that was marinated in liquid smoke for 3 hrs. and I also added a hint of BBQ seasoning. This was done to just put a little spin on this recipe, which is already a great recipe. Love It. Thanks.
Very bland.