Published: · Modified: by Bren
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Ignite your taste buds with the savory flavors of the southwest: pinto beans infused with lively spices and a rich, hearty sauce. This easy, homemade recipe for Ranch Style Beans is budget-friendly and delicious.
Why You Should Try Cooking with Dried Beans
New cooks often find cooking dried pinto beans quite intimidating. They’re hard, wrinkled seeds in a boring plastic bag on the grocery store’s bottom shelf.
But don’t let their looks fool you; dried beans are one of the easiest dishes to prepare – especially if you use a slow cooker recipe.
You just throw in a few tasty flavorings and allow your crock pot to do all the work. Then, at the end of a long day, you can enjoy delicious southwest ranch-style beans for dinner.
It’s really that easy!
Dried Beans Are Affordable
In addition to being easy to cook, a bag of dried pinto beans is extremely affordable, about $0.05 -$0.08 an ounce.
- The 3-pound bag I used in this recipe costs $2.89 and contains about 5.5 cups of dried beans.
- A 15-ounce can of pinto beans costs around $1.30 and contains the equivalent of 1/2 cup of dry beans.
- This means a 3-pound bag of dried beans is equal to 11 cans of beans, which would cost $14.30.
Dried Beans Are Healthy
Dried beans are simply beans with no other ingredients added. Most canned beans contain a lot of sodium and are exposed to BPA in the lining of the can.
Beans contain lots of protein and fiber and are relatively low in calories. ( Read more about the health benefits of beans here.)
Beans are an excellent option for meatless meals because they are a sustainable source of protein that is convenient, satisfying, and versatile in various dishes.
Have I convinced you to try cooking dried beans? If the cost savings and health benefits haven’t convinced you, I am sure this recipe will do the trick.
What are Ranch Style Beans?
Ranch-style beans are a hearty and flavorful preparation of pinto beans inspired by Southwest-style or Tex-Mex cuisine. The exact recipe may vary, but the term suggests bold and zesty flavors reminiscent of cowboys cooking over an open fire. Beans were a reliable and economical protein source that ranchers and cowboys depended on for sustenance due to their simplicity and affordability.
What kind of beans are ranch-style beans made from?
Ranch-style beans are pinto beans cooked with many of the same seasonings as chili. They are similar to baked beans in texture but don’t include pork or brown sugar, making them a vegetarian dish.
Southwest Ranch Style Beans Recipe
The best part about this pinto bean recipe is its versatility.
We enjoy pinto beans andrice one night, then use them as homemade refried beans in tacos another day (simply mash the beans in their own sauce). We serve them with cornbread, make them into burritos, use them as a chili ingredient, as a side dish, and as a topping for nachos.
The recipe fills my 6-quart crock pot; after cooking, I cool the beans and divide them into small portions to freeze, then defrost as needed.
Southwest Ranch Style Beans (Crock Pot Pinto Beans Recipe)
5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star5 from 2 reviews
- Author: Bren
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 480 minutes
- Total Time: 490 minutes
- Yield: 19 cups 1x
- Category: Crockpot
- Method: Crock Pot
- Cuisine: Southwestern
Description
This simple vegetarian dish cooks in your crockpot and results in plump tender pintos in a flavorful sauce. The taste is southwestern with cumin, garlic and chili powder (sometimes called ranch-style beans). The best part about this pinto bean recipe is its versatility. We enjoy them over rice or with cornbread one night, as refried beans another day (simply mash the beans in their own sauce), made into burritos, as a chili ingredient, and as a topping for nachos. The recipe fills my 6 quart crockpot; after making the recipe I simply cool the beans and divide them into smaller potions to freeze.
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 lbs dried pinto beans
- 1 cup diced white onion
- 1 can tomatoes with green chilies (10-ounce can)
- 3 Tbsp chili powder
- 2 Tbsp minced garlic
- 3 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
- 1 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 3 bay leaves (remove before serving)
- 3 tsp salt (to taste, do not add until fully cooked)
Instructions
- Rinse dried beans in a colander to remove any dirt or dust.
- Pick out any black, discolored beans or stems
- Place beans in crock pot and fill with water until water is 3 inches over beans.
- Cover and let soak overnight.
- Drain water from the crockpot.
- Return soaked beans to crock pot.
- Add all additional ingredients except salt (salt can interfere with the water absorption/softening of the beans – wait until the cooking is done to salt)
- Add water until it is ½ inch above the beans and stir to combine
- Set crockpot on low, cover and cook 8 hours.
- Check to see if beans are soft, remove bay leaves, and stir in salt to taste.
- Serve over rice or with cornbread or tortillas. Top with your choice of chopped cilantro, green onions, jalapenos, grated cheese, sour cream, salsa, taco sauce, hot sauce, and/or crumbled tortilla chips.
- Freeze small portions of beans to use in Tex-Mex recipes.
Notes
How to Make Ranch Style Beans on the Stove Top: Rinse dried beans in a colander to remove any dirt or dust. Pick out any black, discolored beans or stems. Place beans in a large pot and fill with water until water is 3 inches over the beans. Cover and let soak overnight. Drain beans and return to pot. Add all additional ingredients except salt. Add water until it is ½ inch above the beans and stir to combine.Bring beans to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cover and cook until beans are tender and cooked through but not mushy, approximately 2-2 1/2 hours; string occasionally.
How to Make Ranch Style Beans in Instant Pot: Rinse dried beans in a colander to remove any dirt or dust and place in the Instant Pot. Add all additional ingredients except salt. Add 8-10 cups of water; water should be ½ inch above the beans; stir to combine. Lock the lid, select the “manual high-pressure” setting, and set the time to 30 minutes. Allow pressure to naturally release at least 20 minutes before doing a quick release.
How to Cook Presoaked Beans in Instant Pot: If you prefer to soak the beans overnight, place rinsed beans in the instant pot and cover with 2 inches of water. Let soak overnight, then drain and continue the recipe as written above. Adjust cook time to 20 minutes.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 135
- Fat: 0.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 26.1 g
- Fiber: 4.8 g
- Protein: 7.6 g
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Alternative Preparation Methods
This recipe can be made in the crock pot (slow cooker), an Instant Pot, or on the stove top. I prefer the “throw and go” crock pot method.
How to Make Ranch Style Beans in the Instant Pot
Rinse dried beans in a colander to remove any dirt or dust and place in the Instant Pot. Add all additional ingredients except salt. Add 8-10 cups of water; water should be ½ inch above the beans; stir to combine. Lock the lid, select the “manual high-pressure” setting, and set the time to 30 minutes. Allow pressure to naturally release at least 20 minutes before doing a quick release. Add salt as needed.
How to make presoaked beans in the Instant Pot: If you prefer to soak the beans overnight, place rinsed beans in the Instant Pot and cover them with 2 inches of water. Let soak overnight, then drain and continue the recipe as written above. Adjust cook time to 20 minutes.
How to Make Ranch Style Beans on the Stove Top
Rinse dried beans in a colander to remove any dirt or dust. Pick out any black, discolored beans or stems. Place beans in a large pot and fill with water until water is 3 inches over the beans. Cover and let soak overnight. Drain beans and return to pot. Add all remaining ingredients except salt. Add water until it is ½ inch above the beans and stir to combine. Bring beans to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cover and cook until beans are tender and cooked through but not mushy, approximately 2-2 1/2 hours; string occasionally. Add salt as needed.
Have you tried cooking dried beans? I hope you try this easy and affordable meal!
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Reader Interactions
Comments
John
My family thoroughly enjoyed this recipe. You weren’t kidding when you said the recipe filled your crockpot. Mine looked like it was ready to burst. We tried the recipe a few times as a stand alone dish and have really enjoyed the results.. I am anxious to try the beans as a base for a chili recipe that calls for canned chili beans in sauce. I expect these will be a marked improvement. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
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Bob
I recently discovered the InstantPot electric pressure cooker, it does a great job with every bean I’ve tried. The beans will cook in a fraction of the time and the beans are healier than beans cooked on the stove or slow cooker.
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Bren
I love using my InstantPot for dried beans! I’ll have to update this post with directions.
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Malvern
Pardon me ignorance but how many ounces of tomatoes with chilies did you uuse.
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Bren
I use one 10 ounce can of tomatoes and chilies. Hope you enjoy the recipe.
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Stephanie
I can’t wait to try this recipe! My family loves beans!!
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Bren
Hope they enjoy! I love a budget friendly recipe.
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Bonnie
I bought mine at Sears for $125. which included shipping. It’s a little on the expensive side, but well worth it if a person does much cooking, like I do!
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Bonnie
Thanks so much for sharing this great sounding recipe! We’ll be trying it soon. Have you ever tried cooking with an instant pot? It’s an electric pressure cooker with a stainless steel insert. After soaking beans overnight I pour them into the cooker with only enough water to barely cover. I set the auto timer for 35 minutes and walk away. It takes about 15 minutes for the cooker to reach full pressure, then the timer begins; so total time is about 45 minutes for pintos. Most other beans take less time. It’s a great time saver and is helpful in getting healthy meals to the table much faster. Something else I like to do is blend up cherry tomatoes instead of using canned tomatoes. Thanks again for the recipe and for letting me share a couple ideas too.
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Bren
My friends keep raving about the Instant Pot, I need to get one soon!
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Sam
If I wanted to add ground beef at what point should I add it?
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Bren
Sam, I would brown the ground beef drain it and add it when you begin cooking the beans to add the most flavor. You could also brown it, drain it and stir it in about 1 hour before serving the beans. Let me know how it works for you.
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Dawn @ Reveal Natural Health
I love using dry beans! That wasn’t always the case, but I have recently started using my crockpot to cook black beans and refried beans to freeze in individual containers instead of using the canned versions.
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