Pinto beans can be a filling, delicious, healthy, and cost-effective meal or side dish. Prep time, cooking experience, taste, and the number of people being served will all influence the type you choose and ultimately consider best. You’ll also have to choose between raw and cooked options.
Beans are very inexpensive and go a long way. A pot of beans can be eaten for dinner, lunch the next day, and then transformed into bean soup or refried beans. From a single bag of beans, you can make a variety of meals. Pinto beans are a popular addition to many people’s menus because they are inexpensive and filling.
When it comes to food, taste is often the most important factor, so if you want specially seasoned pinto beans without the hassle, head to your local grocery store’s canned vegetable section. Canned pinto beans are already cooked and come in a bit of cooking juice, which some people refer to as sauce or broth. Seasonings, special flavorings, and other ingredients may or may not be added to canned beans.
Choose from flavors like soul food or Southern style, or try jalapeno or onion flavored pinto beans for a little more zing. Onion is included in some of the offerings. Pinto beans can be purchased with or without meat, such as ham or bacon. Although some varieties do not contain meat pieces, they are still flavored with meat.
If you want to eat beans for health reasons, make sure to check the fat content of prepared pinto beans, as many types are cooked slowly with fatty cuts of meat. The beans, as well as the broth, may be high in fat. For low-fat diets, plain beans in broth may be the best option. Low sodium pinto beans are ideal for those who need less salt in their diet.
Pinto beans are a good source of protein and can be prepared in a variety of ways. If you don’t have much experience cooking pinto beans, you might want to start with a pre-prepared variety rather than a plain bag of beans. If you want to make them yourself, start by sorting through the beans and removing any that are broken or otherwise unfit.
After a few times going through this sorting process, you should be able to choose a better bag of beans to buy simply by looking at it closely before purchasing. There will always be some that aren’t perfect, but the vast majority will be excellent. Some brands may provide better quality beans or have fewer “bad” beans per bag.