A Big Pot of Simmered Pintos

Name: A Big Pot of Simmered Pintos
Total time: 2 h 15 min
Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients: 1 pound (about 2 1/4 cups) pinto beans, washed and picked over for stones, soaked for at least 4 hours or overnight in 2 quarts water; 1 medium onion, cut in half; 2 to 4 large garlic cloves (to taste), minced; 1 bay leaf; Salt to taste (I think beans need a lot, at least 1 teaspoon per quart of water used)

By Martha Rose Shulman

Updated May 27, 2025

A Big Pot of Simmered Pintos — Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes (includes 2 hours unsupervised simmering)
Rating: 5(1,114)
Comments: Read comments

This pot of beans was Step 1 for the other Recipes for Health this week. If I know that I’m going to use these beans for a Mexican dinner I season them with cilantro and, if I can find it, epazote. If I want Italian or Provençal flavors I make a bouquet garni with bay leaf, thyme, parsley, maybe sage, and most definitely a Parmesan rind. This week, since I am using my beans as a starting off point for other dishes, I season them only with onion, garlic, bay leaf and salt. The dishes that will follow throughout the week will introduce more flavors.

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Ingredients

Yield:Serves 6

1pound (about 2¼ cups) pinto beans, washed and picked over for stones, soaked for at least 4 hours or overnight in 2 quarts water
1medium onion, cut in half
2 to 4large garlic cloves (to taste), minced
1bay leaf
Salt to taste (I think beans need a lot, at least 1 teaspoon per quart of water used)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Place beans and soaking water in a large, heavy pot. Add halved onion and bring to a gentle boil. Skim off any foam that rises, then add garlic and bay leaf, reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes.
Step 2
Add salt and continue to simmer another 1 to 1½ hours, until beans are quite soft and broth is thick and fragrant. Taste and adjust salt. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, remove and discard onion and bay leaf. For the best flavor refrigerate overnight.

Tip

Advance preparation: The cooked beans will keep for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator and freeze well.

Ratings

5 out of 5

1,114 user ratings

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Comments

Lena C.7 years ago

Thanks for adding this recipe. Although I already cook beans this way, but I've noticed that a lot of cookbooks and recipe sites don't provide a basic way to cook beans from scratch that are simply flavored. I learned this method from a Mexican cookbook.

The only thing I would recommend is adding a some olive or vegetable oil to the pot.

Regarding the salt, I generally add 1.5 tsp.

Metrically Speaking6 years ago

For refrigeration and freezing, is it better to store the beans in the cooking water or drained?

Anne6 years ago

1 pound dried beans = 3 to 4 - 15oz cans or 57 ounces

melissa4 months ago

Made these exactly as written and they are delicious ! I added a little too much salt but will adjust. Making beans from scratch is always worth it. Appreciate the simplicity of this recipe.

Scrappy5 months ago

When you simmer again for 1-1.5 hours, do you cover the pot again? It says to cover for the first 30 min (after adding garlic and bay leaves) but doesn’t say whether to cover after adding salt. Thanks!

hannah6 months ago

perfect!

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