Crock Pot Pinto Beans (with ham)

Crock pot pinto beans are simple to make, and super versatile to enjoy by themselves, or in other recipes just as you would use canned beans. Plus, with the magic of the slow cooker they are totally hands off and easy to put on and go about your day.

Also, side note: If you need a quicker way to make these check out my Instant Pot pinto beans, pictured below👇🏻.

Same basic recipe, made in the pressure cooker instead of the slow cooker. And instead of ham, I used only water and Better than Bullion Vegetable base, which makes it vegan.🌱

You can use that same seasoning, if you choose, to make vegan crock pot pinto beans if you prefer.

Southern pinto beans with ham hocks

I wanted to do a version of pinto beans with ham, which is a southern staple. Ham is amazing in this recipe! Did any of y’all have leftover ham from Easter? You can add in a ham bone, which is what we have from our Easter leftovers.

Or you can dice up the meat if you had a boneless ham. That’ll be good too.👌🏻If you use ham, I’d wait to taste at the end before adding any additional salt. The ham adds a ton of salt already. And it falls apart and gets super tender, which tastes awesome.

I also used half an onion to give it more flavor.

Using dry, not soaked beans

I don’t presoak my beans. Y’all! I never knew how passionate people were about soaking versus not soaking beans until I started publishing recipes on the internet. 🤣Who knew?!🤷🏼‍♀️

First off, you do you, friend. I don’t judge anybody for how they prepare beans. As for me, I feel good about not soaking. Why? Well, have you ever eaten canned beans? Newsflash: those are not presoaked.

Plus, I have tested them out both ways with my family, and nobody can tell a difference. So we don’t soak. Feel free to soak them if you wish, but you will need to reduce the liquids and cook time. I can’t really tell you by how much because I haven’t made them that way in years. 🤷🏼‍♀️ I know somebody will ask, though. 

I do rinse them well, though. I just put them in a strainer to do this.

Broth versus water

I used my homemade chicken bone broth in this crock pot pinto beans recipe. I had some that needed to be used up. I did have to add a cup of water to get enough total liquid (7 cups).

If you are doing this without ham, I for sure would recommend broth – any type. My top two would be vegetable or chicken stock, but any broth or stock will work.

You will need 7 cups of total liquid. I would recommend using broth/stock for at least half or more of that. 

If you are using ham, you could probably get away with using only water and still having enough flavor, as long as you still add the onion and granulated garlic.

I am including all these details because I know at the current time, we are all stuck at home and have to work with what we already have.

How long to cook pinto beans in the slow cooker

My crock pot pinto beans took 7 hours on high. I like mine really tender, until some of them start to fall apart. That being said, many factors can affect how long your beans will take. Bottom line though: If yours still feel too firm, cook them longer.

As far as a timeline, you can always give yourself and extra hour or two if you are planning on eating these at dinner, for example. If they get ready early, you can switch your heat to keep warm.

If you are making these to use in other recipes, the timeline likely doesn’t matter as much. If you have a food scale, you can weight these out in regular canned-sized portions and freeze them.

How to enjoy crock pot pinto beans

I ate these with a slice of soft, hearty sourdough bread (👈🏻currently developing a recipe on that, by the way). It was a meal in itself, especially with the ham.😋🙌🏻

If you want to use these in other recipes, here are some suggestions:

• Nachos – I have vegetarian nachos, chicken nachos and beef nachos 
• Burrito bowls – I have vegan burrito bowls and chicken burrito bowls
• Taco bowls

Crock Pot Pinto Beans Recipe

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5 from 1 vote

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Crock Pot Pinto Beans

Crock pot pinto beans are simple to make, and super versatile to enjoy by themselves, or in other recipes just as you would use canned beans.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword crock pot pinto beans, slow cooker pinto beans

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 7 hours

Total Time 7 hours 10 minutes

Servings 12

Author Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy

Ingredients

• 1 pound dry pinto beans
• 6 cups chicken bone broth (or any stock - I recommend vegetable or chicken)
• 1 cup water
• salt and pepper to taste Honestly, mine didn't need any. The broth and ham flavored them perfectly. Taste them first.
• 1/2 onion I used yellow, any type works
• 1/2 pound diced ham (OR ham bone/ ham hock with or without meat scraps still on it)
• 2 bay leaves

Instructions

1. Rinse off your pinto beans, and drain them using a wire mesh strainer.

2. Add them to the crock pot, along with the broth, water, onion, ham and bay leaves.

3. Put on the lid, and cook on high heat until the beans are to desired tenderness. Mine took 7 hours.

4. Serve as is, freeze, or use in other recipes, as you would canned beans.

Recipe Notes

• Recipe makes 8 entree sized or at least 12 side dish sized portions.

• Nutritional information is approximate and was calculated using a recipe nutrition label generator.

• BROTH Notes: I used my homemade chicken bone broth in this recipe. I had some that needed to be used up. I did have to add a cup of water to get enough total liquid (7 cups).

  If you are doing this without ham, I for sure would recommend broth - any type. My top two would be vegetable or chicken stock, but any broth or stock will work.

  You will need 7 cups of total liquid. I would recommend using broth/stock for at least half or more of that. 

  If you are using ham, you could probably get away with using only water and still having enough flavor, as long as you still add the onion and granulated garlic.

• To adapt this to a vegan/ vegetarian recipe, skip the ham, and use vegetable stock or water + Better than Bullion Vegetable Base.
• Certain factors can affect the cook time, especially the age of the beans. Cook them until they reach desired softness. I like mine very soft, starting to fall apart, and that took 7 hours for me.