Slow Cooker Pinto Beans

I used the seasonings in this recipe and thought the flavor was delicious. I did use a ham shank instead of diced ham, and kale instead of bell pepper and added carrots too, since thats what I had on hand. I the veg up in the FP and added the last 2 hrs of 7 hrs in the slow cooker. My son came home to these and hamemade bread and butter..a comfort meal made in heaven...yummm

Pretty much how we make our beans, only we use bacon instead of ham, and jalapenos instead of bell pepper. Also, no celery...and we use equal amounts of cumin and oregano. About a tsp each per pound of beans being cooked. This was a nice change though.

I've made this several times, today for the 1st time I did it on the stove top. I had not soaked my beans overnight but, fear not there is a solution, I just brought them to a boil in about 5 inches of water and then turned off the heat and let them soak for an hour. After that time I poured out the water and started the recipe. Instead of ham I used two ham hocks and no lard. I used a 48oz. box of chicken broth and after some of that juice had boiled down I added an additional 32oz. box of vegetable broth. I also noticed that I inadvertently used only 1tsp. of the oregano and thought the beans tasted great. This will undoubtedly be my go to recipe from now on.

The beans were soft, but the recipe was too spicy for my kids. Next time, I will not use as much cumin and add some sweetness to compliment the ham.

this was good i soaked my beans over night and didnt use green pepper i didnt have any but it was great

I made this recipe for a vegetarian church potluck today; at first, I thought I'd take it home, because it didn't look appetizing -- the overnight cooking and extended time on "warm" made it look dark and questionable, but it was gone, baby, gone! Because it is an all-vegetarian potluck, I omitted the ham and lard, used MorningStar beef-like crumbles, and kicked up the flavor by adding McKay's Beef-Like broth/seasoning. I used half a green bell pepper, saving the other half for our salads. Husband loved it, picky Daughter had two servings, and I even got to scrape the crockpot and have a spoonful over my rice. I plan to make this again for my little family, keeping it vegetarian. Normally I do not like pinto beans, and usually only have them refried. This is definitely a keeper, and I know it'll be good for church potlucks. Thank you for sharing!

Instead of ham used 2 smoked turkey legs. Great taste and healthy!!!

I thought that this dish turned out very well! I used all of the ingredients except omitted the celery and onion (forgot to purchase) and substituted bacon for the ham. Because I used bacon, I also did not add any lard. I like to leave my bell pepper in halves instead of chopping. After the beans have been cooking for hours, the bell peppers broke up into nice, bite-sized pieces so it saved me a bit of time. Delicious!

Loved this base recipe & made some changes based on ingredients I had on hand. I substituted a can of rotele chilies for bell pepper, tossed in some cayenne & a few splashes of Tabasco. Mmmmmm, we like it spicy.

Really, really good and so easy! Everyone liked it which never happens in this family of five. I did salt it some. I didn't have black forest ham. I had ham hocks in the freezer so I put those in. Also used onion powder instead of onions. I wonder about trying it without the bell peppers as they were an unappealing mushy texture they way that they always do when cooked at length. But not too big a deal there especially if you are just eating it all together with the beans. I just know my picky eaters inspect each little bite and so I knew to pick them out for their portions. I didn't have quite 5 cups of broth.. more like 3 so I made up the rest with water and it definitely worked out well. We ate it as a bean soup and also put the beans in tortillas rolled up like a burrito with salt and pepper. Yummm....Definitely a keeper. There were no leftovers, next time I will double the recipe. :)

This is a great recipe especially when served with some cornbread. I omitted the lard and used smoked turkey instead of the ham. If you use smoke turkey ( I used a wing) make sure you have a large crock pot to fit all the ingredients. Once everything is cooked, you should be able to pull the bone out of the pot while the meat falls off effortlessly. Thank you!

This was really good, and very healthy (I did not put the lard in (did not think it was necessary!) I swapped out ham for a smoked turkey leg instead. I halved the amount of spices and added in 1/2 tsp of creole seasoning. I meant to add a chopped jalapeno pepper, but it got lost somewhere between the store and my kitchen! The onion, bell pepper and celery make this soup great! I used turkey broth frozen since Thanksgiving and it turned out fantastic! And like most meals, better on the second night of leftovers.

The first time I made the recipe I didn't have the oregano, even my kids devoured the beans. The second time I made it with the oregano and we all agreed, it wasn't as good. I just made it again and left off the oregano. Great beans and great recipe!

I am not a big fan of beans, but this recipe looked good. It is not, it's fantastic! I used bacon instead of ham and celery seeds instead of celery because I didn't want to run to the store for two ingredients. These beans are super flavorful as a side and they added a lot of flavor to my chili. My biggest issue with dried beans is the texture, but these turned out wonderfully creamy and plump. I will definitely be making these again.

This is a fantastic recipe for crock-pot beans and it is very easy to make. I did change a few things to better suit my households tastes. I leave out the bay leaves and use jalapenos for some extra spice. I also omit the Black Forest ham and lard. Insted I use 1 pack of salt pork along with 3 smoked ham hocks. Once the 6 hours of cook time is up I take the ham hocks out, clean the meat off the bone, shred it, and put the meat back into the pot. My family loves having the beans in the fridge for a quick snack or meal.

Did not use celery because I didn't have any. Used 1/2 pound cooked bacon instead of ham and a 1/2 a jar of pimentos instead of bell pepper because I had an open jar on hand. It was super. Would make it the same way again - especially the bacon instead of ham. Also, cooked it on low for 11 hr and was perfect. I made this again tonight. This time with the Christmas ham bone and fresh red bell pepper (but still no celery). I remembered it was good but this is really delicious. So much that I felt I had to say so again. Everyone in the family raced for seconds and not a drop left.

tI tried this recipe, except I used my pressure cooker, after soaking beans. The only other changes I made was to replace green pepper with a roasted pepper, and no meat. It was absolutely delicious! Definitely my favorite pinto bean recipe, in face I'm making some more tonight!

This was a hit! I did not use meat, just diced an extra onions and green pepper in its place. Also used coconut oil in place of lard. Will definitely be making again!

Superb. I like both cumin and oregano, but based on reviews I swapped amounts and used a TBs cumin and a tsp oregano (the ingredient list does say "to taste"). Loved it. But one question: The first thing in the directions states Prep 20 min : Cook 5hr : Ready in 13 h 20 min. Sorry. I can't do the math. What am I missing?

Yum yum and yum! I left out the cumin and diced ham and used a smoked ham shank with a good amount of meat still on it instead because I had it in the freezer. We loved these so much more than the recipe I grew up eating.

Love this recipe! Didn't change a thing, I had been looking for a good bean recipe because in the past anytime I made beans they were bland. Well, not anymore! Thanks so much for this recipe.

The recipe was awesome! My pinto beans came out tasting great! My fiancé loves this recipe... I used Smoked Turkey instead of the Chopped Ham and I used Chili Powder as well! Try it, it's delicious!!!

Loved/loved, I used left overs (were dryer)which was perfect for a delicious 'RE-FRIED" beans for taco"s, enchiladas, and in a 2" high casserole dish piled high with cheese and melted under broiler. Spicy "WONDERFUL" ALSO used a smoked ham hock one time and the next polish Kielbasa and also again used a hock with hamburger... EVERYONE was great ! toni

Delicious!! My first bean recipe in slow cooker. Absolutely a hit with family and so easy to make. Made it 3 times. Wonderful!!!

Very easy to make, and delicious. Perfect for a winter night.

Didn't use the lard or chicken broth and it was just fantastic!

I made this recipe without the bell peppers and the celery and it was good. I think one tablespoon of oregano is just too much. The recipe does say, to taste. So now I know to put in less next time. I did not soak the beans the night before but I did have to cook them a couple hours longer. I had to add more water too. They were delicious though!

Really tasty!! I turned it into a vegetarian dish by using vegetable broth and meatless meat and was a success. I had to add a couple cups of broth.

This soup is easy to make and helps empty the crisper with all the hearty vegetables to be added along with leftover ham. The cumin gives it the earthy taste you expect from south of the border beans.

I used my own chicken broth, made with a bone in, skin on chicken, so, I didn't add the lard. Subb'd the green bell pepper for poblano. Very tasty!

Great recipe. I did change garlic to 1/2 tsp. of garlic powder instead of fresh only because I’ve had better luck with dried herbs when using a slow cooker. Other than that I completed the recipe as written. My husband and myself throughly enjoyed a hot bowl of pintos on a cold rainy day with a piece of garlic bread. Thanks for the recipe.

I followed the recipe as it was. It was really great. I will be lookinforward for more recipes such as this.

This was the best beans I have ever had,however I do not cook them in slow cooker cooked them in pot I doubled the recipe and I had more beans than ever so gave to my oldest son and they loved them they ate them with burgers said they were great. I will make again thinking about canning a batch for winter.

Delicious! I've made this twice now and my kids, husband and I all love it! The second time I made it I used just 1/2 the ham because I thought it had a bit too much the first time and it was perfect with less. Other than that, the seasonings are exactly right!

The recipes it's self is a 3.5 I made this twice already. The first time I made it,I followed the recipe. It was spicy for my child. So the second time I only put the beans in the crock pot, then added 1/2 a teaspoon of ground cumin, garlic clove, and chicken broth. When it finished (6hours) I added fresh chopped cilantro and salt. My little one LOVED it! Make sure you add the cilantro at the very end if it is fresh. If its not fresh cilantro then go ahead and add it when you add the garlic and cumin

I left the bell pepper out. I used a turkey leg and not ham. I added just a little salt to each bowl before serving. It turned out great. Everyone was very impressed.

I will use whatever ham that is cheap or that is left over. This time it was part of a ham bone from dinner the night before. My most favorite bean recipe ever!! Delicious! Full of flavor. I serve it with cornbread and fried potatoes! Yummmmmm!

The beans turned out very bland and flavorless, so I added about a cup of brown sugar and ketchup and mustard to make them more like barbeque beans since we were having them with bbq chicken.

wife doesn't do beans so froze leftovers for several servings.Some hot sauce and it don't get no better than that.

A great base recipe you can change up to fit your likes, available ingredients, and time. I had kielbasa, not ham; a quart of homemade turkey broth; wanted more spice so added 1 T Chili powder. I needed to leave it all day while i was at work, so low and 10 hours and I came home to amazing smells and yummy dinner.

Added tablespoon of brown sugar. Small can tomato sauce. Used a meaty ham bone. Extra garlic.. Sautéed the veggies in bacon grease and added after cooking beans overnight in crock pot with bay leaves, 1 garlic clove, oregano, 1/2 onion, chix stock, salt and pepper, and ham bone. All the other veggies were added in the morning. This prevents the veggies from being over cooked.

I made this today! It was yummy! I didn't add the bell pepper because I don't like them, I used Italian Seasoning because I didn't realize I was out of oregano. And I used smoked ham shanks instead of the ham pieces and took it off of the bone when it was done cooking.

I'm so surprised by people who said it was too spicy. I had a ham shank and about 1/3 c. diced jalapenos on hand. I thought it was perfect and I am adding it to my recipe box so I can find it easily next time!

Used a pressure cooker instead of a slow cooker cut cooking time to about 30 mins. Although I did pre-soak the beans over nite. Same ingredients.. less tme

I made this for my husband with only these changes. I added 1 tsp. of smoked paprika and used a smoked ham hock instead of the ham. I used olive oil instead of lard. Cooked it on high for about 41/2 hours in my 4 qt slow cooker and it was delicious. This is going on my regular rotation. Thanks for the great recipe.

Easy way to make beans! My only issue was the beans ended up being too salty. I used 3 cans of chicken broth for a little over a pound of soaked beans. Next time I would probably do 2 cans of broth and 1C water. I added bacon instead of ham and I think the salted meats add a bit of salt to the beans. Had this as a side to shredded BBQ chicken and rice. Delicious!

I used beef bouillon because that's what I had, and a red pepper instead of green. I soaked only for an hour and a half, not overnight, then cooked it on low for an hour and a half before putting it on high for the six hours. It turned out good!

Loved this recipe, we didn't use the oregano or the lard I used smoked ham. Very good flavor will be making this again.

This was a great base, made some slight changes...no oregano, bay leaves or lard. Subbed orange bell pepper, used a ham hock instead of chopped ham and added a few fresh green chiles...we like it spicy!! It was delicious and my family loved it.

This recipe was spot on. Only change I did was omitting the lard and green pepper, but it really turned out well. I usually add my own spices to recipes I find on here but this was perfect as is.

Made this recipe exactly as posted (with one exception) and found it to be marvelous. I left out the cumin as my husband does not like cumin. Personally I think it would have been better with the cumin, so gave the recipe 5 stars anyway! We had some wonderful pinto beans from a local farm and wanted to cook them up to use in a 3-bean chili recipe from this site. This recipe gave the beans lots of flavor and body but will not overwhelm the chili. Next time I will use my own home made chicken broth, as the store bought had an awful lot of sodium, which is not good for my husband's heart issues. Great recipe! Will be using again with only minor changes.

Greatest pinto bean recipe ever!!! With this recipe I can cook beans better than my mother and she is an awesome cook. Definitely soak your beans overnight of cook for almost twice the time.

Excellent! Nothing needs changed on this one. The ham I used wasn't Black Forest, b/c I had a bone-in ham in the freezer, but I think it would be just as good as stated in recipe. Didn't have lard either, but I think the extra fat on my ham was fine.

Gave me great ideas to adjust my recipe. Cumin was a good addition

I added a thickening agent (cornstarch) because I found it too liquidy. Other than that found it very good.

I added two fresh jalapeños quartered lengthwise. Perfect dish for a cold day. Will definitely make again.

Used smoked ham shank instead of Black Forest ham. I think next time I will add some chiles.

Beans didn't get soft. Very disappointed because the recipe seemed delicious. Sorted, rinsed and soaked beans in water overnight, at least 17 hours. Cooked in slow cooker on low for 7 hours. I feel that I wasted ingredients on hard beans. Not sure what the process is going to be next time.

These beans were delicious! I cooked them on low for 10 hours and it turned out great. The only change I made was adding some cayenne pepper at the end when it was done just cuz I felt like it could use a little spice. Will definitely make again!

Three stars because I didn't add any of the spices and I should have. So the three stars are my fault! I did use the slow cooker overnight for 12 hours on low and it turned out great.

I think the flavor is 5 stars. I would definitely cook the beans before making it next time or it takes too long. Great basic bean recipe. And if you don't eat ham you can use miso.

Being a Southerner and a purist when it comes to my ethnic food, I was pleasantly surprised. I could love on regular pintos and cornbread, but these were great. The seasoning is great and they reheat well. I will try them over rice in the future. I anticipate another great paring.

Delicious! Very flavorful! I had leftover ham bone (with a good amount of meat on it) from Christmas and used that rather than diced ham and lard. Took out the bone after cook time and removed and shredded the meat. Mmmmm... Cornbread and you've got supper! I will make this again!

These are FANTASTIC! I was going up a traditional Southern family recipe when I tried these, so I knew it would have to turn out well to be enjoyed. These were declared to be BETTER than the family recipe. This is going to be the standard recipe in our house from now on. Thanks for sharing!

Pinto beans a good bowl don’t need all of this. All I add are beans, water about 1 inch covering beans, I use salt pork but you can also use a ham bone leftover, about 5-6 garlic cloves, pepper and I add salt at the end of cooking if needed. Cook beans to tenderness and voila! Good ??

We found it to be rather bland . Followed the recipe . Love cooked beans but not this one . Should have used green chilies and some bacon or ham hocks

Quick soaked the beans then put in crock pot with bullion. Didn't have bacon so subbed sausage. Used plenty of garlic and cumin. Very tasty. Will make again following overnight soak and bacon. You know, the recipe. This will go into rotation for sure.

I used smoke pork jowl instead of ham, so there was no need for the lard as the jowls was fatty enough. I used 4 cups chicken stock and 1 cup water. Did not soak the beans overnight because I did not buy them until this morning. I did not use oregano and I used celery flakes instead of ribs of celery. I added a couple dashes of Louisiana Hot Sauce® and Worcestershire Sauce. I also added a couple tablespoons of sugar. Since I did not soak the beans, I cooked them on low for 9 hours. They turned out great. The liquid took on that nice gravy like consistency that we so love, not runny. We served it over white rice with a nice piece of cornbread on the side.

Great recipe and easy way to fix beans. I soaked the beans overnight in lightly salted water. I already had a cup of diced onions in the fridge so I added them to the med. onion (chopped) the recipe calls for. Also used four stalks of celery, four large carrots (chopped), four cloves of garlic (we like it spicy), whole green pepper (chopped) and reduced the cumin to 1/2 tsp. Had 1.2 lbs of sliced ham in the freezer (left over from a spiral cut we had at Christmas) so I chopped that into 1” squares and threw that in. Couldn’t imagine what the Tbsp of lard would add so I substituted a Tbsp. of butter. With all these additions I had to add about a cup of water to the 16 oz. of chicken broth to cover the beans. Pretty much filled a 5-qt crock pot. ??. Cooked on high for six hours. It was delicious. Even better as leftovers. In fact, next time I’m going to fix it a day ahead and leave it sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours to give the flavors more time to meld. Served it with the Awesome Creamy Cornbread Casserole listed elsewhere on this site. Yum!

I used smoke pork jowl instead of ham, so there was no need for the lard as the jowls was fatty enough. I used 4 cups chicken stock and 1 cup water. Did not soak the beans overnight because I did not buy them until this morning. I did not use oregano and I used celery flakes instead of ribs of celery. I added a couple dashes of Louisiana Hot Sauce® and Worcestershire Sauce. I also added a couple tablespoons of sugar. Since I did not soak the beans, I cooked them on low for 9 hours. They turned out great. The liquid took on that nice gravy like consistency that we so love, not runny. We served it over white rice with a nice piece of cornbread on the side.

I skipped the lard and the bell peppers and it was still oh so perfect! I topped mine with shredded cheddar cheese :).

I used broth saved from boiled ham and cabbage dinner in place of the chicken stock. I also used bacon grease in place of the lard. Separate note, I also use bacon grease to pop popcorn in and then salt & pepper it - great snack. Fantastic ham and bean recipe, easy and delicious. Will make it again.

This is a wonderful recipe and so easy to make! Perfect on a rainy or chilly night with some hot corn muffins! I do cut back on the cumin, as others have suggested, and it is still loaded with flavor! Thanks for sharing your recipe!

Really good recipe. I added lamb and. few other things, but imthis is a nice base recipe for what I was trying to do. I'll definitely use it again.. Thanks

Delicious! I used bacon instead of the ham and lard as I had neither on hand. I didn't make any other changes and it turned out fabulous. This is now my new go to recipe for beans.

Makes tasty cup-o-soup for late night snacking!

Boring beans. Soft but lacks flavor or interest of eating. Like the idea of slow cooker but will stick to our own recipe. Ingredients caught our eye but Flavor is nothing special. We will mash them and try bean and cheese tacos in the morning but would never serve these to guests

I made this exactly as the recipe states with the exception of the 5 quarts of chicken stock. I used only 2 quarts and it was plenty of liquid.

The first time I made this recipe, I thought it turned out a little plain. The second time I added a tbsp of salt, two tbsp of brown sugar, a tsp of curry powder, and half a tsp of parsley. With that little extra seasoning, I think this is a simple and delicious way to make beans!

Great beans. I changed the recipe a little though, made it a little hotter. I used an Anaheim Pepper, put in some Black Peppercorns, and put EV Olive Oil instead of lard. Will use this recipe again.

This was delicious! I did it in the instant pot for 45 minutes with no soaking on high.

Forgot to soak pinto beans overnight, but bag suggests a quick cook method. I didn't have any green pepper, so I left that out. I had celery seed on hand, so used it. Smells great, slow cooker for 4-6 hours. Also fixing corn bread.

I made a double batch of this recipe and used a can of stewed tomatoes instead of the bell pepper. It was very good and I will make it again. My two teenagers liked it. I served it with corn bread. The only other change I made was to use bacon instead of ham and Itailan seasoning instead of just oregano as that was what I had on hand.

I think that become too liquid. Next time I will try to make the broth more rich. But taste wise become very good

Absolutely delicious!!!!!

I have made this recipe several times since I have found it!!

I loved this easy recipe! Of course, using a slow cooker to cook these beans was the best! I placed a turkey neck in the dish for flavoring. Make sure you boil the turkey neck for an hour then place in the slow cooker. This is the only way I would cook the pinto beans. I added salt, pepper, garlic salt, and garlic powder.

I used sausage instead of ham. I believe the real secret is using chicken broth instead of water. These were great and will definitely make them again.

All I tasted was cumin, I like cumin but not that much. Next time I'll skip it all together along with the oregano, they just don't go well with the beans.

nice love it

Used about 6 or 7 pieces of bacon instead of the ham and lard. Recipe turned out great!

Perfectly wonderful, every time.

This is very tasty bean soup. I only made small modifications. I used 1 tsp of cumin and oregano. I didn’t use the lard, instead I cooked two thick cut bacon slices in the microwave , broke it up and added it with the drippings. This is a keeper.

My husband and son really liked this super easy dish. I made some minor adjustments: celery salt instead of celery, garlic powder instead of garlic, half an onion and a whole yellow bell pepper. I had the crockpot on low for 5 hours and then cranked it to high for the last hour or so. Served it with cheddar biscuits and had no complaints.

I'm not understanding some of the comments that said it was spicy. A teaspoon of cumin is very little compared to what's in chili. Anyway, I found this to be a good base for almost any recipe calling for pintos. It's not clear though if you drained your beans after soaking. I do but some may not know to and that could be where they think it's bland. I also do not use water to cook my beans, I use all chicken stock. It provides a better flavor base. I've used this for chili, minus the ham and added ground beef and chunks of chuck. I made a bean soup. I made a white 2 bean chili and whole bean burritos. If anyone has a good recipe for refried beans I would love it if you could share it. I'm looking for something as close to authentic and I can get. My grandson's fiancee is Latina and I want to try to impress her with my "skills"! haha

The problem was the cumin the oregano and the bay leaf..... eliminate those three and it will probably be a great dish.

I skipped the lard and the bell peppers and it was still oh so perfect! I topped mine with shredded cheddar cheese :).

Delicious. I used a leftover Christmas hambone, and the pieces fell off the bone. It made a huge batch for visiting family.

yes i would make it again