Beans, lentils & pulses · Beans
Pinto beans (dried)
Dried pinto beans, soaked and simmered for frijoles de olla, refried beans and Brazilian feijão.
Also called: dried pinto beans, feijão carioca, carioca beans, frijoles pintos secos
Around the world: feijão carioca (pt)
A kind of pinto beans (canned)
Photo: Sanjay Acharya, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-4.0)
What it is
This is the dried form of pinto beans: beige with reddish-brown speckles that fade when cooked. Brazil's feijão carioca is the same type and is that country's everyday bean. Cooking from dry gives a seasoned, starchy pot liquor that canned beans lack.
Phaseolus vulgaris
How it’s used
- Simmered with onion and garlic for frijoles de olla
- Mashed and fried for refried beans
- Cooked as everyday Brazilian feijão with rice
- Slow-cooked with ham hock in Southern US pinto beans
Characteristics
- Texture
- Becomes very soft and creamy; skins thin.
- When cooked
- Soak overnight, or use a quick soak; simmer until a bean crushes easily against the roof of the mouth.
- Sold as
- dried, canned
- Cooking uses
- Commonly cooked, Suitable for boiling
- Common in
- Mexican, Brazilian, Southern US, Tex-Mex
Storage
Cool, dry and dark. Store airtight in a cool, dry cupboard; sort out stones and shrivelled beans before cooking.
Diet, allergens and safety
No major allergens in typical versions.
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
- Egg-free
- Gluten-free
- Nut-free
- Soy-free
- Caffeine-free
- Soak and boil hard before simmering; undercooked dried beans contain lectins that cause digestive upset.
- Cool cooked legumes quickly and refrigerate; reheat until piping hot and use within a few days.
Nutrition per 100 g
- Energy
- 347 kcal
- Protein
- 21.42 g
- Carbohydrate
- 62.55 g
- Fat
- 1.23 g
- Fibre
- 15.5 g
- Sugars
- 2.11 g
USDA FoodData Central: Beans, pinto, mature seeds, raw (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program).
Substitutes
Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.
- Pinto beans (canned) — Use about 2½–3 times the dried weight in canned beans.
- Black beans (dried) — Swap 1:1 dry; earthier and darker.
Related ingredients
Recipes with pinto beans (dried)
Feijão carioca
Brazilian · 1 h · 256 kcal
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