No-Soak Crock Pot Pinto Beans with Bacon and Sautéed Veggies

crockpot pinto beans in serving bowl with cilantro and jalapeno slices on top.

5 from 1 vote

No-Soak Crock Pot Pinto Beans with Bacon and Sautéed Veggies

These crock pot pinto beans are hearty, smoky, and full of flavor thanks to crispy bacon, sautéed onions, garlic, and a hint of poblano heat. This simple crock pot pinto beans recipe is the best way to get tender beans with minimal effort—and no soaking required!

Prep Time30

Cook Time8

Total Time8 30

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Mexican

Diet: Low Fat

Servings: servings

Calories: 207kcal

Author: Sarah Jenkins

Ingredients

1 lb dried pinto beans rinsed and sorted
4 slices thick-cut bacon chopped
1 small yellow onion diced
3 cloves garlic minced
1 poblano pepper roasted, peeled, de-seeded and chopped. *See note below
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
¼ teaspoon black pepper
6 cups low-sodium chicken or veggie broth, or water
½ teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)
¼ cup cilantro chopped (for garnish - optional)
½ jalapeno pepper chopped (for garnish - optional)

Instructions

Roast and peel the poblano pepper. Heat your oven to 400 degrees, then place the poblano pepper on a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes. Remove the pepper from the oven and place into a ziplock bag to steam for an additional 10-20 minutes. Remove the pepper from the bag, peel the skin off, remove the seeds, and chop into bite-sized pieces. See note below.*
Cook the Bacon. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the chopped bacon until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the bacon fat in the pan.
Sauté the Veggies. In the bacon fat, sauté the diced onion, garlic, and roasted and peeled poblano pepper for 4–5 minutes, until softened and fragrant.
Load the Crock Pot. Add the beans, cooked bacon, sautéed vegetables, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, cayenne, bay leaf, and black pepper to the slow cooker. Pour in the water or broth.
Slow cook. Cover and cook on high for 8-10 hours, until beans are tender and flavorful. (Note - if you decide to pre-soaked your beans, you can lower the cooking time to 6 hours on high.) Keep an eye on the beans, giving them a stir every so often. If the liquid starts to fall below the level of the beans, simply add a little more to ensure the beans are completely covered.
Finish and serve. Stir in the salt (to taste). Remove the bay leaf and sprinkle with cilantro if using. Serve as a hearty side, over rice, with tortillas, or tucked into tacos.

Notes

A note about the poblano pepper. I love the smokiness the poblano pepper gives to these beans, but I completely get that this is an extra step that many may not have time for. If you just don’t want to mess with it, feel free to sub out the pepper for diced jalapenos, or even a can of hatch green chilies to make this a bit easier.
If making in the Instant Pot. Follow all the instructions exactly, except set your Instant Pot to high pressure (manual) and cook for 50 minutes.
Soaking overnight method. Soaking is not required, but If you want to shorten your cooking time while still using the crock pot, simply soak the beans in a bowl of water overnight to start the softening process. When you’re ready to cook the beans, you’ll just need about 6 hours on high in the crockpot. Or, you can do a quick soak by adding the beans to a pot filled with water, bringing to a boil, turning off the burner, and then allowing to sit for 1 ½ hours. (Although at that point, you may as well just add the beans dry to the crockpot, as the total cooking time will then be about the same.)

Nutrition