Cowgirl Beans - An easy budget-friendly recipe dried pinto beans cooked with tomato, jalapeno and onion.
Here we are in the hottest part of the summer. Daily temperatures are hovering around 100. Humidity is through the roof. And what do I do? Why get out my pots and pans and cook up some Cowgirl Beans. Yeah. I'm weird like that. Admittedly, this is more of a fall or winter kind of recipe, but doggone it I was just craving a pot of pinto beans.
BeeBop is always talking about the "pintos and cheese" that his Mom made for them when he was a little fellow growing up out west. BeeBop's family is from the same area as mine, but his Dad was in the Air Force so he moved around a couple of times before they settled down again in south Georgia.
Apparently, pinto beans were a big part of the diet out in New Mexico where they were stationed for a while. And they were cheap - very important when you're raising five kids on military pay!
Anyway, I've been trying for years to find a recipe that would satisfy that craving for Mom's "pintos and cheese." I haven't yet hit on that magical combination, but in the process I've found some pretty tasty recipes!
This one for Cowgirl Beans was published by Craig Claiborne in his wonderful book Craig Claiborne's Southern Cooking, but I'm sure it wasn't his original creation. I'd guess that this recipe had been around the block a couple of times before he got it. Regardless, it's a great dish to serve with hearty food. I served it with some pork chops and a fresh green salad.
Oh, and if anybody out there has a recipe for "pintos and cheese" please send it my way?
Sorry I don't have step-by-step photos for you on this recipe (or some of the last ones, either). For some reason I'm getting really blurry shots on those photos. Gotta keep working on those camera skills!
How to Make Cowgirl Beans
To summarize the recipe steps for you - you simply start with dried pinto beans and water. Bring the pot to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and let them cook, partly covered, for one hour. After an hour of cooking time, add the salt and half the onion. Continue cooking for 30 minutes more.
Heat up a small skillet with a little oil and cook the remaining onion and the jalapeno until the onion is starting to soften. Add the tomatoes and cilantro and continue cooking for about 3 minutes.
Remove about a cup of beans with the liquid and puree them in a blender or food processor until they are as fine a texture as possible. Stir the pureed beans back into the pot. Add the sauteed tomato and onion mixture and stir it into the beans. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes or so.
Serve the beans as they are, or with a selection of toppings such as grated cheddar cheese, chopped scallions, sour cream and salsa.
More Recipes You May Like
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Cowgirl Beans
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dried pinto beans
- 6 ½ cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 small fresh jalapeno finely chopped
- 1 small ripe tomato chopped
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Rinse the beans and place them in a large pot with the water.
- Bring the beans up to the boil. Partly cover beans and cook at a simmer for 1 hour.
- Add the salt and half of the chopped onion. Continue cooking, uncovered, for about 30 minutes more.
- Heat the oil in a small skillet and add the remaining onion and chopped jalapeno. Cook just until the onion is wilted.
- Stir in the tomatoes and cilantro. Cook for an additional 3 minutes.
- Remove one cup of the beans with their liquid and process them in a blender or food processor until as fine as possible.
- Return the pureed mixture to the beans and stir together.
- Add the tomato-onion mixture to the beans and continue to simmer about 5 minutes more.
- Serve as is or with toppings of grated cheddar cheese, chopped scallions, sour cream and salsa.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your health care provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
More Pinto Beans Recipes ...
- Drunken Pintos with Cilantro and Bacon from Cooking in Kansas City
- Mom's Chili Beans from Simply Recipes
- Homesick Texan's Pinto Beans Three Ways
- The Pioneer Woman's Beans and Cornbread
- Pork and Pinto Beans from Taste of Home
Jake Bean Guy says
This is my Pinto and Cheese recipe -- I do it in a pressure cooker.
1 cup pinto, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp cumin, 4 cups of stock
Pressure cook on high pressure for 35 mins, careful to minimise steam loss by turning low once up to pressure. Release naturally. No presoak needed.
Open cooker. Add 2 oz grated hard cheese like a cheddar.
Stir fast with a wooden spoon for a couple of minutes, until the beans start to cream and cheese is melted into the beans.
Reduce on high to remove any excess liquid, as preferred. Maybe 1 or 2 minutes max.
Serve with grated cheese and fresh black on top. Cilandro and jalapinos optional.
Lana Stuart says
Thank you so much for the recipe! I can't wait to try it.
Dan says
that looks great. I like how you thickened the broth with puree - very neat idea. I've heard about puree-ing beans into pasta sauce to sneak in proetin for the kiddies as well.
Georgia Pellegrini says
You had me at cowgirl ; )
megan @ whatmegansmaking says
absolutely beautiful picture! yum :)
Lana says
Why, thank you, Megan.
Sues says
I'm the same way! I totally always choose to make the most intensive, oven-using recipes ever on the hottest day!
These look great and well worth it :)
Lana says
I wonder why that is! I seem to crave long-cooked wintry recipes in the middle of summer. Just crazy, I guess :-)
Peg H. says
Lana, I tried for 20 years to make pinto beans that tasted nearly as good as my mama's, with no luck whatsoever. When she passed away, I inherited her pressure cooker, and guess what? Apparently, that was the secret! The best part about that (besides the flavor) is it doesn't heat up the kitchen. Here's the easy-peasy way to make my mama's beans: sort through your dried pintos and discard any dirt, rocks, etc. Soak a cup or two of pintos in the pressure cooker overnight (covered or uncovered, doesn't matter), just make sure you use twice as much water as beans. When you're ready to cook them the next day/evening, pour the beans into a colander and rinse them well. Put them back into the pressure cooker, add a smoked ham hock and half an onion (diced); cover it all with water. Close, cook on high until the pressure indicator starts rockin', reduce heat to medium, and let the indicator rock for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the cooker sit there for another 15 minutes or so (chop up some cilantro, onion if you like, and grate some cheddar while you're waiting); carry it to the sink and run water over it until all the pressure has dissipated. Open it up, spoon a mess into a bowl, garnish with the onions, cheese & cilantro, and enjoy! We prefer a big pan of your egg bread (cornbread) with our beans, hot & covered with butter 'n honey. :-)
Lana says
Wow, Peg, I never even though about using the pressure cooker. What a great idea! I'm trying your recipe next!