- 1). Soak one pound of dry pinto beans overnight in a large bowl. If you don't have time to soak them overnight, add beans to a pot of water, bring beans to a boil for two minutes, then let sit one to four hours with the lid on.
- 2). Replace the water the pinto beans are soaking in with fresh water, and add the mixture to a pot. Make sure the water is at least three inches above the beans.
- 3). Bring the water to a boil. Cover the pot with a lid, and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer the pinto beans for approximately four hours.
- 4). Add seasoning after two hours of simmering. Start by adding a few pinches of salt and fresh ground pepper. Don't add any salt until the beans start cooking since it will affect the cooking process, making the pinto beans less tender.
- 5). Chop one large onion and three cloves of garlic using a cutting board and a sharp knife.
- 6). Heat 1 tsp. olive oil in a frying pan, and add the chopped onion. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon, and cook for a few minutes until the onions start to get soft. Add the chopped garlic, and cook for another minute.
- 7). Add the cooked onion and garlic to the pinto beans, and mix thoroughly with the wooden spoon.
- 8). Add a few pinches of onion salt and garlic salt to the pinto beans after about three and a half hours of simmering, or when the beans are almost finished cooking. Onion and garlic seasonings go very well with pinto beans. If you can't use fresh onion and garlic, use about double the amount of onion and garlic salt you normally would.
- 9). Add a few dashes of crushed red pepper flakes if you want to spice up the pinto beans. Crushed red pepper flakes can be added after about two hours of simmering, and they're an excellent addition if you plan to use the pinto beans in a Mexican-inspired dish, such as burritos or chili.
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