Scottsdale, Arizona

Edited by Lauren Whitfield

The Well-Kept Day

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A pot of pinto beans for the week

One pound of dried beans, a few pantry spices and a slow afternoon give me the start of four or five easy meals.

By Lauren Whitfield · · 2 min read

A cast iron pot of simmering pinto beans with a bay leaf, a wooden spoon, an onion, garlic and a bowl of cumin
Illustration created with AI.

Sunday afternoon is bean day in my kitchen. A pot goes on the stove after lunch, the house smells like cumin and onion by three o’clock, and by dinner I have the start of the week’s meals sitting in the fridge. It is one of the least expensive things I cook and one of the most useful.

What you need

  • 1 pound dried pinto beans
  • 1 medium onion, peeled and halved
  • 4 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • Water

How I make them

  1. Sort and rinse. Spread the beans on a sheet pan and pick out any small stones or shriveled beans. Rinse them well in a colander.
  2. Soak, if you can. Cover the beans with water by about two inches and leave them overnight, then drain. Soaking isn’t required, but it shortens the cooking time.
  3. Simmer. Put the beans in a heavy pot with the onion, garlic, bay leaf and cumin. Cover with fresh water by about two inches and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a gentle simmer and set the lid slightly ajar.
  4. Be patient. Soaked beans usually take 1½ to 2 hours; unsoaked, closer to 3. Check now and then and add hot water if the beans start to peek above the liquid. They are done when they are creamy all the way through.
  5. Salt. I add the salt once the beans begin to soften, then taste again at the end. Fish out the onion and bay leaf before storing.

A pound of dried beans makes roughly six cups cooked. I let them cool, then keep them in the fridge in their cooking liquid and use them within four days. They freeze well, too.

How the week goes

  • Monday: bowls with rice, salsa, shredded cabbage and a squeeze of lime.
  • Tuesday: mashed in a skillet with a spoonful of oil and a little of the liquid, for refried beans.
  • Wednesday: bean and cheese burritos, wrapped in foil for lunch.
  • Thursday: simmered with broth, a can of diced tomatoes and more cumin for a quick soup.
  • Any morning: warmed up next to a fried egg and a tortilla.

O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

Psalm 34:8 (KJV)

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