These copycat Chipotle Pinto Beans are easy to make, inexpensive, and healthy! Add to burritos and salads or serve with rice for a tasty vegetarian meal.
"Black or pinto beans?"
Before Chipotle removed the pork from its pintos, this was an easy decision. Because bacon! But now there is no bacon and the beans are just is good, and life is full of tough choices.
How to Make Chipotle Pinto Beans
There is no need to soak the beans overnight (not in this recipe and not in any other beans recipes, either). And if you do, don't throw away the water! That's your flavor. (Thanks to my buddy Dave for all the insights on beans!)
Start by sautéing some onions in oil. Add garlic, spices, chipotles in adobo for heat, and your beans. Add enough water to cover the beans, and then let them simmer.
A couple of hours later, you'll have a giant pot of tender, hearty beans that taste just like Chipotle's. Along with the bay leaf, you'll probably want to remove the chipotle chilis. Leave them in for a BIG spicy kick (at your own risk!).
Are Chipotle Pinto Beans Vegan?
Yes, they are. Just have a look at the ingredient statement and see for yourself.
Chipotle Pinto Beans (Copycat)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or rice bran oil (see notes)
- 1 medium yellow onion finely diced
- 16 ounces dried pinto beans rinsed and sorted
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce plus 2 teaspoons sauce (see notes)
- 6 cups water (enough to cover beans)
- lemon juice
- lime juice
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- In a large pot or dutch oven over medium high heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- To the pot with the onions add beans, cumin, oregano, garlic, bay leaf, chipotle chilies, and adobo sauce. Add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until beans are tender, about 2 hours.
- Remove from heat. Remove bay leaf and chipotle chilies. Stir in lemon and lime juices, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Recipe Notes
- Chipotle uses rice bran oil, but any neutral oil will work.
- To strain the adobo sauce from the chiles, add the content of the can into a strainer set over a small bowl, pressing down on the peppers to extract as much liquid as possible (you should have at least ¼ cup). Reserve remaining chipotle chilies and sauce for another use.
Can you do this in a crockpot too?
Hi Lynh, I’m sure you can. I’ll have to test it to see what the exact cooking times would be, if you’re interested. Off the top of my head I don’t know. But I am certain you can cook the recipe in a crockpot. I just can’t offer the specifics this second. Thank you! -Meggan
I’m not a bean lover, I make them for my husband. But this recipe, I could have everyday. It’s delicious , not a boring bean by any means . thanks so much for sharing
Wow, thanks so much Patricia, this makes my day! -Meggan
Side of saute onions? No instructions on when to ADD onions INTO beans. Please Update. Thank you
Hi Rae, sorry for the confusion. You add the beans INTO the onions. You cook the onions first, then add in everything else. You never take the onions out. I’ve updated the instructions to from “to the pot add….” to say “to the pot with the onions add….”
I hope that helps. -Meggan
My beans taste soo spicey .. I only added the two chile peppers and the sauce like it stated… is there anything I can do to adjust the spiceyness?
Hi Sabrina, I’m so sorry this happened to you. I am going to change the recipe to address this and recommend people use fewer or even NO chipotle chiles, if spicy food is an issue. Part of it depends on the size of the chiles, mine always end up being tiny but maybe yours were bigger. Or maybe you have a lower tolerance for spicy food. In any case, at this point the best way to help with the spice is to add more beans. If you used dried, you could add some cans since they are already cooked. That will dilute the spice (1 or 2 cans of pintos). You can also add more lemon and lime juice, that should help tone down the overall spiciness. Last, serve the beans with bland foods (like rice or tortillas) and if you like toppings, sour cream, cheese, and avocado can help you eat the beans without setting your face on fire. I’m so sorry again. I’ll fix the recipe! Thanks! -Meggan
This are absolutely excellent! I have made them several times and LOVE them. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Absolutely the best bean recipe ever. I’m n not a fan of pinto beans but this one has me hooked. I make cheesy garlic quick bread to accompany the beans and it’s delicious
Wondering if anyone has tried these in the Instant Pot? I’m thinking 45 minutes cook time and natural release with maybe 3 cups of liquid? Thoughts?
Hi Amanda! I’m sorry for the delay, but I actually had you and one other person ask about these beans in the instant pot, so I wanted to test them for you two before giving you an answer. I saw tons of conflicting information from different sources on how long to do the beans. Ultimately, I ended up trying the bean button, and that cooked them on high pressure for 30 minutes, and did the natural release (which took another 30 minutes). They were chewy! I ended up closing the instant pot back up and doing another 10 minutes manual high pressure, then quick release. They were perfect! Here is what I would recommend:
-Follow recipe card above for all ingredients (use 6 cups of water for sure)
-Manual, high pressure 40 minutes, natural release
I will update this post soon with these instructions! Have a great day! :D
Can these be done in an instant pot?
Hi Jenny! I’m sorry for the delay, but I actually had you and one other person ask about these beans in the instant pot, so I wanted to test them for you two before giving you an answer. I saw tons of conflicting information from different sources on how long to do the beans. Ultimately, I ended up trying the bean button, and that cooked them on high pressure for 30 minutes, and did the natural release (which took another 30 minutes). They were chewy! I ended up closing the instant pot back up and doing another 10 minutes manual high pressure, then quick release. They were perfect! Here is what I would recommend:
-Follow recipe card above for all ingredients
-Manual, high pressure 40 minutes, natural release
I will update this post soon with these instructions! Have a great day! :D
I made these tonight and they came out amazing!! This recipe is perfect. Taste just like Chipotle!
If you use can beans, should you drain the liquid or keep it?
Hi Kathy! No need to to drain the liquid out of the can! :)
I have the same question about draining the liquid. Thanks!
Hi LeAnn! No, you don’t need to drain the liquid for this recipe! -Meggan
Do you cover the beans during 2 hour simmer?
Covering will help reduce evaporative losses but it isn’t strictly required. As for rice, most “boiling” rice reciped are really steamed rice which REQUIRES covering. True boiled rice doesn’t and you drain the water from it when you’re done.
Anything that absorbs water during cooking should always be covered after bringing to boil and reduced to simmer otherwise the water evaporates and the result is a dry finished product. Same principle applies to rice
Never knew not to soak beans overnight!…always tossed the water too. Did i mention that this recipe is delicious!?
And you were smarter for it. Tossing the water tosses the disolved sugars that make beans so magical.
Hi! I have a question. I thought I had saw it on the recipe before [I have made this and a few other recipes you have listed with this, all super yummy if I might add! =D] but maybe I imagined it because I’m not seeing it now. Lol. How much lime and lemon juice do you add? I thought I had saw 1 TBSP for each but I don’t see any specific amount. TIA!! =D
Can I use a can of beans instead?
Hi Trinity, yes! You definitely can. You could simmer everything together for 20 or 30 minutes and be all done. 1 pound of dried beans (what this recipe calls for) is the equivalent of 4 cans of beans. So, if you just want to do a single can of beans, you should divide the rest of the ingredients by 4 (if that makes sense). Or use 2 cans of beans and then just halve the recipe (easier math). You can also feel free to just wing it! If you have any questions or need anything else, just let me know! Thanks for the question.
Hello, i did not see when to add the beans? Did i read that wrong?
You read it right! There are no beans in my bean recipe! Fixing the typo now, so sorry about that. :) But what a nice pot of spices and adobo sauce…. LOL. The beans go in in Step 2. Thanks Sarah, sorry about that.
I always soak my beans and peas in water and baking soda to degas them. It’s a must in our house!
Hi Tracee! I used to do this all the time too, although some people have different opinions. But that’s awesome! I should probably start testing this and see if it makes a different in our house, too. Some people say the cure to gas from beans is to eat more beans! I have no idea if that’s true. :)