recipe reviews for:

Cantina Pinto Beans

“Cumin, cilantro and red pepper flakes lend a Southwestern flair to tender pinto beans in this recipe from Mrs. L.R. Larson of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 'This dish was inspired by one served at a Dallas, Texas restaurant. The chef added chunks of ham, but my version is meatless,' she writes. 'It makes a great Tex-Mex side or a filling lunch when served with corn bread.'”

Sort reviews by:
DATE
RATING
MOST HELPFUL

Reviewed: Apr. 16, 2012

This was pretty good, but it needed more seasoning...maybe more salt? I followed the recipe (though I cut it in half), except I sauteed the veggies and spices before adding them to the beans. Nice change of pace from our regular bean recipe, though.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

happywife05

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Reviewed: Feb. 29, 2012

I don't know what the deal with these beans are, but maybe a crock-pot is the way to go with them? I did the boil method in the morning. Instead of soaking 1 hour I did an additional 6 hours. Then, before adding the tomatoes I cooked the beans 1 1/2 hours. They still weren't soft, but the water had evaporated. I added the tomatoes and then 2.5 hours of cooking after that. During that time I had to add 3 addititional cups of water! The only change I made to the ingredients was using petite diced tomatoes because I was not sure what Mexican tomatoes are and then I added a few pinches of garlic salt towards the very end. After the 2.5 hours they still seem to be only partially soft. 4 hours of cooking and 7 hours of soaking should have been plenty. It was above and beyond what the recipe called for. I don't care for recipes that take this long, require excessive cleaning of a pot, and have to be babysat all day! I would go for using the crock-pot or don't bother. The flavor wasn't bad, but not great, or worth the all day effort.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Baker Bee

Supporting Member (Click to learn more about Supporting Membership)

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Detroit, Michigan, USA

Living In: Richmond, Virginia, USA

Reviewed: Feb. 28, 2012

These had a good flavor. I went the easy route with canned beans, so I followed another person's advice on cutting the recipe down and sauteed 1/4 onion, 1/4 green pepper, 1 stalk celery, and too much garlic (accidentally), then added 1 can pinto beans, 1 can diced tomatoes w/mild green chilis, 1/4 tsp cumin, 1/8 tsp sage, some pepper, and a dash or two of cayenne. Then I let it simmer until the rest of my food was ready (about 15 minutes). I thought it would be too tomato-y, but they added great flavor and texture.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

erinjanice

Reviewed: Feb. 18, 2012

absolutely fabulous!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

NannyTrel

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Saluda, North Carolina, USA

Reviewed: Nov. 15, 2011

This recipe tastes OK as written, but it needs fat as a flavor carrier. A lot of the reviewers knew to saute the aromatics before adding to the beans and that makes this recipe excellent. Older beans will take longer to cook so if your beans took much longer than the recipe states, your beans were old when you bought them. Try buying beans from another store or buy another brand.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

kristyreal

Cooking Level: Expert

Reviewed: Nov. 13, 2011

I don't understand how the cook time is listed as 1 hr 30 minutes. 2 minutes boiling + 1 hr resting + 1 hour simmering + 30 minutes simmering = 2hrs 32 minutes, not to mention all the time it takes to come to boil. Good recipe, but very time consuming!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

rezthepinnacle

Reviewed: Nov. 8, 2011

These are awesome! My six year old groaned when I told him we were having beans, but ended up eating two bowls! He wants me to make it again tomorrow! We followed the recipe pretty much as-is, but I sauteed he onion and garlic in olive oil before adding beans, broth, and other ingredients. I omitted the celery since I'm not a fan of it. We used rotel diced tomatoes with green chilis. I only had one can, but it was enough. Make sure to add the cilantro--it makes the dish! Economical, healthy, and delicious!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Danielle

Reviewed: Jul. 18, 2011

Very good, I had to cook the beans quite a bit longer than the recipe called for (but I did the quick soak method beforehand, so that could have required longer cooking times)

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Melanie

Reviewed: May 6, 2011

I really liked these beans, I added a bit of smoked sausage to it, but otherwise I followed the directions to the "T"

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

corunmila

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Jacksonville, Arkansas, USA

Reviewed: Feb. 4, 2011

My bf really liked these so they got 4 stars. Otherwise I'd give them 3 & I think the only reason he liked them is because I added some bacon that the recipe didn't call for. Not sure I'd make these again. Not horrible but just not my favorite.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
2 users found this review helpful