Chorizo Pinto Bean Soup

This Chorizo Pinto Bean Soup is a simple healthy dinner perfect for the colder months. With garlic, onion, tomatoes and Mexican Chorizo, this soup is loaded with flavor and comfort.

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How To Make Beans More Flavorful

Friends…beans are probably one of the most healthful foods that can be eaten. However, unless you’re an absolute bean lover, they can be rather boring. Before sharing the health benefits I want to share two tricks to making beans out of this world delicious.

1. Make sure there is plenty of flavor with garlic, onions, herbs and spices. This Pinto Bean Soup is an excellent example of adding lots of flavor. Need some support getting comfortable with herbs and spices. I have got you covered with this  Quick Start Spice Guide. 
2. A high quality sea salt can enhance flavors and make beans taste amazing. I recently fell in love with this salt when it was recommended for its low iodine and high mineral content levels. In addittion to taking food up about 10 levels in tastiness, this salt is so beautiful. It looks like beautiful fallen snow.
   

   Benefits of Eating Beans

Not only can beans become an extra delicious dinner, there is also plenty of motivation because of their health benefits. Beans are a good source of folate, antioxidants and amino acids. Also, the most exciting elements of incorporating beans into your diet is they can help stabilize blood sugar, improve gut health and they have soluble fiber that may help to lower cholesterol levels. 

If you are anything like me, once you read all the health benefits you will be adding beans to your salads, sandwiches and appetizers. 

 

Should Beans Be Soaked Before Cooking 

The practice of soaking beans before cooking has been a very popular approach for longer than I can tell. The reason many health conscious people soak them is the belief that soaking before cooking helps to remove some of the sugars that make them harder to digest (in other words, you won’t fart as much). However, I gave up soaking beans years ago and my reaction to them is the same whether I soak or not. So the answer in short is no. Beans do not need to be soaked before cooking. 

However, there are always exceptions to the rules and everyones digestion is different. If you find that soaking beans is helpful in making them more digestible or you are uncertain as to whether you should or not, here is a helpful guide. 

Cooking Pinto Beans

Instant Pot

This is one of my favorite ways to cooking beans. Using the Instant Pot, they always turn out cooked to be beautifully soft and in whole form. My friend Kristen at A Mind”Full” Mom is who turned me onto using the Instant Pot and I use her no-fail instructions each and every time. 

Stovetop

To cook the beans on the stovetop first rinse the beans in a colander and then place in a large enameled dutch oven or pot. Fill with water about 2-3 inches above the beans. Add 2 tsp salt and bring to a boil over med/high heat. Once boiling lower the temperature to a simmer and cover with a lid making sure to stir a few times every hour. Pinto Beans will be done within 1-2 hours, or when soft and tender to eat. 

 

Crockpot 

Rinse pinto beans in a colander and then place into the inner lining of the crockpot. Add 2 tsp salt and 7- 8 cups of water. Cook on high for 8-10 hours or until beans are soft and tender to eat. 

ProTip: It is not necessary to season the dried beans with more than just salt for this recipe as the chorizo and spices added during the soup preparation gives it a ton of flavor. 

How To Make Pinto Bean Soup

1. Sauté onions until lightly browned.
2. Add Chorizo.
3. Sauté until cooked.
4. Add oregano and coriander and sauté for a minute. 
5. Now add garlic…
6. and canned tomatoes with juice.
7. Add chicken broth…
8. and cooked pinto beams.
9. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. 

Which Chorizo Is Best

I am not going to beat around the bush on this one. Homemade Mexican Chorizo is far superior to anything I have ever come across in grocery stores. Sadly, store bought chorizo always feels like they are using the left over scraps of the pig. The quality has just never been there with store bought. However, with homemade chorizo you can use quality ground pork. I personally love to use ButcherBox for their heritage ground pork because it makes amazing Mexican Chorizo and Homemade Italian Sausage.

*ButcherBox is a meat delivery service that delivers your choice of grass-fed beef, heritage pork, free-range chicken and wild caught salmon to your doorstep. Shipping is always free and you can cancel at anytime. 

What To Serve With Chorizo Pinto Bean Soup

We absolutely adore eating this Pinto Bean Soup with either my Mom’s Old Fashioned Cornbread or Best Ever Biscuits recipe. Also, this Chorizo Beans recipe is amazing with a side salad dressed with either Cilantro Lime Salad Dressing, Creamy Lemon Tahini Salad Dressing or my favorite Simple Herbed Lemon Vinaigrette. 

More Recipes Using Beans

If you love soups and are trying to incorporate more beans than either Italian White Bean Soup, Black Bean Soup or Ribollita (aka Italian Bread and Vegetable Soup) could be a perfect match for you. For Mexican cuisine, you’ll adore either Baja Chicken Bowls, Healthy Baked Tostadas or Hearty Homemade Chili. Additionally, the great news is that beans can be incorporated into appetizers and light lunches with recipes like Simple White Bean Dip, Avocado Hummus and Mediterranean Tuna Salad. 

 

If you enjoyed this Chorizo Pinto Bean Soup please let me know by leaving a comment and review below. Doing so helps to encourage others to make the recipe also. Thank you!