As a transplanted Texan native living in Netherlands, I’ve been missing good TexMex style pinto beans. Of course we can get them in a can, or pressure cook them, however, I wanted to try something new and decided to try to sous vide them. The folks at Polyscience Culinary suggest a broad range for cooking legumes sous vide, and Anova Culinary offers their take on no-soak beans. Striking a balance between these recommendations, I decided to take a middle path, opting for the traditional approach of soaking my beans overnight, which is thought to help with digestibility and even cooking. Then, I cooked them at a precise 87°C for 6 hours, aiming for that perfect creamy texture.

Here’s how I prepared my sous vide pinto beans:

Ingredients

  • 173 grams (1 cup) dried pinto beans, soaked overnight in water
  • 1/2 a medium red onion, cut in half
  • 3 cloves of garlic, smashed and peeled
  • 1 bay leaf

Instructions

  1. Prepare a 1% saltwater solution for soaking the beans. To do this, dissolve 5 grams of salt in 495 grams of water.
  2. Place the dried pinto beans in a small bowl and cover them with the saltwater solution. Cover and soak overnight.
  3. After soaking the beans overnight, drain them but do not rinse. Prepare a fresh 1% saltwater solution using the same ratio (5 grams of salt in 495 grams of water) for cooking.
  4. Preheat your sous vide machine to 87°C.
  5. Place the beans, onion, garlic, and bay leaf in a large glass jar, sealing it tightly.
  6. Submerge the jar in the water bath and let it cook for 6 hours.
  7. Carefully remove the jar, open it, and serve the beans with your favorite TexMex accompaniments.
An image showing a jar of pinto beans submerged in a sous vide water bath. The beans appear tender and well-cooked, visible through the clear glass jar, which is sealed with a metal clamp-down lid. Bubbles cling to the sides of the jar, indicating the cooking process. The water bath container is placed on a kitchen countertop, with a white towel underneath it and kitchen tiles in the background. A close-up image of a plated meal, showing a generous portion of sous vide pinto beans alongside golden-brown Mexican rice and a cheese-covered enchilada. The pinto beans are plump and appear tender, nestled in a savory sauce. The enchilada is smothered in melted cheese and browned to perfection, and the rice is speckled with flecks of green herbs. The dish is served on a white plate set against a dark-toned background, creating an inviting contrast that emphasizes the vibrant colors of this TexMex meal.

Overall I’d say they turned out great. Super creamy and worked perfectly with some home made salsa.