This pinto beans and rice soup recipe brings back very good memories from my childhood. This soup was one of my dad’s favourite meals once the hot summer season had ended. I can perfectly remember his smile when he came home for lunch to discover that one of his favourite dishes was served at the kitchen table.
We were very lucky to have lunch all together every day. My mum worked at home and my dad’s business was within a walking distance from our place, so we could enjoy lunch the Mediterranean way with the family and with enough time to savour every bite!
As you know pulses are a staple of the Mediterranean diet. They are good sources of plant-based proteins, amino acids, fibre, iron, B group vitamins and other nutrients that help prevent cancer, diabetes and heart diseases. They are low in fat, contain no cholesterol and so it is recommended to eat them as part of a healthy diet and to address obesity problems. They are a perfect addition to all sorts of dishes including soups and stews.
You can find plenty of pulses recipes on my blog under the category “Beans & other legumes”
This pinto beans and rice soup recipe is a virtually fat free high quality protein meal. It is also a good source of folate, vitamins B1 and B6 and an excellent source of minerals such as iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, copper and potassium.
If you try this healthy and tasty vegan Mediterranean diet recipe of pinto bean and rice soup, please let me know, leave a comment and rate it. I would love to know what you come up with. Enjoy!
- 360g (1⅔ cup) Dried pinto beans
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 Red bell pepper, cored and diced
- 1 Potato, peeled and diced
- 1 Garlic clove, peeled and thinly chopped
- 5 Ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
- ½ Tablespoon salt (or salt to taste)
- 1 ½ Litre (3 pints or 6 cups) water
- 150g (3/4 cup) Rice (ideally brown rice)
- Soak the pinto beans in cold water for 10 hours (ideally leave them soaked overnight). Rinse them well and drain.
- Have the ingredients well washed and prepared as indicated in the ingredients description.
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute until lightly golden. Add then the onion, the red pepper and a pinch of salt and sauté for 2 more minutes until only lightly golden. Add then the potato and sauté over medium heat for around 7 minutes.
- Reduce heat to low. Add the tomatoes, the drained pinto beans and stir. Cover with cold water and leave to cook, covered with a lid, at a medium-low heat for approximately 50 minutes or until the beans are almost done, stirring from time to time. Add salt and stir.
- Add the rice and cook until the rice is done, preferably al dente. Remove from the heat and serve hot.
Hi Margarita,
So I’m carefully tracking everything I eat to ensure I keep my blood pressure away from hypertension levels. This recipe looks excellent and will definitely work for me. Would you happen to have the nutrition fact/values breakdown for your recipes?
Thank you and I’ll keep looking for more of your heart healthy recipes.
Hi Mike, I am of the opinion that counting calories keeps you from enjoying food. This is a very tasty and nutritionally balanced recipe, I would encourage you to simply enjoy it and forget about its nutritional data ? Enjoy and happy healthy cooking!
what if i add corn and ground turkey?
Hi Michelle, you could add corn and ground turkey, but the pinto beans have enough protein, I wouldn’t add the ground turkey. Enjoy and happy healthy cooking!
Hi Margarita,
So I’m carefully tracking everything I eat to ensure I keep my blood pressure away from hypertension levels. This recipe looks excellent and will definitely work for me. Would you happen to have the nutrition fact/values breakdown for your recipes?
Thank you and I’ll keep looking for more of your heart healthy recipes.
Might want to add the rice cooking time into the total. I missed the mark on dinner not factoring that in. Delicious nonetheless!
Hi Ben, I’m glad you like it 🙂 Since there are so many varieties of rice I don’t add the cooking time, you can check on the back of the package of rice the cooking time, but as I indicate on my recipe, once the beans are cooked, cook the rice until it’s al dente 😉 Enjoy and happy healthy cooking!
This has been a favorite of mine and my family for the last couple of years. It’s so hardy & delicious and the fact that the ingredients were so simple makes it even better.
Hi Emily, I’m very happy to know you like it 🙂 Enjoy and happy healthy cooking!
I just made this today and I have to say, yummy! yummy! yummy! I’ve got love in my tummy! ☺
Thank you so much for this soulful recipe! ?
Hi Richard, I’m delighted to know you liked my recipe 🙂 Enjoy and happy healthy cooking!
Made this today—even Hubbalicious loves it! Thanks for this recipe!❤️❤️
Hi Ariana, I’m delighted to know you enjoyed it 🙂 Happy healthy cooking!
If I’m going to cook this soup a few days in advance, should I hold off on adding the rice until the day that I will be serving it?
Hi MJ, yes, if you’re going to prepare it in advance do not add the rice until the day you serve it. Also, if you make a very huge pot you could freeze it in individual portions, (without adding the rice), and once you unfreeze it you can add a bit of water and the rice to cook it. This is something we often do at home since this soup is a nice to have ready to go in the freezer! Enjoy and happy healthy cooking! 🙂
I only have red onion ,will that work ?
Hi Daniela, sure it will work with red onion as well 😉 Baking is more strict with the ingredients, but the beauty of cooking is that you can swap some small ingredients to use up the ingredients you have available in your pantry and get a yummy and nutritious meal. Enjoy and happy healthy cooking! 🙂
what are the small green things you are serving this with? Are those olives? If so what kind? Thank you I can’t wait to make this!
Hi Nani, yes those are olives, in particular a variety of olive called Arbequina. Enjoy the soup! 🙂
Could I use cooked beans? How would the recipe be altered? Thank you!
Hi Hayley, as previously indicated if you have pinto beans already cooked, you could simply add the cooked beans into step number 4 and cook them only for about 10 minutes, following the rest of steps as indicated. The recipe will be pretty much the same 😉 Enjoy!
I must have missed it, but indicared where? I, too, would like to try this recipe by using canned beans.
Hi there, I previously indicated to Hayley in another comment she wrote on this same recipe 😉 As per using canned beans you could simply add the cooked beans into step number 4 and cook them only for about 10-15 minutes, following the rest of steps as indicated. The recipe will be pretty much the same ? Enjoy and happy healthy cooking!
I’d like to try this soup, but I just batch cooked a bunch of pinto beans. Is there a way to adapt this soup to use cooked beans instead of dry? Thank you!
Hi Hayley, sure if you have pinto beans already cooked, you could simply add the cooked beans into step number 4 and cook them only for about 10 minutes, following the rest of steps as indicated. Enjoy! 🙂
Another fantastic recipe of yours Margarita! Thanks for sharing, the whole family loved it!
Thanks Aileen, I’m very happy to know you and your family like my recipes, enjoy!
So yummy!!! I love this soup. I used pink Himalayan salt
And a link of kielbasa. Cooked 4 bags of pinto beans
In a big (10 qt) pot. And a dash or two of sriracha
Guess I turned it into a multi-cultural soup ?
Hi Su, I’m delighted to know that based on my recipe you adapted it to your taste turning it into a multicultural soup as you call it 😉 Enjoy!
helllo margarita…and whomever else reading
i used this recipe modified to accommodate having leftover red chili beans and brown rice. also, i didn’t have red bells and not the same quantity of (cooked) beans as the recipe calls for. so, i added red cherry peppers, some sugar snap peas, and even zuccini. i used expeller pressed coconut, too, since i was out of olive oil. still followed the recipe and procedure. otherwise. anyway, point is, though my end result is a modified version, it turned out fantastic! a bit spicier because of the cherry peppers, but i will use this recipe more in the future. thanks for posting it so i could find it in a pinch for late dinner
matthew
You’re welcome Matthew!
I’m glad to know that my recipe, even if you did a modified version of it to use up the ingredients available in your pantry, inspired you to prepare a nice and nutritious dinner from scratch 🙂 Enjoy!
will do, margarita! incidentally, i used a colored variety of fingerling potatoes. (they really lend a mild sweetness to the flavor of anything). so, what with the purple and red of the fingerlings, coupled with and the green of the zucchini and red from the peppers, they made for a nice, colorful visual appeal
You say 1 1/2 litre, and in brackets say 4 1/2 cups. 1 1/2 litres would be 6 cups, no? This would align with 3 pints. Just to clarify! Looks great.
Hi Erin, thanks for pointing it out! It is updated now 🙂 I hope you enjoy the recipe, cheers!
I am making this now – can’t wait to try it! General question for you about rice – do you rinse your rice before cooking? Thanks!
Hi Allison, I hope you enjoyed the soup! As per the rice I will rinse it or not depending on the variety of rice I use. If I use use a rice that is very starchy I will rinse it first, but if I use for example short grain rice like Spanish “bomba” rice or Italian “arborio” rice I won’t rinse it before cooking. I hope I answered your question 🙂 Have a nice day!
I presume “a tablespoon of salt” is a mistake??
Hi Helen, I indicate a tablespoon of sea salt but I have to admit I never add a full tablespoon of salt, I’ll update it. The 4 portions of this recipe are quite generous, they can actually serve 6 people instead of 4, thus the amount of salt is not high. In any case the best is to add salt to your taste, although my advice would be not to add too much to avoid risks of high blood pressure (ideally no more than 6g of salt a day). I hope you enjoy this soup, have a great week!
I made this last night and it so delicious. I’ve been a vegetarian for 3 years and decided that in 2018 I would become a vegan. My taste buds loved it lol.
Thanks Rochell 🙂 I have plenty of healthy and nutritious vegan recipes on the blog in case you’d like to try them. Enjoy and best wishes for 2018!
Awesome recipe. I made it on the stove, but will try the crock pot next time.
Hi Lalin, I’m glad to know you like this recipe 🙂 Enjoy and happy 2018!
This soup was phenomenal! My entire family loved it (and typically, if it doesn’t have meat in it, they turn their nose up). I used canned organic beans because I was pressed for time. Hopefully this soup recipe just opened up a door and now my family may be more inclined to try more vegan recipes and I won’t have to cook two different meals all the time.
Hi Emily, I am very happy to know your family loved my soup 🙂 I have some other legumes recipes on the blog that usually both meat eaters and vegetarians love alike, like my Mediterranean lentil soup with vegetables or my lentil and kale soup. Give them a try, hopefully this will give you more chances to cook only one dish for all of you 😉 I wish you and your family all the best for the new year!
I used canned pinto beans. This recipe was delicious. My family loved it!
Hi Jocelyn, I’m happy to know your family loved it 🙂 Enjoy!
May I use canned pintos?
Hi Brenda, sure you can use canned pinto beans. In that case avoid step 1, follow the rest of steps as per the instructions and instead of cooking at medium-low heat for 50 minutes, simply cook them for about 10 minutes and add the rice. Enjoy! 🙂
It was soooo delicious! My meatatarian family even loved it lol
It made a huge pot so I have enough for lunches this week ?
Hi Joey, I am very happy to learn that your meat eater family loved my recipe too 🙂 If any time you make a very huge pot and would like to freeze it, my advice would be not to add the rice and freeze the cooked beans and vegetables only, and once you unfreeze it you can add a bit of water and the rice to cook it. I often do it since this dish is a nice to have ready to go in the freezer 😉 Enjoy!
When do I add the tomatoes? I don’t see that step?
Hi Dustin, you have it indicated in step 4 😉 Enjoy!
Oh my god, I love this soup! I found it through Pulses.org where I see you’re a Gourmet Guru. It’s delicious! Thanks for sharing Margarita.
Hi Lea, yes I shared my recipe with the Pulses organization 🙂 Glad to know you like it, enjoy!
I’ve recently tried your recipe and just wanted to say thanks for sharing it with us, loved it!
You’re welcome John! Glad you enjoyed my recipe 🙂
Delicious! Thanks for sharing.
Hi Leo, glad to know you like it 🙂 Happy 2017!