Roasted Tomatillo and Jalapeno Pinto Bean Soup

by Nancy

This pinto bean soup is meatless, easy to make and has such a comforting taste and texture. It’s made with slow cooked dried pinto beans, roasted tomatillos, jalapenos, onion and spices. It’s delicious served topped with cheese, salsa, avocado or the topping of your choice.

This homemade pinto bean soup is a meal in itself and is made with simple and fresh ingredients.

In this recipe, the pinto beans are made from scratch with no added fat.

And fresh vegetables are roasted in a skillet, blended and then added to the soup mixture along with spices.

This pinto bean soup has a delicious earthy and savory flavor, as well as a little spicy kick to it from the jalapenos.

Also it’s topped with a generous amount of crumbled queso fresco cheese for additional creaminess with each bite.

About this Recipe

In this recipe, the pinto beans are first soaked in water for 5 hours.

Then they’re simmered in a pot of water for 2-1/2 hours.

During the last 30 minutes of cooking, tomatillos, jalapenos and onions are roasted, blended and added to the soup pot along with spices.

And the texture of the soup can be as thick or thin as you want it.

If the soup is too thick, more water can be added or if the soup is too thin, it can be simmered a little longer.

Serving Suggestions

This pinto bean soup is best when served warm right after it’s made.

And when served, as many or as few toppings can be added as you like.

Some topping options include crumbled queso fresco, shredded cheddar cheese, shredded Monteray jack cheese, avocado, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, green salsa, red salsa or even guacamole.

The most time-consuming part of making this recipe is the time it takes to soak the beans.

But the good news is that soaking them is the easiest part because the beans just sit in a bowl or pot that’s filled with water.

Let’s check out the ingredients.

For the Pinto Beans – Dried pinto beans, water, salt and ground black pepper

Roasted Vegetables and Seasonings – Tomatillos, jalapeno peppers, onion, granulated garlic, dried oregano, ground cumin, salt and ground black pepper

For the Soup – Cooked pinto beans, roasted vegetables, seasonings and toppings

Topping Options – Crumbled queso fresco cheese, avocado, tomatoes, onion, shredded sharp cheddar cheese or Monterey jack cheese

Also, pico de gallo and salsa are delicious toppings for this soup (links to these recipes are at the bottom of this post).

Equipment – 8-Quart soup stock pot; and large skillet; If using a non-stick skillet, no oil is needed; If using an uncoated skillet (such as stainless steel or ceramic), some olive oil is needed.

HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE

A printable recipe with the measurements and instructions is located at the bottom of this post.

Preparing the Dried Pinto Beans:

Sort the Beans – remove and discard any bad beans (broken, off-colored, shriveled), debris, pebbles, rocks or foreign material.

Rinse the Beans – Place the sorted beans in a colander or strainer and rinse them under cold water.

Soak the Beans – Transfer the beans to a large bowl or pot and add water to about 3/4’s full.

Amount of Time to Soak the Beans – The package instructions generally recommend soaking the pinto beans for at least 6 to 8 hours, or overnight.

In this recipe, the pinto beans soak for 5 hours.

Every 45 minutes to an hour, drain the beans, discard the water, and refill the soaking container (with the beans in it) with fresh water.

TIP – Changing out and replacing the water that the beans are soaking in may help with “de-gassing” the beans.

Quick Soaking the Dried Pinto Beans

The package of dried pinto beans may also provide instructions for a “quick soak” where the pinto beans are boiled about 2 minutes then removed from the heat, and left in the covered pot for about an hour. Then the beans are drained and rinsed again before cooking.

Once the pinto beans are done soaking, drain out and discard the water.

Cooking the Dried Pinto Beans:

In a large pot (8-quart) add hot water to about half full.

To the water, add salt and heat the pot on low heat (just enough heat to simmer the beans).

To the pot, carefully add the soaked and drained pinto beans.

After adding the beans, if the water level is lower than 3/4’s full, add just enough water to bring up the level to 3/4’s full.

Stir the beans periodically as they cook.

Keep a close eye on the pot of beans as it simmers because the water level will decrease…

…have a large cup of water nearby to refill the pot of beans before the water level gets too low.

When the water level in the pot decreases by about 2 inches, add more water to bring the level back up to 3/4’s full.

More water may need to be added 2 or 3 times while the beans are simmering.

TIP – Continue to watch the pot of beans closely to make sure that there is still water in the pot (don’t let the pot run out of water or the beans will burn).

Cook the beans until they’re tender (about 2 to 2-1/2 hours).

After 2 Hours of Cooking, Check the Beans for Tenderness

Use a large, slotted spoon to scoop out a couple of beans and place them onto a plate. When they’re cool enough to eat, taste them to make sure they’re tender. If not, continue to simmer the beans. As soon as the beans are tender, the blended roasted vegetables and spices are added to the pot to make the soup.

While the beans are cooking, prepare the vegetables.

Preparing the Vegetables:

Coarsely cut the onion in larger size pieces and set aside.

TIP – Larger pieces of cut onion are best so that it doesn’t cook faster than the other vegetables in the skillet.

Remove the husks and stems from the tomatillos.

Then rinse the tomatillos in water to remove the stickiness.

Cut the tomatillos in quarters and set aside.

Cut the jalapeno peppers in half lengthwise and remove the seeds.

TIP – Be careful not to touch the inside of the jalapenos with your bare hands.

Then coarsely cut the jalapeno in large pieces.

TIP – Add extra jalapenos for more spicy heat if preferred.

Roasting the Vegetables:

Charring the Vegetables – Before cooking the vegetables, an option is to turn the vent above the stove on so that the smell of the peppers isn’t too strong.

TIP – If using an uncoated skillet such as stainless steel or ceramic, add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil (or more if needed) to the pan before heating it.

If using a non-stick skillet, olive oil should not be needed.

Heat a large skillet on medium heat.

To the skillet, add the cut tomatillos, jalapeno and onion.

Occasionally stir the vegetables…

…so they’ll char or brown on all sides.

Once the vegetables have charred on all sides turn off the heat, and remove the pan from the burner.

Blending the Roasted Vegetables:

Transfer the roasted vegetables into a blender.

To the blender, add water.

Blend on low speed until combined.

TIP – The ingredients in the blender will be hot so it’s important to use caution when blending because steam can build up and blow the lid off of the blender.

TIP – Blending Hot Ingredients in a Blender

Remove the center piece of the blender lid and place the lid (minus the center piece) on the blender. Then cover the lid with a clean towel folded to a size slightly larger than the lid. Lastly, hold the towel over the lid while blending on the lowest speed.

When the Beans are Tender, Make the Pinto Bean Soup:

Once the beans are tender (after cooking about 2 hours) let the water level in the pot reduce to a little over 1/2 full.

Then add the blended roasted vegetables to the pot.

To the pot, add granulated garlic, dried oregano, ground cumin, salt and ground black pepper.

Stir together.

Simmer another 30 minutes while stirring occasionally.

Let the water decrease in the pot to about 1/2 full or to the desired consistency for the soup without refilling it.

TIP – If the soup is too thick, add more water, if the soup is too thin, let it simmer a little longer.

Once the desired consistency is reached, carefully do a taste test and add salt to taste.

Turn off the heat and remove the pot from the burner.

Serve:

Serve warm…

…topped with crumbled queso fresco or…

…toppings such as avocado, tomatoes, onion, shredded sharp cheddar cheese or Monterey jack cheese.

Thank you so much for stopping by CCC!

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