The Best Pinto Beans Recipe

I live for the simple side dish, and it doesn’t get much more simple than The Best Pinto Beans from a Can Recipe. A little red onion and the perfect blend of spices (including one you’ll never suspect), and you’ll be eating these by the spoonful!

I tend to be one of those pinto with chicken, black beans with beef people. My kids are slooooow to the beans scene. It has taken years to convince them and it all started as black beans. Now I’m finally showing them just how crazy delicious pinto beans are, especially if you add in cinnamon. It is a sneaky secret you’d never guess was there but cannot live without.

What Ingredients Do I Need to Make Pinto Beans?

You’ll want to head to the produce section and grab some red onion and cilantro, and the rest of your ingredients are going to come from the spice cupboard, besides the beans themselves, of course! If you’ve ever wondered how to add flavor to canned pinto beans, here is the list of ingredients you’ll need:

• Red Onion
• Garlic Cloves
• Garlic Salt
• Chili Powder
• Cumin
• Cinnamon
• Oregano
• Salt
• Cilantro
• Olive Oil
• Pinto Beans (canned)

The measurements of each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.

How to Make Canned Pinto Beans Taste Delicious

I promised this recipe would be easy, so let me prove it! Here are the basic steps:

1. Sauté the onions in olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add the garlic and then all the seasonings.
3. Add the pinto beans and water.
4. Let the beans simmer.

Simple, right?! All of these instructions in full detail can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.

Should You Drain Canned Pinto Beans?

The short answer to that is, it depends. It honestly depends on the recipe and how much extra liquids the recipe can handle. For this recipe, we want them drained so all the flavors from the spices and onions can saturate the beans.

I also don’t like the thick, sort of chalky flavor and texture of the liquid that the beans are canned with. I like to give the beans a good rinse then add water if a little extra moisture is needed to cook the beans.

Do You Have to Cook Pinto Beans from a Can?

No, canned beans are fully cooked and ready to eat straight from the can and cold if your heart desires. Which it shouldn’t desire because…ew!

Can I Make This Recipe in the Instant Pot or Slow Cooker?

Yes, this recipe can be made in either the Instant pot or slow cooker.

Instant Pot: Put the Instant Pot on sauté mode and cook the onions and garlic until tender. Then add the spices to bloom them. Add the pinto beans and wate

Crumbl Copycat Key Lime Pie Cookies

Imagine holding delicious key lime pie in the palm of your hand and eating it like a cookie! These key lime pie cookies satisfy your cravings for zesty citrus creamy pie filling and buttery graham cracker crust but in a cookie form!

Everyone in Utah and slowly the whole United States is becoming obsessed with Crumbl Cookies, but I’m here to take their great idea up a notch. This copycat Crumbl Key Lime Pie Cookies recipe is 100% because I have a friend who is obsessed but I thought it needed a little touch here and there.

We use straight up, homemade graham cracker crust in and outside of the cookie to really push that key lime pie flavor. PRO TIP: I like to make a homemade graham cracker crust and throw it into the freezer in a ziploc bag. It keeps forever and I can toss it into cookie dough, sprinkle it on top of desserts or even in our creamy vanilla ice cream it’s unreal! It really is the secret, along with a little more salt to add more flavor and balance to the perfect Key Lime Pie Cookie!

We are obsessed with lime desserts in our house!  Our key lime cheesecake with berry sauce is heavenly. Our classic key lime pie is so easy and always a hit. Of course, we have our torta de limão and it’s berry infused spinoff…blackberry lime bars. And if your loyal too cookies, try our white chocolate key lime cookies! You just can’t go wrong with limes when it comes to dessert!

Ingredients for Key Lime Pie Cookies

This recipe comes together in two different parts – the cookies and the filling. Besides the key limes themselves, the ingredients are mostly pantry staples. Here is what you will need:

For the Cookies

• Wet Ingredients: unsalted butter, cream cheese, brown sugar, white sugar, egg and vanilla extract
• Dry Ingredients: flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt
• Graham Cracker Crust: graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar

For the Key Lime Filling

• Cream Cheese
• Sour Cream
• Sweetened Condensed Milk
• Lime Zest, Lime Juice, and Lime Wedges
• Whipped Cream: whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract

The measurements for all of these ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post. Keep scrolling down for all the details!

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! As I sit here sipping coffee and writing today’s newsletter, my youngest son is making a pot of blueberries and cream oatmeal for our breakfast – and I’m thinking how awesome it is to have older kids now. Younger years are their own kind of fun, but middle school, high school, and college age kids? I just love it so much.

Today’s plan is a whole lot of home organization and cleaning out closets, a trip to drop off donations at the thrift store (thrills a minute here for sure), maybe a car wash, and hopefully a bike ride too. There’s something especially peaceful in knowing I don’t have to be anywhere special or accomplish anything specific this weekend. I’m wishing you much of the same, or as active and busy a weekend as your heart desires.

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK:  What’s not to love about a fully loaded ranch potato salad filled with bits of bacon and chunks of egg? This has been my kids’ favorite potato salad for over 10 years now. This is a super easy-to-make potato salad with bacon, eggs, and ranch dressing and it’s been a huge hit with everyone who tries it.

Fresh corn, bell peppers, jalapenos, cilantro, and onion are tossed with lime and a sprinkling of spices to create this Southwest Corn Salad. You’ve likely heard it said before that something is “more than the sum of its parts.” Well, this salad, it is absolutely more than the sum of its parts.

This Zucchini Stir Fry with Chicken is an easy dinner that delivers a whole lot of great flavor. Served on its own or over rice or noodles, this is a meal that always satisfies.

Move over chocolate, there’s a new player in the flavored milk lineup. Fresh blueberries are a total game changer. Sweet and tangy, they bring such a refreshing taste to each sip of this Blueberry Milk.

Juicy blueberries and hearty oats come together with the perfect blend of sweet and tangy in these chewy Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies.

Perfectly chewy, fudgy brownies, topped with fudge frosting and a sprinkling of candies, these Cosmic Brownies are better than the original! Just a warning here, it turns out that these brownies are my kryptonite. I have to force myself to give away half the pan every time I make them because I can not stay away from them if they’re in the house.

And yes, I DID make those brownies just so I could make this Cosmic Brownie Ice Cream

Weekly Menu Plan – Apr. 22 to Apr. 28

Another week and another menu to figure out! We have got you covered! I feel like we are finally cruising into grilling weather here in Utah, so there’s a burger on the menu this week! We also have a couple of our tried and true chicken dinner recipes in the rotation and our brand new pesto lasagna.

Monday:  The Best Roasted Chicken

Tuesday: 20 Minute Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta

Wednesday: Teriyaki Beef Wrap

Thursday: Quick & Easy Creamy Creamy Chicken Pesto Lasagna

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Tillamook Bacon Cheeseburger

Sunday: Panko Chicken with Lemon Cream Sauce

READ: Weekly Menu Plan – Apr. 22 to Apr. 28

Freshly churned chocolate ice cream is layered with bite-size chunks of Cosmic Brownies and scattered with miniature M&M candies to create this super fun Cosmic Brownie Ice Cream.

Cosmic Brownie Ice Cream

I’ve been on a kick lately making Little Debbie copycat ice cream recipes. When I first spied Little Debbie’s line of ice creams in the grocery store, I did a double take. And then I immediately put them all on my must-try-soon list.

Little Debbie’s brownies were always a fun treat growing up and I couldn’t resist turning that nostalgic treat into a bowl of ice cream. I started this ice cream by playing with a copycat recipe for those brownies.

We absolutely love these ultra fudgy brownies topped with a layer of fudge frosting and a sprinkling of candies, but if you aren’t in the mood to bake? Just grab a box of Little Debbie’s brownies and you’ll be churning ice cream in no time at all.

Little Debbie Ice Cream

You know how much I love trying new flavors of ice cream and recreating them at home. Check out my son’s favorite Nutty Bars Ice Cre