Adding beans to your meals is a delicious way to get some extra protein. You can buy them canned or fresh and cook them from scratch yourself. They can be eaten with rice, made into ‘meaty’ recipes like burgers or loaves, and so much more! An under appreciated bean is the pinto bean. But we want to make sure you give this bean some love too, so we’ve gathered 10 high-protein pinto bean recipes from the Food Monster App!
1. Smoky Pinto Bean-Beet Burgers
Source: Smoky Pinto Bean-Beet Burgers
A homemade veggie burger is a welcome alternative to beef—at least in theory. But too many are either mushy or dry and lack flavor. For a modern burger with superior composition, we stepped beyond run-of-the-mill bean patties and combined pinto beans with sweet, earthy beets, rich walnuts, and chewy bulgur. These Smoky Pinto Bean-Beet Burgers by Nutritious Delicious not only deliver fantastic texture and flavor, but amassed an enviable nutritional profile for a burger: protein and fiber from beans, minerals and vitamins from the bulgur and beets, and omega-3 fatty acids from the walnuts!
2. Three Bean and Sweet Potato Chili
Source: Three Bean and Sweet Potato Chili
Break out your soup pot and fix up a batch of this colorful and satisfying Three Bean and Sweet Potato Chili by Jennifer Strohmeyer. It’s perfect for Game Day or to warm you up on a cold night!
3. Adzuki and Pinto Bean Burger Patties
Source: Adzuki and Pinto Bean Burger Patties
Burger patties are typically made with potatoes in India, called Aloo ki Tikki and served with chutneys, not with burger buns. Try this unique take: Adzuki and Pinto Bean Burger Patties by Renu Agrawal.
4. Best Veggie Burger With Carrots and Pinto Beans
Source: Best Veggie Burger With Carrots and Pinto Beans
Feel free to add or subtract any thing that you’d like, but rest assured that these Best Veggie Burger With Carrots and Pinto Beans by Cheri Alberts are super healthy from the get-go!
5. Smoky Garden Beans
Source: Smoky Garden Beans
This is a very versatile recipe for Smoky Garden Beans (or pinto) by Rinku Bhattacharya and is a perfect basic recipe for almost anything.
6. Quinoa and Pinto Bean Cheese Burger
Source: Quinoa and Pinto Bean Cheese Burger
Made from pinto beans and quinoa, these Quinoa and Pinto Bean Cheese Burger by Tracey Tytko are packed with protein and they’re spiced with jalapeño and chili powder, so they’re hot! Serve with creamy slices of avocado and your favorite vegan cheese melted on a toasty bun. These burgers are so simple and so delicious, you’ll be making them all the time.
7. Pinto Bean, Green Olive, and Sweet Potato Turnovers
Source: Pinto Bean, Green Olive, and Sweet Potato Turnovers
You can make a big batch of these Pinto Bean, Green Olive, and Sweet Potato Turnovers by Annie Oliverio and put half in the freezer. Serve with salsa and/or cashew sour cream. If you’re not into making your own dough, use vegan puff pastry. Or go super simple and stuff whole wheat tortillas with the warm filling.
8. Greek Keftedes
Source: Greek Keftedes
Keftedes is a traditional Greek food. Usually fried meatballs, served with French fries and Greek salad, make the perfect comfort food. When used for parties or meze they are called Keftedakia (the ‘akia’ means small). For this Greek Keftedes recipe, Dimitra Kontou used pinto beans instead of meat but you can use whatever beans you prefer.
9. Pueblo Corn Pie
Source: Pueblo Corn Pie
This layered casserole of cooked cornmeal topping a tasty bean chili is adapted from a Native American recipe. Try this vegan Pueblo Corn Pie that has pinto beans by Nava Atlas.
10. How to Make Slow Cooker Spicy Pinto Beans
Source: How to Make Slow Cooker Spicy Pinto Beans
These Slow Cooker Spicy Pinto Beans by Rinku Bhattacharya are a slow or pressure cooked super simple version of pinto beans. Pinto beans are very common in Mexican cuisine. They are the beans that make “rice and beans” shine. Cooked simply, these beans taste magical with rice.
Love these high-protein pinto bean recipes? Check out 15 High-Protein Black Bean Veggie Burgers, 10 Fantastic High-Protein Fava Bean Recipes, and 15 Awesome High-Protein Black Bean Recipes!
We also highly recommend downloading our Food Monster App, which is available for iPhone, and can also be found on Instagram and Facebook. The app has more than 15,000 plant-based, allergy-friendly recipes, and subscribers gain access to new recipes every day. Check it out!
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