Homemade Ranch Style Beans for the Pantry

One of my favorite things to keep stocked in the pantry is ranch style beans. Slowly, I've been trying to replace store bought to skip all the filler ingredients found in the brand we were buying. Having beans canned can make for quick meals on busy days.

I use soaked pinto beans, tomatoes, broth, and a blend of spices that gives them that smoky, savory ranch style flavor. They’re perfect as a side dish, with cornbread, over rice, in burritos, or alongside grilled meat.

Canning beans is very similar to this, you'll just only want to add salt to each jar but this Ranch Style recipe is such an easy way to have a side that is ready to eat. All you have to do is heat it up in a pan for a few minutes and they are ready to serve.

Ingredients for 16 pint jars:

• 9 cups dried pinto beans, soaked overnight
• Hot water
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced

Seasonings (per jar):
• 1tsp chili powder
• 1tsp paprika
• 1stp cumin
• 1stp black pepper
• 1tsp salt
• 1tsp oregano

Optional:
• jalapeños for heat
• bacon or ham for extra flavor

Directions:

1) Wash and soak the beans overnight. Drain and rinse.

2) Sanitize all your pint jars.

3) Prep your canned by adding water and turning on the heat. You'll be putting hot jars into hot water.

4) Add 1 cup of soaked beans into every jar.

5) Add seasonings on top of the beans.

6) Fill the pints with water leaving 1" headspace.

7) Remove air bubbles, wipe rims, and apply lids and rings.

8) Pressure can pints at 10 pounds pressure (check your elevation to make sure which weight to use) for 75 minutes. You can also process Quart jars for 90 minutes.

To serve, empty your jar into a pot and then add 1/2 a jar full of water to the pot. Simmer until the beans are hot.

The flavors continue getting even better on the shelf, and having jars of homemade beans ready to go feels like such a win during busy weeks.

This is one of those pantry staples that makes homemade meals feel easy instead of overwhelming.