Pinto Bean Cakes

These crispy Southern Pinto Bean Cakes turn humble pinto beans into a delicious, budget-friendly side dish or main. Seasoned with simple pantry staples and pan-fried until golden and crisp, they’re hearty, flavorful, and a wonderful way to put leftover beans to good use.

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword bean-cake-recipe, easy-pinto-beans-recipe, pinto-bean-cakes-recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 8

Total Time 18

Servings servings

Calories 136kcal

Ingredients

4 slices bacon cooked and crumbled (optional)
2 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup finely diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
2 15 oz cans pinto beans drained and rinsed
1 tsp Cajun or Creole seasoning
1 tsp granulated garlic
1/2 tsp garlic salt adjust to taste
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1/4 tsp cayenne or paprika
1 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs OR fresh breadcrumbs divided use
1 large egg, lightly beaten
peanut or vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

Fry the bacon in a large skillet until crispy. Remove to paper towels to drain, then crumble.
In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt butter with red bell pepper and green onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes or just until the bell pepper has softened.
To the skillet add beans, Creole seasoning, granulated garlic, garlic salt and onion powder.. Cook for 2-4 minutes just until the beans are heated through.
Remove from heat and mash together using a potato masher or fork. Let cool slightly.
Next, add 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs, flour, egg and bacon. Stir well.
Form into 8-10 even bean cakes about 1/2 inch thick. Coat on all sides with reserved bread crumbs.
Drizzle a large skillet with oil. Cook beans cakes over medium-high heat in hot oil for 2 minutes per side or until golden brown and heated through. If frying in batches, wipe skillet clean between each batch.
Serve warm with topped with sour cream and Southern Chow Chow.

Notes

- Cajun Seasoning: Different Creole and Cajun seasoning blends have varying amounts of sodium. Adjust the amount of salt used in the recipe depending on the brand you use.
- Adjust the Seasonings: It's also important to take into consideration how the pinto beans were seasoned. If they were heavily salted, you may want to omit salt or taste and adjust to your personal preference.
- Herbs: You could use fresh chives in place of green onions or add fresh parsley or cilantro.
- Salt: You can swap out garlic salt using 1/2 teaspoon salt instead.
- Protein: You can omit the bacon for a vegetarian bean cake or add diced ham in place of bacon.
- Beans: You can replace the pinto beans with black beans for black bean cakes or use the same amount of light red kidney beans.
- Butter: You may choose to use the bacon grease to saute the veggies and omit the butter.
- Black Pepper: You can replace the cayenne pepper with black pepper to your taste.

Nutrition