Pinto bean curry with flavors from fennel, coriander, green chili, and other aromatics is an easy, one-pot meal. It's perfect with toast or flatbread to dip!
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For my dayjob, I edit videos for a popular Indian food blogger. I have spend hundreds of hours watching her cook amazing Indian curries and have picked up some cooking techniques that I've started using in my own kitchen.
This pinto beans curry is one of those dishes that started as a pantry dump and became a fast favorite.
This is not an authentic Indian curry by any means. But this pinto bean curry definitely uses some Indian cooking techniques and Indian-inspired flavors to make a simple yet incredibly flavorful bowl.
You start by roasting whole spices to bring out those deep flavors. Then, add onion, garlic, and jalapeños or your green chili of choice to the pan and cook some more. Then, add the beans and dried spices and simmer to meld the flavors.
Serve this on its own, sort of like a stew, or over white rice, brown rice, jasmine rice, basmati rice, quinoa, or your grains of choice. It's also great over roasted or baked potatoes!
💖 Why You'll Love this Recipe
- easy 1-pot meal uses simple ingredients
- packed with flavor from whole and ground spices plus aromatics and veggies
- versatile! Cook it in the Instant Pot or on the stove, and serve however you like
- naturally gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free
✓ Ingredients and Substitutions
- whole spices - Cumin seeds, fennel seeds, and coriander seeds add SO MUCH FLAVOR! Feel free to throw some mustard seeds in, too, if you like.
- aromatics - Onion, garlic, and jalapeño or your green chili of choice add the next layer of flavor. Red onion, white onion, or yellow onion are all fine to use.
- vegetable broth - Adds moisture and flavor.
- pinto beans - These are the base for your curry. You can use different beans, like white beans, red kidney beans, or chickpeas instead, if you prefer.
- veggie grounds - These are the kind that come frozen in a bag, not the kind you use to make burgers. If you want to use something like Impossible or Beyond grounds, you'll need to brown them before you start cooking everything else. If you don't want to use veggie grounds, you can use a second can of pinto beans instead.
- veggies - Frozen corn and spinach add veggies, no chopping needed. You can throw in some carrots and/or peas, too, if you like.
- ground spices - Garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika (or hot paprika or Kashmiri chili powder) deepen the flavor of the pinto beans curry even more! You can add other spices, like some garam masala and turmeric, if you like.
- toppings - I like to serve this topped with non-dairy yogurt, crushed red pepper, green onion, and cilantro. If you have a tomato that needs using, chop that up for topping, too! You can also add pickled veggies on top, like pickled shallots or pickled chillies. For more heat, drizzle on some chili crisp!
🔪 How to Make Pinto Bean Curry
This is the stovetop method. See notes for Instant Pot directions. Heat the oil in a saucepan on medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds, fennel seeds, and coriander seeds. Roast them, stirring frequently, until they start to smell fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the onion, garlic, jalapeño, and salt to the pan, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions brown on the edges.
Add the rest of the curry ingredients to the pan, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes to let the flavors meld. Check in occasionally, because depending on your pan and stove, you may need to add splashes of broth to keep the pan from drying out.
Garnish with the non-dairy yogurt, crushed pepper, and green onion/cilantro with some toasted bread or flatbread to dip.
💡 Helpful Tips
- If you don't have the whole spices, you can use the same amount of the ground versions. The flavor will be a little bit different, but it will still be delicious!
- Adding salt to the aromatics helps them release moisture to prevent sticking and cook more quickly.
🫙 Storage Directions
Keep leftovers in the refrigerator in a closed container. They will keep for three to five days.
📖 Recipe
Pinto Bean Curry
Ingredients
For the Pinto Bean Curry
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- ½ teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 ½ cups chopped onion
- 3 cloves garlic minced, or more, to taste
- 1 jalapeño or other green chili of choice, minced. Or use ½ for less heat. Remove seeds for even LESS heat.
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups vegetable broth or vegan chicken broth. Use 1 ½ cups for the Instant Pot version.
- 15 ounce can pinto beans drained and rinsed. Or use 1 ½ cups cooked pinto beans.
- 1 ½ cups veggie grounds or another can of pinto beans
- 1 cup frozen corn
- ½ cup frozen spinach or more, to taste
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika or hot paprika or Kashmiri chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For Topping
- non-dairy yogurt
- crushed red pepper
- green onion and/or cilantro
Instructions
- This is the stovetop method. See notes for Instant Pot directions. Heat the oil in a saucepan on medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds, fennel seeds, and coriander seeds. Roast them, stirring frequently, until they start to smell fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the onion, garlic, jalapeño, and salt to the pan, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions brown on the edges.
- Add the rest of the curry ingredients to the pan, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes to let the flavors meld. Check in occasionally, because depending on your pan and stove, you may need to add splashes of broth to keep the pan from drying out.
- Serve topped with the non-dairy yogurt, crushed pepper, and green onion/cilantro with some toasted bread or flatbread to dip.
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