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So I have read some of the questions and answers regarding soaking and cooking pinto beans and I am still trying to figure out the best process for my needs. I cook a bunch of pinto beans at one time and then freeze them. Because I cook a lot of beans at a time, I like using the pressure cooker. My main concern is loss of nutrients. I have been soaking the beans for 24 hours and then cooking them in a pressure cooker. Does this method compare well to others in retention of nutrients?

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  • Hi Pamela. Your question had a couple of elements that are specifically off-topic here, so I edited those out to keep the question from being closed. See the Tour and Help Center for more about how the site works. Welcome to Seasoned Advice, I hope we can be of help.
    – Jolenealaska ♦
    Commented Sep 3, 2018 at 8:05
  • took out my secondary concern which was important to me and made any answers to my question kinda 1/2 worthless. but thanks to those who answered what ended up being 1/2 my question.
    – Pamela Balazer
    Commented Sep 4, 2018 at 0:44
  • I know that the edit was less than ideal, but I am bound by community guidelines. I am working on an answer though that you might find helpful, so I hope you do come back and read it.
    – Jolenealaska ♦
    Commented Sep 4, 2018 at 0:49

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There doesn't seem to be much of a difference in nutrition between pressure cooking and boiling beans. Cooking at pressure cooker temperatures at 10, 20, or 40 minutes instead of boiling in a pot changed the nutrition/antinutrient content and digestibility by less than 5%.

Soaking prior to cooking was generally found to be advantageous. However, the results were not unanimous, and it didn't change very much in terms of nutrition. Soaking and discarding the water was found to:

  1. reduce the carbohydrate fraction and maintain/increase fiber content.
  2. reduce mineral content, but increase bioavailability.
  3. reduce the oligosaccarides that cause flatulence.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814604004649

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2621.2010.02395.x

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First I have to wonder just what nutrition you are expecting to get from pinto beans? There isn't that much there to begin with, but most of what is there is probably washed away with the water assuming you pour that off to keep the beans.

Nutrition Facts

But still, the pressure cooker is my method of choice for making pintos. FWIW I always use beef or chicken broth in the pressure cooker when preparing my beans, it really helps to infuse the meaty flavor into the beans. When preparing beans for my chili recipe I will also slice up a jalapeno or two. You don't need to soak the beans prior to putting them into the pressure cooker, but a good rinse and sort is in order.

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  • Hi Cos. I edited the question here to remove a couple of off-topic elements. Unfortunately, that had the effect of making some of your answer nonsensical. I just deleted those portions of your answer; sorry for wreaking havoc on your prose.
    – Jolenealaska ♦
    Commented Sep 3, 2018 at 8:10
  • I'm afraid I can't access the uploaded image t see the nutrition info, but everything I've ever read about pinto beans says their are packed with good stuff eg: 'A nutrient-dense legume, the pinto bean contains many essential nutrients and is very low in saturated fat. It is a good source of protein, phosphorus and manganese, and very high in dietary fiber and folate.' Could you add a link to the source for them being nutritionally poor?
    – Spagirl
    Commented Sep 3, 2018 at 9:11

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