Green Pinto Beans

Phaseolus vulgaris
part of: Pinto Bean

Green pinto beans are pinto beans picked at the shelling stage — after the seeds have formed but before they have dried on the vine. They sit in the middle ground between fresh green beans (eaten pod and all) and the familiar dried pintos used in Mexican refried beans.

At this immature stage, the beans are softer and cook much faster than their dried counterparts. They have a creamy, delicate flavour without the dense, starchy character of fully mature pintos. They are sometimes called “shelling beans” or “fresh pintos.”

Green pinto beans are not widely available fresh in Australia but can be found frozen, which preserves their tender texture well. They work in soups, stews, succotash, and anywhere you might use a fresh borlotti or cranberry bean.

Farmed
photograph to come — from twenty years of markets, farms and kitchens

How it's made

Pinto beans are harvested from the plant while the pods are still green and the seeds inside are plump but not yet dried. The beans are shelled from the pods by machine, then blanched briefly and snap-frozen to preserve their colour, texture, and flavour. This freezing step happens soon after harvest to maintain the beans at their immature, tender stage.

Nutrition (per 100g)

Energy 170kcal
Protein 9.8g
Carbs 26.8g
Fat 0.5g
Fibre 5.7g Sugar 0g
Mass Distribution

0.33 package (10 oz) is about 94 g — roughly 160 kcal of this.

What it costs the planet (per kilo)

Carbon ≈1.99kg
Freshwater ≈421.15L
Land ≈3.68m²

≈ Estimated — worked out from a category-typical value further up its supply chain. Where this comes from →

Where it comes from

In the kitchen

Used as

refried beans

Goes well with
corn onion garlic chili tomato
Classic dishes
  • refried beans
  • chili con carne
  • burritos
  • tostadas
  • tacos
  • gallo pinto

Keeping one at home? Track yours in your cubud →

Where this data comes from

Nutrition data from

USDA

How it was calculated

SR Legacy

Full credits, licences, and methods: the sources page →

Where to next

made fromPinto Bean, immature seeds goes well withcorn goes well withonion goes well withgarlic goes well withtomato shares a sourcePinto Bean Products shares a sourcePinto Bean Sprouts shares a sourcePinto Beans shares a sourceRefried Beans
✎ Spotted something wrong? Suggest a correction

Checking who you are...