Arizona Meets Appalachia: No-Soak Instant-Pot Vegetarian Soup Beans

Keeping it easy this week: just a pot of beans, cooked simply, no planning needed.

Soup beans and cornbread: a perfect pairing on a chilly fall night.

When my husband and I lived in Tucson, we used to love going to a little diner called Frank’s, which had a big sign that read “elegant dining elsewhere” and served an absolutely classic old-school, no-frills breakfast. At night, Frank’s turned into Francisco’s de Noche, a BYOB Sonoran Mexican spot. The food was always delicious, and if you arrived especially hungry (these were my triathlon training days, so I always did) you could help yourself to the condiments (pickled carrots!) and a big pot of charro beans - pinto beans cooked Sonoran style - while you waited.

After moving to West Virginia, we were delighted to discover that Appalachia has a direct analog to the Southwest’s beans-and-tortillas: out here they call them soup beans, and they serve them with cornbread. It’s a cheap (I recently picked up a 10-pound bag of pinto beans on sale for $6!), filling, and nutritious meal that just about anyone can throw together…