Pinto beans with meat: what each half brings

We found no study of pinto beans cooked with meat as a dish, so this page joins the evidence on each half. The meat half has a measured effect on iron. In a randomized isotope trial in 45 young women, adding 1.8 oz (50 g) of pork to a phytate-rich meal raised non-heme iron absorption by 44%, and 75 g raised it by 57%, while 25 g made no significant difference. That meal was rice, tomato sauce, pea puree and a wheat roll with no beans in it, and the USDA recipe does not say how much meat a cup contains. The bean half has a cholesterol result. In a 6-week randomized trial in adults with mildly high cholesterol, a daily portion of mixed beans including pinto lowered LDL cholesterol by 8.1 mg/dL (95% CI 1.2 to 15; metric: 0.21 mmol/L, 0.03 to 0.39) against rice, with no meat involved.

As people eat it, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• A cup (260 g) of pinto beans with meat provides about 484 calories, 27.9 g protein, 18.7 g fiber, 17.9 g fat, 5.0 mg iron and 715 mg sodium. — US dietary survey food record Evidence E source
  Per 100 g: 186 calories, protein 10.73 g, fiber 7.2 g, fat 6.9 g, saturated fat 1.152 g, iron 1.94 mg, sodium 275 mg

What your body absorbs

• In a randomized isotope trial in 45 young women, adding 50 g or 2.6 oz (75 g) of pork to a phytate-rich meal raised non-heme iron absorption by 44% and 57%, while 25 g made no significant difference. — 45 healthy women aged about 24, phytate-rich meal (rice, tomato sauce, pea puree, wheat roll) with 25, 50 or 75 g pork (n = 45) Evidence B source
  Non-heme iron absorption +44% with 50 g and +57% with 75 g pork (P < 0.001); 25 g P = 0.13; absolute +2.6 and +3.4 percentage points

What cooking and storage change

• In a trial in 21 women, cooking the added 75 g of pork at 120 C instead of 70 C did not weaken its boost to non-heme iron absorption from a phytate-rich meal. — 21 women aged about 25, phytate-rich meal with or without 75 g pork cooked at 70, 95 or 120 C (n = 21) Evidence B source
  Absorption higher by 0.9% (70 C, P = 0.06), 0.7% (95 C, P = 0.1) and 2.0% (120 C, P < 0.001) vs meal without meat

What it does to your health

• In a 6-week randomized trial in adults with mildly high cholesterol, a daily portion of mixed beans including pinto lowered LDL cholesterol by 8.1 mg/dL (0.21 mmol/L) compared with rice. — adults with mild hypercholesterolemia in 2 Canadian cities, 60 per group, 6 weeks (n = 180) Evidence B source
  LDL-C -8.1 mg/dL (95% CI -15 to -1.2; metric: -0.21 mmol/L, -0.39 to -0.03) vs rice; total cholesterol -11 mg/dL (-0.28 mmol/L)

Safety, limits and interactions

• In feeding trials with half a cup of pinto or baked beans daily, fewer than half of adults reported more gas in the first week, and 3-11% reported it even on control diets. — adults in 3 feeding studies (17, 29 and 80 participants), half a cup of beans daily for 8 or 12 weeks (n = 126) Evidence B source
  Increased flatulence in week 1: under 50% with pinto or baked beans; 3-11% on control diets
• Testing of 90 canned pinto and fava bean samples in Iran found cadmium below the EU limit and mercury undetectable, with non-cancer risk negligible for 95% of consumers. — 90 canned bean samples from chain stores in Rasht, Iran, 2023 (n = 90 samples) Evidence C source
  Cadmium max below 0.1 mg/kg; cadmium in pinto 0.004 mg/kg; carcinogenic risk 2.68 x 10^-5 for pinto consumers

What people believe that the data does not support

• Cohort data pooled from 13 articles link swapping red meat for legumes with 16% lower coronary heart disease risk, but not with lower overall mortality. — prospective cohort studies, 13 articles (n = 13 articles) Evidence C source
  CHD RR 0.84 (95% CI 0.74-0.95); all-cause mortality RR 0.97 (95% CI 0.93-1.01)

Who this works differently for

• In a randomized crossover trial in 17 adults with type 2 diabetes, pinto beans with rice gave a smaller blood glucose rise over 3 hours than rice alone at the same 50 g of carbohydrate. — 17 adults aged 35-70 with type 2 diabetes, single breakfast meals with 50 g available carbohydrate (n = 17) Evidence B source
  Lower incremental glucose AUC for pinto/rice and black bean/rice vs rice; lower net glucose at 90, 120 and 150 min for all bean meals

The bottom line

It is a substantial plate. A cup of 9.2 oz (260 g) in the USDA survey record has about 484 calories, 27.9 g protein, 18.7 g fiber, 17.9 g fat, 5.0 mg iron and 715 mg sodium. Those are scaled from the per 3.5 oz (100 g) figures of a recipe whose meat type and share are unknown. Hotter cooking of the meat did not cancel the iron benefit. In a trial in 21 women, pork cooked at 120 C still raised non-heme iron absorption from a phytate-rich meal, and no less than pork cooked at 70 C. Hours of stewing beans with meat were not tested. For blood sugar, a randomized crossover trial in 17 adults with type 2 diabetes found pinto beans with rice gave a smaller glucose rise over 3 hours than rice alone at the same 50 g of carbohydrate. Those were single breakfasts without meat, and the abstract gives no size for the difference. Pooled cohort data from 13 articles link swapping red meat for legumes with a 16% lower risk of coronary heart disease (RR 0.84, 95% CI 0.74 to 0.95). That is an association, and this dish keeps the meat, so the swap does not describe it. Expect some gas at first. In three feeding trials with half a cup of pinto or baked beans a day, fewer than half of adults reported more gas in the first week, and 3 to 11% reported it on control diets too, all by self-report. A survey of 90 canned pinto and fava bean samples from stores in one Iranian city found cadmium below the EU limit of 0.1 mg/kg, and canned beans sold elsewhere were not tested. We hold no card on pregnancy, children or medicines for this dish.

Sources

1. pbm-daily-r5-01 · food composition dataset
   Pinto beans with meat | FNDDS code 41104250 | fdc_id 2707378 | 1 cup 10205 = 260 g | Quantity not specified 90000 = 130 g | per 100 g: Energy 186 kcal, Protein 10.73 g, Fiber 7.2 g, Total lipid 6.9 g, Saturated fat 1.152 g, Iron 1.94 mg, Sodium 275 mg
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, Pinto beans with meat, food code 41104250, fdc_id 2707378 · checked 2026-10-01
2. pbm-daily-r5-02 · RCT
   Twenty-five grams meat did not increase nonheme-iron absorption significantly (P = 0.13), whereas absorption increased 44% (P < 0.001) and 57% (P < 0.001), respectively, when 50 and 75 g meat were added to the basic meal.
   Am J Clin Nutr, 2003 · checked 2026-10-01
3. pbm-daily-r5-03 · RCT
   Nonheme iron absorptions were 0.9 (0.5-4.0)% (P = 0.06), 0.7 (0.4-3.9)% (P = 0.1) and 2.0 (1.3-3.1)% (P < 0.001) greater when meat cooked at 70, 95 or 120 degrees C, respectively, was added to the basic meal. Increasing the cooking temperature of meat did not impair nonheme iron absorption compared with cooking at 70 degrees C.
   J Nutr, 2003 · checked 2026-10-01
4. pbm-daily-r5-05 · RCT
   Mean LDL-cholesterol was lower in the bean group (-0.21; 95% CI: -0.39, -0.03) but not the pea group (-0.11; 95% CI: -0.29, 0.07) relative to rice after 6 wk.
   J Nutr, 2024 · checked 2026-10-01
5. pbm-daily-r5-06 · randomized feeding trials
   Less than 50% reported increased flatulence from eating pinto or baked beans during the first week of each trial, but only 19% had a flatulence increase with black-eyed peas. A small percentage (3-11%) reported increased flatulence across the three studies even on control diets without flatulence-producing components.
   Nutr J, 2011 · checked 2026-10-01
6. pbm-daily-r5-08 · cross-sectional
   In this study, the maximum measured cadmium level was below the EU standard limit (0.1 mg/kg).
   Sci Rep, 2026 · checked 2026-10-01
7. pbm-daily-r5-07 · meta-analysis of cohorts
   or legumes (RR, 0.84, 95%CI, 0.74-0.95; I2 = 7.3%) was associated with a lower risk of CHD
   Nutr Rev, 2022 · checked 2026-10-01
8. pbm-daily-r5-04 · crossover RCT
   Incremental area under the curve values were significantly lower for the pinto and black bean/rice meals compared to rice alone, but not for kidney beans.
   Nutr J, 2012 · checked 2026-10-01