Name: Pinto Beans and Cornbread (Knoxville style)
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 6
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 pound dried pinto beans, sorted and rinsed; 1 ham hock or 4 oz country ham trim; 1 large onion, diced; 2 cloves garlic, smashed; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; Black pepper to taste; 1 1/2 cups stone-ground yellow cornmeal; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1 1/4 cups buttermilk; 1 large egg; 3 tablespoons bacon drippings or butter

The Appalachian comfort plate of slow-simmered pinto beans with country ham and a skillet of buttermilk cornbread, the most-resilient East Tennessee.

Pinto beans and cornbread is the foundational Appalachian working-class meal: protein, starch, salt and pork fat from the smokehouse, all in one pot, with the cornbread cracklin'd in a hot cast-iron skillet greased with bacon drippings. Sunspot on Cumberland Avenue, Litton's in Fountain City and Pete's downtown all run pinto-bean plates on the regular menu, the East Tennessee canon of the dish kept close to the country original.

3 editor picks for Pinto Beans and Cornbread in Knoxville, ranked by editorial score. All Knoxville signature dishes · Pinto Beans and Cornbread across every city.

Litton's Market and Restaurant ★ 4.6

American (burgers)

fountain-city · 2803 Essary Drive, Knoxville, TN 37918

Litton's Market and Restaurant on Essary Drive in Fountain City since 1946, the family-run burger and bakery counter, sells the famous burger.

Pete's Restaurant and Coffee Shop ★ 4.6

Café

downtown · 540 Union Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902

Pete's Restaurant and Coffee Shop on Union Avenue, the downtown Knoxville diner since 1986, runs the breakfast counter that voted Best Breakfast in town.

Sunspot ★ 4.4

Southwestern

the-strip · 2200 Cumberland Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37916

Sunspot on the Cumberland Avenue Strip near the University, the multicultural Southwestern and Caribbean room since the 1990s, anchors the UT dining scene.

Learn to cook it, or eat it with a guide

Pinto Beans and Cornbread makes more sense with someone from Knoxville explaining it. These are the classes and tours we have checked, with booking links.

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Knoxville: Downtown Food Tour with Tastings and Guide

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