Did you know that beans don't have to come in a can?
Don't laugh; I didn't know until more recently than I care to admit.
Dried beans are very easy to prepare at home. It's also much less expensive and both tastier and healthier to buy dried beans and prepare them than it is to buy them in a can.
You can find dried beans in one-pound bags at nearly every large grocery store, even at Walmart.
You want to soak your own beans.
Why? Because soaking the beans yourself begins to process the starches that make beans offensive to your intestines. In other words, soaking them at home should lead to less bean-related tooting.
The following directions will work for any type of dried beans: black beans, garbanzo beans, pinto beans, kidney beans... Are you getting the idea?
Materials for preparing dried beans
- A pound of beans, whatever type you like
- A colander or strainer - make sure the holes are small enough that the dry beans won't fall through
- Your biggest sauce pot - the beans will double or triple in size, so make sure it's big enough for the finished beans
Preparing the beans
- Empty your bag of beans into the colander and rinse them well. While you're rinsing, pay attention for any small stones or other junk that might have gotten mixed in with the beans.
- Discard any foreign objects, as well as any beans that look misshapen and any empty skins.Have your kids help with this.
- Even the smallest of helpers can look over the beans, pick out the bad ones and stones, and rinse the beans. Grace really delights in this step.
Soaking dried beans
- After they've been thoroughly rinsed, put the beans into a large saucepot. I like to use a 6+ quart pot. Remember, the beans will double or triple their dry size.
- Let the beans sit for 6 hours to overnight. Cooks disagree on the perfect amount of soaking. I've read that anything over 8 hours is bad. I've read that anything less than 10 hours is bad. You'll have to experiment and see what produces the least amount of digestive gas for you.
- Kids will love this part, too. You can see the beans grow as the hours go by. Plus, they will make some gas that will form bubbles on top of the water. It's all very exciting for the little people.
- After you've soaked the beans, dump the water and rinse them in your colander. You should notice that the beans are much larger than before.
- More rinsing means more help from the kids. Let them do it themselves. Be prepared for a big, wet mess, but it's just water, so you can easily wipe it up.
- Or make the kids wipe it up.
Cooking the beans on the stove
- Return the rinsed beans to your largest sauce pot and cover them with at least 3 inches of water.
- DON'T add salt. Salt will prevent your beans from softening.
- Of course, like everything else, some cooks swear that salting makes the beans soften faster. You have my permission to experiment.
- Bring the beans and water to a boil. Turn down the heat on the pan, and simmer the beans for an hour or two, until they are tender to your liking. Normally, if you can crush a bean with a fork, it is done. (If your beans came in a package, you should consult it for cooking times.)
- When the cooking is finished, you've essentially made bean soup. Some people eat it just like that, though I am not one of them. I drain the beans and rinse them and then use them.
- After they're cooked, you can season the beans however you like - salt, spices, etc.
- A typical can of beans is 15 oz, so I use 1.5 cups of my homemade beans when a recipe calls for one can.
Bean storage
- If you're not going to eat the beans right away, PUT THEM IN THE REFRIGERATOR! The beans will spoil if you leave them out at this point. You will probably have to pour off a lot of the cooking liquid. You can either save it for soup or throw it out.
- I like to put the whole pound of beans (with enough cooking liquid to cover them) into a very large glass jar in my fridge, and spoon them out a cup or two at a time, as my recipes require. They'll keep in the fridge for about a week.
- You can freeze the beans (before or after adding them to other ingredients). They freeze well, and they are easy to defrost and use. Just add your desired amount to a freezer bag, squeeze out the extra air, and place in the freezer. They take up less space if you lay them out in sort of a flat puddle.
Alternate cooking methods for dried beans
You can also prepare dried beans in a slow cooker or pressure cooker. Here's how:
Dried beans in the slow cooker
- Place soaked beans in the CrockPot or slow cooker.
- Cover with 3 inches of water.
- Cook on low for 8 hours or until you can smash a bean with a fork.
Note: If you have a 6-quart CrockPot or larger, you can cook two pounds of beans at one time. If your CrockPot is smaller than 6-quarts, only cook one pound so that they cook evenly and you don't have any crunchy beans.
Dried beans in the pressure cooker
- Place soaked beans in a 6-quart or larger Instant Pot or pressure cooker.
- Making sure you don't fill the inner pot more than half full, add water to the pot to cover the beans by at least an inch.
- Turn the IP on to manual and follow the cooking time from your instruction manual. (Times vary based on type of bean. Black beans are 15 minutes, but pinto beans are 10 minutes and great northern beans are only 5 minutes.)
- After cooking, allow for a complete pressure Natural Release.
While it might at first seem like a pain, I think you will find that dried beans taste better, have significantly less salt, and produce less gas (ahem) than canned beans. Once you get a system down, it will be no big deal to soak a bag of beans overnight, drain and rinse them, and then plop them into the CrockPot or Instant Pot to cook. Since one pound of beans makes the equivalent of 3 cans' worth, you'll have enough beans to last for a week or so before you have to do the process over again. It's worth the work to me.
Tania says
Thanks for this... an easy reference and great to avoid the plastic lining in cans!
.-= Tania´s last blog ..Cloth diapering 101: What you need to know – Part One =-.
Tania says
Thanks for this... an easy reference and great to avoid the plastic lining in cans!
.-= Tania´s last blog ..Cloth diapering 101: What you need to know – Part One =-.
Heather says
My mom always adds a generous pinch of baking soda to the water when she soaks her beans. She says that it helps neutralize the gas in the beans.
.-= Heather´s last blog ..One Lovely Blog =-.
Heather says
My mom always adds a generous pinch of baking soda to the water when she soaks her beans. She says that it helps neutralize the gas in the beans.
.-= Heather´s last blog ..One Lovely Blog =-.
Jessica says
Thanks for this info. I have always wondered how to cook dried beans. Good to know they freeze welll. That's always been a concern - what if I don't eat a whole pound of beans in a week?
.-= Jessica´s last blog ..Blogging Ethics =-.
Jessica says
Thanks for this info. I have always wondered how to cook dried beans. Good to know they freeze welll. That's always been a concern - what if I don't eat a whole pound of beans in a week?
.-= Jessica´s last blog ..Blogging Ethics =-.
Bugaboo says
Thanks for the directions. Hope to try soon.....
.-= Bugaboo´s last blog ..Redbox Promo Code =-.
Bugaboo says
Thanks for the directions. Hope to try soon.....
.-= Bugaboo´s last blog ..Redbox Promo Code =-.
Robyns Online World says
My grandma didn't pick over the beans well enough one day a few years ago. She left a small white rock in them which she discovered while eating the beans after she had cooked them. It happens - BUT she swore it was part of one of her teeth and wrapped it up and took it to the dentist the next day for an emergency appointment. He unwrapped it and chuckled and said sorry - just a rock, plus you aren't missing any parts of your teeth!
Gotta love Grandma's!
.-= Robyns Online World´s last blog ..Yoplait Whips Giveaway! =-.
Robyn's Online World says
My grandma didn't pick over the beans well enough one day a few years ago. She left a small white rock in them which she discovered while eating the beans after she had cooked them. It happens - BUT she swore it was part of one of her teeth and wrapped it up and took it to the dentist the next day for an emergency appointment. He unwrapped it and chuckled and said sorry - just a rock, plus you aren't missing any parts of your teeth!
Gotta love Grandma's!
.-= Robyns Online World´s last blog ..Yoplait Whips Giveaway! =-.
TriciaFM says
Buying dried beans is a great way to save money and much better on the enviroment. Easier to prepare than most people think.
.-= TriciaFM´s last blog ..Hello Kitty's Jamaican Music Video =-.
TriciaFM says
Buying dried beans is a great way to save money and much better on the enviroment. Easier to prepare than most people think.
.-= TriciaFM´s last blog ..Hello Kitty's Jamaican Music Video =-.
Kristen says
You are so smart - I love this how to, Tara!
.-= Kristen´s last blog ..Popcorn? Delicious Popcorn? (Recipe – Perfect Popcorn) =-.
Kristen says
You are so smart - I love this how to, Tara!
.-= Kristen´s last blog ..Popcorn? Delicious Popcorn? (Recipe – Perfect Popcorn) =-.
Belinda says
I always put a mixture of salt, garlic powder, and pepper (Paula Deen's House Seasoning recipe from Food Network) in my beans when I cook them in the crock pot on low for 8-10 hours. The beans come out tasting wonderful because they have been seasoned. Also, using this seasoning combination eliminates the need to use meat...keeping the cost of beans really low. I use them that day as well as freeze extras to use in other recipes later. Great post!
Belinda says
I always put a mixture of salt, garlic powder, and pepper (Paula Deen's House Seasoning recipe from Food Network) in my beans when I cook them in the crock pot on low for 8-10 hours. The beans come out tasting wonderful because they have been seasoned. Also, using this seasoning combination eliminates the need to use meat...keeping the cost of beans really low. I use them that day as well as freeze extras to use in other recipes later. Great post!
Beth says
I prepare my dried beans in the crock pot. http://recipesdealsetc.blogspot.com/2009/04/beans-in-crock-pot.html
Beth says
I prepare my dried beans in the crock pot. http://recipesdealsetc.blogspot.com/2009/04/beans-in-crock-pot.html
Ann of Pressure Cooker Reviews says
I cooks beans in my pressure cooker..it takes about only a quarter of the time it takes using the traditional method.
Ann of Pressure Cooker Reviews says
I cooks beans in my pressure cooker..it takes about only a quarter of the time it takes using the traditional method.
FatCatAnna says
Many thanks for all your tips (especially with keeping the finished product in a mason jar for a few weeks to add to things)! Now if only I had some kids to do the grunt work. I'm preparing some Minestrone soup - so wanted to use as many fresh products as available so my soup will taste even better.
large cooking pot says
I'll post the same information to my blog, thanks for ideas and great article.
Cindy Drozda says
If I soak my dry beans overnight, drain them, and add fresh water for cooking, do I need to throw out the cooking water? Does it cause more gas? What nutrition is in this cooking water?
Thank you!
Tara @ Feels Like Home says
I'm not sure, but I'll make your questions into a new comment and get my readers' thoughts. 🙂
Nancy says
You can put a pinch of baking soda about 1/2 way through cooking, this will take out some of the bean gases Or take beano before eating gas type foods. Hope this helps
Nancy says
How do I tell if the pinto beans are good or bad? Do you have any pics showing bad & good?
Feels Like Home Blog┞¢ says
I haven't got a clue. Sorry!