How To Kick the Can (of Beans)
I know many of you Budget Byters already cook your own beans but I wanted to make this post for all of the newbies out there. Beans are one of the most economical and nutritious foods available so I try to use them in recipes as often as possible. Canned beans are quick and convenient but with a little planning ahead, dry beans can be just as easy and HALF the cost of canned.
Many people (including myself) shy away from cooking dry beans because it seems like such a daunting chore with the overnight soaking and hours of cooking. What I’ve discovered is that cooking beans can be as easy as “setting it and forgetting it” and, thanks to Kalyn’s recent post, I now know that presoaking is not even necessary! If you cook a large batch, the beans can be divided up into two cup containers, frozen and then pulled out of the freezer as needed. Taking frozen beans out of the freezer is just as convenient as opening up a can!
Last night, I cooked up a batch of black beans for today’s soup. The final cost for one can equivalent of dry beans was $0.40 cents. Compare that to a store bought can which usually runs me about $0.79 and I’ve cut the cost in half. Plus, I’ve eliminated salt, preservatives and a lot of wasted packaging. Have I convinced you yet?
*NOTE* This method is not advised for kidney beans or beans in the kidney bean family (like white kidney beans or cannellini) because they contain a naturally occurring substance called Phytohaemagglutnin, which can be toxic to humans and cause severe GI distress. The beans must be cooked in a full boil for at least ten minutes to break down this substance, and most slow cookers do not achieve this level of heat.
How to Kick the Can (of beans)
Here is how it’s done:
STEP 1: Pour one pound (or two for an extra large batch) of beans out onto a baking sheet and sort through to remove any stones or debris. Transfer the beans to a colander to rinse off any dust.
STEP 2: Place the cleaned and sorted beans in a slow cooker and add 6 cups of water for every pound of beans. Put the lid on, set the cooker to HIGH and let her go. Beans that have not been presoaked will take 4-6 hours to cook on HIGH.
STEP 3: Once the beans are tender, pour them into a colander and give them a quick rinse. Divide the beans into containers (re-sealable or zip top freezer bags), label, date and freeze until ready to use! Easy as that.
One pound of dry beans will yield about 6 cups of cooked beans, equal to about 3 cans.
The hands-on time to make these beans was only about 15 minutes. Once they were cleaned and sorted, they go straight into the pot and then I didn’t have to do ANYTHING until I checked them four hours later. Then it’s just a quick drain, rinse and pack into containers.
You can cook beans on the stove top if you don’t have a slow cooker although it takes more attention and care. Just place them in a large pot with a lid (same water/bean ratio), bring it up to a boil then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer until tender. Do not let the beans boil heavily or else the delicate skins will disintegrate and you’ll be left with nothing but bean fragments.
If you have any tips, tricks or notable experiences cooking dry beans, share them in the comments section below!
…the black bean soup recipe should be posted later tonight ;)
Does a pressure cooker correctly process kidney beans?
According to this article, the high temperature and pressure inside of a pressure cooker is enough to destroy the phytohemagglutinin, which is what I would have expected because the temperature is actually higher than what it would cook at if boiling on the stove top.
If you cook beans from scratch, a tip: don’t pour the final ‘bean/legume broth’ (the water in which beans are cooked) down the drain!! It’s a perfectly usable, delicious broth! Chickpea broth is similar to chicken broth and can be used pretty much anywhere, black bean broth is perfect for chilis, pinto bean broth for minestrone, etc. Depending on the type of legume and duration of cooking, the broth will have some starch from the beans in it. You can strain it if you want a clear, non-thickening broth or keep it as it is if you want a thickener for stews, chilis, etc.
Also, if you have a piece of parmesan rind, put it to cook with the beans! It makes the broth tastier. I also usually add a bay leaf and a sprig of rosemary, and some black pepper.
This can also be an easy, tasty ‘no onion no garlic’ broth if you don’t use any onion or garlic with the beans.
And I forgot, it can be frozen just like regular broth! If you make about a lb of legumes you will have about 2-3 cups of free bean broth from it.
Best info on how to cook beans for best flavor and texture (Spoiler alert-in the oven!): https://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-dont-soak-dried-beans-20140911-story.html#page=1
Hi
I’m new to cooking & eating beans. What other beans can I use instead of black beans please?
You could try it with pinto or black eyed peas. This method is not advised for kidney beans or beans in the kidney bean family (like white kidney beans or cannellini) because they contain a naturally occurring substance called Phytohaemagglutnin, which can be toxic to humans and cause severe GI distress. The beans must be cooked in a full boil for at least ten minutes to break down this substance, and most slow cookers do not achieve this level of heat.
Relieved of the fear of cooking soft boiled eggs since my wife’s death. Your recipe worked wonders for my psychy as well as my belly. Thanx
Happy to hear it worked for you!
How many cups is a pound of beans? I don’t have a scale. :(
2 cups of dried beans equals a pound :)
Thank you for this. I always found I’d burn some of my beans cooking them the traditional way (and that’s all on me), but I’ve done them in the slow cooker now a good four times (garbanzo, black x2, and pinto) and it’s a life saver.
My mom would cook two pounds of beans on a slow simmer on the stovetop, but she added the soup to the beans in the freezer container to avoid them being dried out in the freezer. We always had ham hock or leftover Christmas ham in them and it basically sufficed as soup with homemade white cornbread with lots of butter. Boy, I miss those days…
Would you put salt or seasoning in the water? And roughly how many cups is 1 lb of dried beans?
It’s best to add salt after cooking because you’ll get more of a punch with less salt. Herbs, spices, and aromatics, on the other hand, can be added before cooking. The volume of dry beans per pound will vary with the type of bean, since they’re all different shapes and sizes.
Beth, my wife and I use an electric pressure cooker. Cuts your cooking time down to 30 minutes and cool down for 30 minutes. One hour and they are done. Just passing it on.
John: Is the recipe the same in the IP though? 6 cups per pound of dry beans? Then set it to what?
Beth do you like to season these while cooking? If so what are you recommendations for seasonings for the different varieties of beans? Thanks
I usually leave them neutral so that I can use the beans in any type of cooked dish later. So I prefer to season when I use the cooked beans in a recipe, rather than season the beans themselves. It’s more flexible that way. :)
Probably a dumb question, but I’ve looked around and found a lot of conflicting answers: When cooking beans (or anything, really) on a stove top and you have to “reduce the heat to low and let it simmer”, should there be bubbles going the whole time?
I ask because when I set my electric coil range down to “1 – Low/Sim.” from a full boil, the bubbling and motion in the pot stops altogether. Not sure if I should be leaving it on the “Simmer” setting and potentially undercook the beans or bump the heat up to 3 or 4 (out of 10, 5 being “Med.”) where there is some visible “simmering” taking place. Thanks!
That’s a great question! Yes, there should be bubbles the whole time. A simmer is when there are small gentle bubbles (as opposed to large, rapid bubbles for a boil). Unfortunately the settings on ranges can’t predict for all the variables in cooking, like the type of cookware or the amount of food in the pot, so the settings won’t always be accurate (same with recipes instructions). So, that’s where practice and expertise comes in. :) When you start to get the hang of cooking, you’ll know to make those little adjustments like turning the heat up just a bit to maintain that simmer, even though the dial says “simmer” is setting #1. I hope that helps! :)
Thanks so much!
Can you cook them for longer on low or medium? If I wanted to have them cook while I’m at work? TIA
You can, but if you do, they may break down and turn a bit mushy.
How long in the slow cooker if you soaked them? We tried not soaking previously and the results were uncomfortable for our family.
I’ve only done unsoaked, but I read the tutorial on Kalyn’s Kitchen that I have linked up at the top of the post and she did it both ways. She said her soaked beans took about 3-4 hours on high.
I definitely forgot about these in the slow cooker. I had pound in there for over 7 hours.
Any advice as to what they’d be best to use in now?
I’d mash them and use them like refried beans. :)
How do you handle the beans out of the freezer? Mine are frozen solid together! Do you thaw them before using them? Would 30 seconds or a minute in the microwave work? Thanks so much!
It depends on what I’ll be using them for, but usually you do need to thaw them. A microwave works great, but you’ll probably need a little more time than just a minute. I like to use the defrost feature on the microwave so that it doesn’t overheat the outer edges before the center thaws. Either way, you’ll want to stir it often as it heats to keep things even.
Hello
Can you tell me if soybeans can be cooked in the slow cooker or would there be the same issue as the kidney beans
( Phytohaemagglutnin)? I have researched this every place possible and haven’t found an answer specific to soybeans. Also, I thought all beans contained phytohaemagglutnin but kidney beans are very high in them, hence the concern with cooking kidney beans in the slow cooker.
Thanks!
Michele
Yes, all beans contain traces of it, but beans in the kidney bean family are the only ones that have high enough amounts to require boiling for ten minutes. I don’t know for certain about soy beans, but you can eat them lightly steamed, so if I had to guess I would say they’re okay.
I would love it if you would add a pressure cooker version. I know I can look it up, but my first go-to site is this one!
2 cups of beans (1lb), 5 cups of water for 60 mins at high pressure will give great cooked beans. I do 90 mins for soft, creamy beans. This is unsoaked! If you soak for 8 hrs or more, you can probably get away with 30-45 mins… maybe less.
22 minutes at 15 PSI in a pressure cooker works perfect for soaked black beans. You also want an inch or so of water over the beans They will be soft but whole and not broken apart. For other types of beans the time is different. Start the clock when the pot is up to pressure.
This recipe, but the time it takes for presoaked beans instead? :o
I have a problem with the beans not getting all the way done. What am I doing wrong?
If the beans are too old, they’ll never soften, unfortunately. You can also try adding a half teaspoon of baking soda to the water because if you have really hard water in your area that can also prevent beans from softening.
Do you add the baking soda to the cooking water?
Yes. :)
Never! It binds to nutrients and makes them less absorbable.
NEVER add baking soda to the cooking water for beans. It greatly interferes with the nutrient absorption*. Just soak old beans overnight in Distilled water, discard the soaking water and bring them to a boil in new Distilled water. Boil ten minutes, let stand an hour off the heat, then cook as usual. Even fifty year old rock hard beans will cook this way. You can also add a small piece of kombu to get them to soften faster, but I haven’t tried it.
*Baking soda info courtesy of my food science professor.