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 ;)
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.
I just found this website when looking for meals I could make and freeze for my son in college, first apt and he is learning to cook for himself when he has time. Great frozen meal suggestions, love it! With a son in college and one starting next year need to money saving tips and so does he, thank you.
As for the beans I am seeing posts where you say you prefer to cook for 8-10hrs on low, but the recipes says 4-6hrs on high. Which is best, I just started some at 7:30am so I have time to do either. Also any recommended adjustments for high altitude, I live in Colorado at about 6000 ft above sea level.
I think lately I prefer the low setting because it softens the beans without breaking the skins open, so they stay whole. If it’s for something like the (not) refried beans, though, I’d just do it on high. :)
Thanks! I ended up doing them on high for about 5 1/2 hrs and they came out perfect. Yielded 5-2 cup bags full vs. 6, but that is OK (i did 2 lbs). Going to make the “Hearty Black Bean Quesadillas” tonight. I made them a few weeks ago. froze, and brought up to my son. They looked so good I knew I needed to try them myself (and the store was out of the black beans with no salt added)!
BTW – Do you have a recipe for homemade refried beans, if so I’d love to try it!
I don’t have a refried bean recipe, but I have a (not) refried bean recipe that uses the slow cooker! :) They’re SO good.
Question – I’ve made refried beans using canned black beans. If I were to use your method for black beans, should I freeze the cooked beans with some of the broth that comes from it? Then I could just cook this all together when I pull it from the freezer? Also, one pound of dried beans = how many cups?
I like to freeze it in the cooking liquid, yes. You can either use that liquid when you cook with them later, or drain it off, depending on the recipe. One pound of beans is roughly equal to three 15oz. cans from the grocery store, so about 5-6 cups.
Hi Beth! I made black beans yesterday by following your directions and they turned out great. I was wondering if you could please tell me how to cook kidney beans? After reading the other comments I know that they need to be boiled because of the toxin, however when I followed the instructions on another website the kidney beans turned out very mushy and basically unusable. If you could tell me how you cook your kidney beans I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you!!
I haven’t found a good method for kidney beans where they stay whole yet. Maybe if you let them boil hard for ten minutes, but then reduce the heat a little to a more gentle boil for the rest of the time that will help.
Thanks for your response Beth, I’ll give that a try without soaking them overnight this time and report back. :)
Thank you! I made these today after years of never failing to cook dried beans well. My husband loved it – he ate them with just salt.
Try using the pressure cooker instead. I can cook pinto beans from dry in 20 mins, and chickpeas from dry in 35 mins.