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 ;)
Hi Beth,
I’ve seen people recommend an overnight soak of the beans with a tablespoon of yogurt or yogurt whey added at the start – the rationale given is that it adds Lactobacillus casei to break down the starches that cause gas. Does this idea have any merit? Is it likely that the bacteria would ‘take’ successfully in the bean soak water? Would they actually do anything to the starches? Thank you.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060426080023.htm – original study
http://www.wikihow.com/Cook-Beans-Without-Gas – recommendation to add yogurt/yogurt whey
It’s definitely an interesting concept! For me personally, an overnight soak has never made a lick of difference in how my body digests the beans (to put it politely). Perhaps for some people it does, though. It’s entirely possible for the bacteria to help, although it would need to be at room temperature and not the refrigerator. The refrigerator is too cold for the bacteria to do much work over night. But leaving it out at room temperature always opens the door for other microbes that might be present to proliferate as well. So, it’s risky.
Put a potato in the pot with the beans and throw it away don’t eat it as this helps to remove gas
also beano is great if you get gas from beans
Interesting! I’ve never heard of that technique. I’m going to have to give it a shot!
Do you add more water for more beans? So if I were to make 2 pounds, would that be 12C of water? :)
Yep, exactly! :)
Can you make a recipe/tutorial entry on how to slow cook chickpeas?
love your website!
Well, it’s pretty much the exact same process, except use chickpeas instead of black beans. :) No special techniques needed.
thanks!
hello,
my kind only likes to eat pink beans (won’t eat any other) and i want to try this. can i do the same process as you did for black beans, or it has to be different for pink beans?
Hmm, I’ve never cooked pink beans. It should work the same, in theory, but if they are related to kidney beans, you may need to boil them for ten minutes to make sure the natural toxin breaks down and doesn’t cause you gastric distress. :(
I cook mine in veggie stock instead of water and throw in a few bay leaves! :)
You can also try a hot soak. It still takes some time, but not as long as overnight. I’ve done a 4-hour soak and had good results making red beans and rice.
From the U.S. Dry Beans Council (who knew there was such a thing?):
1. Place beans in a pot and add 10 cups of water for every 2 cups of beans.
2. Heat to boiling and boil for an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Remove beans from heat, cover and let stand for 4 to 24 hours.
4. Drain beans, discard soak water and rinse with fresh, cool water.
Have you tried freezing them in freezable canning jars?
Nope! I’m always a little afraid to freeze in glass jars because of falling objects and delicate toes (crazy, I know). Hahaha.
A few nights ago I tried cooking black beans on the stove. I soaked them for 7 or 8 hours, then cooked them for about 3. I had to add a little more water halfway through to keep them all submerged, but after 2 hours they were al dente. I kept cooking with the lid off for the last half hour and they ended up with a wonderful gravy! Tasted so good, I dumped the whole thing in for the Chipotle Sweet Potato Quesadillas in your book. SO AWESOME. I had had trouble before with the canned beans rolling out of the tortillas because they weren’t sticking to anything, so the added gravy was perfect!
We eat a lot of canned black beans…not anymore now that I found this recipe! Our family favorite is sauteed smoked turkey sausage with onions and garlic, 2 C black beans, 1 C corn, and 2 C brown rice. Add cilantro and/or diced avocado as a garnish. Super yum!
Hey Beth! Does this apply to any dried beans? I have bag of garbanzos I wanted to do the same with..
Yep, I’ve cooked garbanzos with this method and it works well. :)
Did you have to presoak the chickpeas overnight?
Nope, I just toss them in there dry. :)
Hi,
What is the weight of drained can of beans? I’ve recently come to Chicago for my masters, so I don’t know much about here. Only grocery stores I know are Target, Jewel and Trader Joe’s. The cheapest raw beans (1 lb) I found was something like $1.5 and the cheapest canned beans (15 oz which makes something like 1 lb) I found was like $0.75. So raw beans’ price is like twice expensive. So if two dried can of beans weight 1 lb, then I either don’t know where to buy cheap stuff or Chicago has weird pricing system.
By the way, I’ve recently found your site and it’s helping me so much. Thank you for helping strangers like me :)
Don’t forget, the cooked beans contain a LOT more water, so that’s why they’re heavier. You can’t just compare the drained weight to the weight of the dry beans because the cooked bean has absorbed water. :) One pound of raw/uncooked beans will equal about three cans of the cooked beans.
The measurement on canned foods is not a weight measurement it is a volume measurement.
Why do you toss the liquid before you freeze the beans? Can they be frozen together?
I’ve since started freezing them in the liquid. It does help keep them from drying out in the freezer. :)
When you use them, do you thaw off and drain the liquid or do you cook the liquid in your recipe?
I usually dump the whole frozen block into a colander and run cool water over them until they thaw (it’s very quick) and that rinses them in the process. You CAN use the liquid if you like, though. It can help make soups and stews thicker because it’s full of soluble fiber.
Wow! It’s like I’m not cooking but I am! I’m so excited Beth that I can actually prepare a dinner for once in my life!! Please keep the step by step pictures too. This is what makes you different from every other person sharing recipes. Thank you! =D
How long do they last in the freezer? I’m looking to do a big stock-up but don’t want the beans to go bad before I could use them!
There’s no specific time limit, they just begin to diminish in quality after time (they dry out and get freezer burn). I try to use up freezer items within three months or so.
I haven’t cooked black beans in my slow cooker, but I came to this recipe to see if I could freeze cooked black beans (yay! I can!).
I like to add some bay leaves to the pot as I’m cooking my black beans. It gives them a nice, subtle flavor. I suspect that throwing a bay leaf or two in the crockpot would have the same result!