How To Cook Dried Beans
Buy Great Beans
Inspect whatever beans you plan on purchasing from your market. The surface of the bean should be smooth, firm, uniform in size and color... in fact the colors of the beans should be bright. Avoid any beans that are broken, blistered looking, wrinkled or shriveled.
The beans listed in the chart below are only the basics. There are other hybrid beans and heirloom varieties that can be found on the internet, by special order from your market, or catalogs.
Dried Bean Math
Since dry beans must rehydrated, they will expand to about 2 1/2 times their dried measure size.
How to Store Dried Beans
Dried beans can be stored in plastic bags or containers in a cool, dry cabinet, drawer or shelf. High humidity and temperatures are BAD for dried beans. And beans that are OLD will never cook correctly. I would only keep dried beans for a year.
The Dried Bean Sort
Measure out the beans you will cook.
Use a white plate or bowl and sprinkle a few on the plate to search for dirty beans, tiny stones or damaged, wrinkled or broken beans that may be mixed in with the good beans.
Remove any misshaped or damaged beans, dirt or stones.
Yes, you must do this step or you could damage teeth when eating them later!
Pour the checked beans into a large bowl.
Cover the beans with water and remove any "floaters". Floaters are DUDS and will not cook properly.
How Much Water?
Add the rinsed beans to the pot and cover them with clean filtered water. Use enough water to cover the beans and have at least one inch above the bean level. Do not use excess water, just enough to keep them from drying out during the boiling and simmering process. When checking for bean doneness, if the water level is low, add just enough to keep the beans wet toward the end of the cooking time.
Skim the Dried Bean FOAM OFF
When the pot contents begin to boil, the surface will form a white foam from the gases being released from the beans. This is not a time to leave the kitchen!!! I have had my bean pot boil over many times and the clean-up is no fun! While the beans boil, skim off the white foam that appears on the surface of the cooking water with a large spoon and discard.
Turn the Heat Down
Turn the burner temperature down to the lowest setting for a gentle simmer and cover the pot with a lid... cook till the beans are done.
The Cooked Dried Bean Taste Test
After simmering the beans for three quarters of the suggested cooking time, taste a bean to if it cooked to a softened state, if not, cook for another 15 to 30 minutes and taste test again.
Drain and Season the Cooked Dried Beans
Once the beans are done to your taste test, turn the heat off, drain the cooking liquid off, add seasonings or sauces and serve.
Dried Bean Economy
Canned beans are convenient and a real time saver, but they don't taste like home cooked. It is also very economical for families to cook their own beans rather than purchase store-bought canned versions.
Freeze the Cooked Beans for Convenience
Home cooked dried beans freeze very well. After draining off the cooking liquid, divide the cooked beans into meal-sized portions. I fill quart-size plastic ziplock freezer bags with three-cups of cooked beans. Make sure to "burp" the bag to get all the excess air out. Then I shake the bag to distribute the beans in an even layer and lay it flat in my freezer. The cooked beans can then be defrosted in a bowl of warm water or added to whatever recipe I might be creating.
If you are single, make the bean portions single-serving-size and use small ziplock bags. Put the smaller bags into a freezer ziplock quart bag to keep them from getting freezer burn.
Freezing cooked dried beans saves many dollars, prevents exposure to BPAs in canned beans, and takes up less room than a pantry full of cans. I still keep a few cans in my pantry for emergency use if an emergency happens, but I prefer the taste of home-cooked beans over any canned product.
Dried Bean HINT: Not all dried beans need soaking, so make note of those in the chart below!
Step-By-Step Dried Bean Cooking Technique
For a step-by-step dried bean cooking recipe, go to Simply Mexican, Pinto Beans for a photo sequence that demonstrates each step of the dried bean cooking process.
BUY the Ball Plastic 8-Ounce Freezer Jars, 5 Pack
BUY the Ball® Plastic 16-Ounce Freezer Jar, Set of 4 (by Jarden Home Brands)
How to Cook Dried Beans Chart
Dried Beans (1 cup)Cooking TimePresoakAdzuki40 minutes SOAKING: YES
Anasazi beans50-60 minutesYESBlack Beans50-60 minutes SOAKING: YES
Black-eyed Peas30-40 minutesNOButter Beans60-90 minutes SOAKING: YES
Cannellini Beans1 1/4 hoursYESChestnut Beans1 1/2 hours SOAKING: YES
Fava Beans1 hourYESFlageolet Beans1 1/2 hours SOAKING: YES
Garbanzo Beans1 1/2 hours SOAKING: YES
Great Northern Beans50-60 minutesYESKidney Beans1 1/4 hours SOAKING: YES
Lentils, green or brown25-30 minutesNO
Lentils, red10 minutesNO
Lentils, French or black20 minutesNO
Lima Beans, baby40-45 minutes SOAKING: YES
Lima Beans, large40-45 minutes SOAKING: YES
Mung Beans45 minutes SOAKING: YES
Navy Beans50-60 minutes SOAKING: YES
Peas, split50-60 minutesNO
Peas, whole1 1/4 hoursN0Pea Beans50-60 SOAKING: YES
Pinto Beans1 SOAKING:YES
Red Beans, small1 hour SOAKING:YES
Soybeans2 1/4 hours SOAKING:YES
Healthy Bean List with Bean Nutrition & Calories
BY MOSS GREENE
The healthy bean list below shows you bean nutrition and bean calories plus the many healthy benefits of beans.
And since bean calories are low and healthy bean nutrition is high, you can choose freely from this list of beans.
Are beans healthy for you? Absolutely! Actually, the humble healthy bean is a nutritionist’s dream. Here are reasons you should eat more beans:
• Beans are high in fiber. You get approximately 8 grams of fiber in ½ cup of cooked healthy beans – over a quarter of your daily fiber needs. And these high fiber foods help you avoid constipation, achieve healthy permanent weight loss and prevent most degenerative diseases.
• Bean fat content is low. Other than in soybeans, the fat in beans is practically non-existent. And the nutritious oils in soybeans still only come to about 12% of soybean calories. That’s low!
• Beans are high in protein. Soybeans have “complete” protein and other beans contain high levels of all but one of the necessary amino acids (methionine) that makes protein “complete”. But even though methionine is low in beans, all you have to do is eat some whole grainbread or brown rice on the same day to “complete” the protein in beans.
• Bean nutrition is high. Besides fiber, protein and other nutrients, beans are rich in iron (helps prevent anemia), magnesium (important for heart and bone health) and nerve-soothing B vitamins (especially folic acid, which helps prevent cancer, heart disease and birth defects).
• Beans are low in calories. A single serving of filling, low calorie,high protein healthy beans can tame your appetite for hours.
But watch out for excessive salt (sodium) levels in many brands of canned beans. Always make sure you buy only no-salt or low-sodium varieties.
Healthy Bean List with Bean Nutrition & Bean CaloriesOn the list of beans below, you’ll find bean calories, protein (listed in grams) and fiber (grams). Beans also have an abundance of healthy carbohydrates and, except for soybeans, practically no fat.
Healthy Bean
List,-Serving-Calories-Protein-Fiber
Adzuki, dry¼ cup:130-8-5
Adzuki, cooked½ cup:147-9-8
Black, dry¼ cup:70-9-15
Black, cooked½ cup:113-8-8
Black-eyed Peas, dry¼ cup:90-9-10
Black-eyed Peas, cooked½ cup:100-7-6
Fava (Broad), dry¼ cup:70-7-12
Fava (Broad), cooked½ cup:93-7-5
Garbanzo (Chickpeas), dry¼ cup:160-9-8
Garbanzo, cooked½ cup:134-7-3
Great Northern, dry¼ cup:160-10-18
Great Northern, cooked½ cup:104-7-6
Kidney, dry¼ cup:160-11-10
Kidney, cooked½ cup:112-8-7
Lentil, dry¼ cup:150-10-7
Lentil, cooked½ cup:115-9-8
Lima, dry¼ cup:70-8-15
Lima, cooked½ cup:115-7-7
Mung, dry¼ cup:160-11-9
Mung, cooked½ cup:106-7-8
Navy, dry¼ cup170-12-13
Navy, cooked½ cup:129-8-3
Pinto, dry¼ cup150-9-10
Pinto, cooked½ cup:117-7-7
Popcorn, raw¼ cup:170-5-7
Soybean, dry¼ cup:160-12-4
Soybean, cooked½ cup:149-14-5
Split Peas, dry¼ cup:160-12-4
Split Peas, cooked½ cup:116-8-8
White, dry¼ cup:70-8-14
White, cooked½ cup:124-9-6
Also include other healthy beans, such as green beans and snow peas.
Studies show that those who eat plenty of beans from this healthy bean list, along with other high fiber food, may have as much as a 60-point drop in cholesterol. So start adding more bean nutrition to your daily diet – today!
Links:
How To Cook Beans Your Complete Guide!
How To Cook Beans on the Stove
Cooking Beans
Cooking Beans (click here)
Buy Great Beans
Inspect whatever beans you plan on purchasing from your market. The surface of the bean should be smooth, firm, uniform in size and color... in fact the colors of the beans should be bright. Avoid any beans that are broken, blistered looking, wrinkled or shriveled.
The beans listed in the chart below are only the basics. There are other hybrid beans and heirloom varieties that can be found on the internet, by special order from your market, or catalogs.
Dried Bean Math
Since dry beans must rehydrated, they will expand to about 2 1/2 times their dried measure size.
How to Store Dried Beans
Dried beans can be stored in plastic bags or containers in a cool, dry cabinet, drawer or shelf. High humidity and temperatures are BAD for dried beans. And beans that are OLD will never cook correctly. I would only keep dried beans for a year.
The Dried Bean Sort
Measure out the beans you will cook.
Use a white plate or bowl and sprinkle a few on the plate to search for dirty beans, tiny stones or damaged, wrinkled or broken beans that may be mixed in with the good beans.
Remove any misshaped or damaged beans, dirt or stones.
Yes, you must do this step or you could damage teeth when eating them later!
Pour the checked beans into a large bowl.
Cover the beans with water and remove any "floaters". Floaters are DUDS and will not cook properly.
How Much Water?
Add the rinsed beans to the pot and cover them with clean filtered water. Use enough water to cover the beans and have at least one inch above the bean level. Do not use excess water, just enough to keep them from drying out during the boiling and simmering process. When checking for bean doneness, if the water level is low, add just enough to keep the beans wet toward the end of the cooking time.
Skim the Dried Bean FOAM OFF
When the pot contents begin to boil, the surface will form a white foam from the gases being released from the beans. This is not a time to leave the kitchen!!! I have had my bean pot boil over many times and the clean-up is no fun! While the beans boil, skim off the white foam that appears on the surface of the cooking water with a large spoon and discard.
Turn the Heat Down
Turn the burner temperature down to the lowest setting for a gentle simmer and cover the pot with a lid... cook till the beans are done.
The Cooked Dried Bean Taste Test
After simmering the beans for three quarters of the suggested cooking time, taste a bean to if it cooked to a softened state, if not, cook for another 15 to 30 minutes and taste test again.
Drain and Season the Cooked Dried Beans
Once the beans are done to your taste test, turn the heat off, drain the cooking liquid off, add seasonings or sauces and serve.
Dried Bean Economy
Canned beans are convenient and a real time saver, but they don't taste like home cooked. It is also very economical for families to cook their own beans rather than purchase store-bought canned versions.
Freeze the Cooked Beans for Convenience
Home cooked dried beans freeze very well. After draining off the cooking liquid, divide the cooked beans into meal-sized portions. I fill quart-size plastic ziplock freezer bags with three-cups of cooked beans. Make sure to "burp" the bag to get all the excess air out. Then I shake the bag to distribute the beans in an even layer and lay it flat in my freezer. The cooked beans can then be defrosted in a bowl of warm water or added to whatever recipe I might be creating.
If you are single, make the bean portions single-serving-size and use small ziplock bags. Put the smaller bags into a freezer ziplock quart bag to keep them from getting freezer burn.
Freezing cooked dried beans saves many dollars, prevents exposure to BPAs in canned beans, and takes up less room than a pantry full of cans. I still keep a few cans in my pantry for emergency use if an emergency happens, but I prefer the taste of home-cooked beans over any canned product.
Dried Bean HINT: Not all dried beans need soaking, so make note of those in the chart below!
Step-By-Step Dried Bean Cooking Technique
For a step-by-step dried bean cooking recipe, go to Simply Mexican, Pinto Beans for a photo sequence that demonstrates each step of the dried bean cooking process.
BUY the Ball Plastic 8-Ounce Freezer Jars, 5 Pack
BUY the Ball® Plastic 16-Ounce Freezer Jar, Set of 4 (by Jarden Home Brands)
How to Cook Dried Beans Chart
Dried Beans (1 cup)Cooking TimePresoakAdzuki40 minutes SOAKING: YES
Anasazi beans50-60 minutesYESBlack Beans50-60 minutes SOAKING: YES
Black-eyed Peas30-40 minutesNOButter Beans60-90 minutes SOAKING: YES
Cannellini Beans1 1/4 hoursYESChestnut Beans1 1/2 hours SOAKING: YES
Fava Beans1 hourYESFlageolet Beans1 1/2 hours SOAKING: YES
Garbanzo Beans1 1/2 hours SOAKING: YES
Great Northern Beans50-60 minutesYESKidney Beans1 1/4 hours SOAKING: YES
Lentils, green or brown25-30 minutesNO
Lentils, red10 minutesNO
Lentils, French or black20 minutesNO
Lima Beans, baby40-45 minutes SOAKING: YES
Lima Beans, large40-45 minutes SOAKING: YES
Mung Beans45 minutes SOAKING: YES
Navy Beans50-60 minutes SOAKING: YES
Peas, split50-60 minutesNO
Peas, whole1 1/4 hoursN0Pea Beans50-60 SOAKING: YES
Pinto Beans1 SOAKING:YES
Red Beans, small1 hour SOAKING:YES
Soybeans2 1/4 hours SOAKING:YES
Healthy Bean List with Bean Nutrition & Calories
BY MOSS GREENE
The healthy bean list below shows you bean nutrition and bean calories plus the many healthy benefits of beans.
And since bean calories are low and healthy bean nutrition is high, you can choose freely from this list of beans.
Are beans healthy for you? Absolutely! Actually, the humble healthy bean is a nutritionist’s dream. Here are reasons you should eat more beans:
• Beans are high in fiber. You get approximately 8 grams of fiber in ½ cup of cooked healthy beans – over a quarter of your daily fiber needs. And these high fiber foods help you avoid constipation, achieve healthy permanent weight loss and prevent most degenerative diseases.
• Bean fat content is low. Other than in soybeans, the fat in beans is practically non-existent. And the nutritious oils in soybeans still only come to about 12% of soybean calories. That’s low!
• Beans are high in protein. Soybeans have “complete” protein and other beans contain high levels of all but one of the necessary amino acids (methionine) that makes protein “complete”. But even though methionine is low in beans, all you have to do is eat some whole grainbread or brown rice on the same day to “complete” the protein in beans.
• Bean nutrition is high. Besides fiber, protein and other nutrients, beans are rich in iron (helps prevent anemia), magnesium (important for heart and bone health) and nerve-soothing B vitamins (especially folic acid, which helps prevent cancer, heart disease and birth defects).
• Beans are low in calories. A single serving of filling, low calorie,high protein healthy beans can tame your appetite for hours.
But watch out for excessive salt (sodium) levels in many brands of canned beans. Always make sure you buy only no-salt or low-sodium varieties.
Healthy Bean List with Bean Nutrition & Bean CaloriesOn the list of beans below, you’ll find bean calories, protein (listed in grams) and fiber (grams). Beans also have an abundance of healthy carbohydrates and, except for soybeans, practically no fat.
Healthy Bean
List,-Serving-Calories-Protein-Fiber
Adzuki, dry¼ cup:130-8-5
Adzuki, cooked½ cup:147-9-8
Black, dry¼ cup:70-9-15
Black, cooked½ cup:113-8-8
Black-eyed Peas, dry¼ cup:90-9-10
Black-eyed Peas, cooked½ cup:100-7-6
Fava (Broad), dry¼ cup:70-7-12
Fava (Broad), cooked½ cup:93-7-5
Garbanzo (Chickpeas), dry¼ cup:160-9-8
Garbanzo, cooked½ cup:134-7-3
Great Northern, dry¼ cup:160-10-18
Great Northern, cooked½ cup:104-7-6
Kidney, dry¼ cup:160-11-10
Kidney, cooked½ cup:112-8-7
Lentil, dry¼ cup:150-10-7
Lentil, cooked½ cup:115-9-8
Lima, dry¼ cup:70-8-15
Lima, cooked½ cup:115-7-7
Mung, dry¼ cup:160-11-9
Mung, cooked½ cup:106-7-8
Navy, dry¼ cup170-12-13
Navy, cooked½ cup:129-8-3
Pinto, dry¼ cup150-9-10
Pinto, cooked½ cup:117-7-7
Popcorn, raw¼ cup:170-5-7
Soybean, dry¼ cup:160-12-4
Soybean, cooked½ cup:149-14-5
Split Peas, dry¼ cup:160-12-4
Split Peas, cooked½ cup:116-8-8
White, dry¼ cup:70-8-14
White, cooked½ cup:124-9-6
Also include other healthy beans, such as green beans and snow peas.
Studies show that those who eat plenty of beans from this healthy bean list, along with other high fiber food, may have as much as a 60-point drop in cholesterol. So start adding more bean nutrition to your daily diet – today!
Links:
How To Cook Beans Your Complete Guide!
How To Cook Beans on the Stove
Cooking Beans
Cooking Beans (click here)
Beans vs Beef on Nutrition