Cooking dried beans sounds like a lot of work, but I’m going to show you that it is quite easy.
The benefits of cooking your beans instead of buying them canned far out number any extra work.
- Cooked beans taste better than canned beans.
- Cooked beans have significantly less sodium than canned beans. Have you read the label on the can?
- And finally, cooked beans are cheaper than the canned version. Beans are an inexpensive way to add protein and fiber to your diet and cooking them will save you even more money.
Dried beans typically come in 1 pound bags and I find the largest assortment in the Latino section of the grocery store. Varieties include: black beans, Great Northern beans, Lima beans, pinto, Cannellini, garbanzo, and many more. The average price of a one pound bag of dried beans $1.50. This one pound bag of uncooked beans will yield the equivalent of 3 cans of bean, about 1 1/2 cups each. The average price for a quality brand of canned beans is $1.
In this post, I offer THREE ways to cook dried beans: crock pot, stove top, and Instant Pot. Each method works well, it is just a matter of your personal preference.
Edited 11/2017: I recently bought an Instant Pot and it is now my preferred method of cooking dried beans.
Before we start cooking the beans, they need to be re-hydrated. It helps reduce gasiness…which is all I need to hear!
There are two methods to re-hydrate dried beans:
- Quick Soak: Spread 1 lb (2 cups) of beans on a rimmed cookie sheet, pulling out any pebbles. Pour beans into a colander and rinse with fresh water. Pour beans into a large pot and add 6 – 8 cups of hot water and boil for 2 minutes on your stove top. Remove from heat and cover. Let stand for 1 hour. Carefully drain the beans in a colander and rinse with fresh water.
- Overnight Soak: Sort and rinse 1 lb (2 cups) of beans as described in the quick soak and pour beans into a large pot and cover with 6 – 8 cups of cold water. Allow the beans to soak at least 8 hours or overnight. Do NOT turn on the crock pot. Drain in colander and rinse with fresh water.
One note of caution: Dried red kidney beans apparently carry a toxin that can cause gastrointestinal illness if not killed. It is recommended that after soaking the red kidney beans, drain and rinse with fresh water. Boil on high for 10 minutes in fresh water. Drain and cook the red beans per the directions below. Canned red beans have already gone through this process and are safe to eat.
How to Cook Dried Beans on the Stove Top
- Soak beans per your preference from the above directions.
- Pour soaked and rinsed beans into a large stock pot. Add 6 cups of hot water and bring to a simmer.
- Cover and simmer for 1 ½ – 2 hours or until the beans reach your desired tenderness. Beans are down when they can be smashed with a fork.
- Carefully drain and beans are ready to use.
How to Cook Dried Beans in the Crock Pot
- Soak beans per your preference from the above directions.
- Pour soaked beans in crock pot, cover with fresh water by 3 inches
- Cook on low for 8 hours or until soft
- Carefully drain. Beans are ready to use.
- If you have a 6-Quart Crock-Pot
or larger, go ahead and cook 2 pounds of dried beans. They’ll need a couple extra hours in the Crock Pot, but you’ll have twice as many beans when finished.
How to Cook Dried Beans in the Instant Pot:
- Soak beans per your preference from the above directions.
- Pour the soaked beans into the IP inner pot. The manual advises to not fill the inner pot more than half of its capacity. Cover with water.
- Turn the machine on to Manual and follow the cook times in the recipe book that you received in the box. It lists the times and will depend on the type of bean and whether they are soaked. For example, I recently cooked a pound of soaked dried black beans and I set the cook time for 15 minutes.
- After the cook time, allow for a complete Natural Release. It took about 33 minutes for my black beans.
Related Reading: My Instant Pot Review
How to Freeze Cooked Beans:
- After cooked beans have cooled completely, store in 1.5 cup portions in freezer containers or bags.
- 1.5 cups of cooked beans equals 1 (15 oz) can
After you’ve cooked your beans, try these delicious recipes:
- Roasted Garlic & Sun-Dried Tomato Hummus
- Chicken & Black Bean Enchiladas
- Turkey & Black Bean Chili (Slow Cooker Recipe)
- Chicken, Black Bean & Corn Tacos (Slow Cooker Recipe)
- Chicken, Pinto Beans & Rice Casserole
- Ham & Bean Soup
- Italian Sausage, Kale & White Bean Soup
- Red and White Chicken Chili
- Turkey Cornbread Potpie
Cooking beans isn’t going to save you a ton of money on your groceries, but in my humble opinion, home-cooked beans are worth the effort because they taste better and have little sodium as compared to canned. When I’m in a pinch, I’ll buy a can, but right now my freezer is stocked with plenty of beans.
Do you cook dried beans or buy them canned? What’s your favorite bean recipe? Share it in the comments.
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I love the crock pot method. Because you can leave them on And leave the house with no worries! Usually a pot of pinto beans that wait are awesome! Stopping by from our SITS tribe!
Lashawn recently posted…Happy Martin Luther King Day!
I’ve never cooked beans, but have been itching to try. There’s a bag of garbanzo beans I was planning on roasting, but I think I’ll try your crockpot method so I can make some hummus. I can never get enough hummus!
Stopped by from the SITS Girl tribe challenge. Looking forward to getting to know you, Kristia.
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Hummus is a staple at my house. I buy it more than I should, because homemade hummus tastes so much better! Thanks for stopping by, Yazmin!
Another tip: do not salt your beans until they have cooked enough to be soft. Otherwise they’ll remain hard.
Thanks for the tip! I’m glad I didn’t add any salt–I did not know that.
Well crap. I’m starting mine and I already salted mine. 🙁
Oh no, Jess! Let us know how they turned out.
Thank you for the recipe. I am hoping to add to it (chopped bacon, onion, light seasonings) then lastly chopped hot dogs. This is to become Sunday’s pot luck main dish at church 🙂
I season my beans with ham or streak of lean. Bacon is smoked and give the beans a Smokey flavor.
What a great post! I have recently started to cook beans at home. It is pretty easy and I am like you, I think they taste better! I would love it if you would drop this and any other frugal posts off at the Living Big on Less Money Link Party! I hope to see you there!
Cynthia L recently posted…Menu Planning Made Simple, Part 4 – Living Big on Less Money
As a vegetarian, I eat a TON of beans, but I always buy canned. I don’t know that the savings are worth the extra time and effort. They’re so cheap as it is.
Stefanie @ The Broke and Beautiful Life recently posted…Financially Savvy Saturdays!
I cook beans at home mostly because they taste better and have significantly less sodium than the cost savings. You’re right canned beans are really cheap these days, but I like home cooked much better.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
The risk of processed food , deli meats canned ,bagged and boxed foods are far worse than the price difference. Try to find clean beans that have been grown without chemicals. Best to buy local if your rural like me. And can!!!!
I love making beans this way but I never thought about making extra and freezing them. Do you freeze them in water or drain and freeze like veggies? Thanks
Hi Laura, I drain and freeze without water.
What’s your process in unthawing and recooking them after frozen?
I put the frozen beans in the refrigerator to thaw and then use in my recipe.
They’re soaking as we speak- thank you for posting this. I’ve been wondering how to cook beans in a crockpot for a long time.
For better taste add a garlic clove and salt to the beans at the beginning of the cooking
Breda – thanks for the tip!
If I leave them in the crock pot longer than 8 hours, will they overcook? I’m usually gone for at least 12 hours during the day.
I’m sorry, Cristy, I do not know the answer to that. I have never left the beans cook that long.
Sorry….try again…..I cook dried beans quite often. I add some carrots celery & onions to the cooking water. This gives great flavor. And I add a pinch of salt in the last few minutes of cook time.
Great idea! I’ve never added anything, but will add the trio next time. Thanks for the comments.
There’s always the issue of “gas”. I’ve learned that each time you drain the water on soaking beans add a couple of tablespoons of vingear. Also cut up one potato and add it while cooking the beans. The potato absorbs “gas”. Dispose of the potato after cooking and you should be gasless.
thanks for the tip!
I heard baking soda works for “gasless” beans in the cooking stage. Seems to work. I’m going to try freezing beans next time. I’ll make extra.
Thanks, Lyn, for the tip. I hope the freezing works well for you.
For those who may wonder, as a rule of thumb, 4.5 oz (3/4 c.)of dried beans is roughly equal to 15 oz. of cooked beans.
thanks for the tip, Elizabeth.
Now make my red beans & rice recipe in the crockpot. Turns out perfect every time & saves so much prep work. Dried beans taste much better.