Dried Beans – How to Cook the Ultimate Meal Prep Ingredient
Dried beans are the ultimate meal prep ingredient and long shelf life pantry staple.
Why?
Because they are cheap, healthy, filling, versatile, and easy to make.
How cheap?
At my grocery store, one pound of dried chickpeas costs about the same as a can of chickpeas. One pound of dried chickpeas yields about 7 cups of cooked chickpeas while one can yields about 1.5 cups. So, I’d have to buy over 4 cans to have the same amount of cooked chickpeas that I get from 1 pound of dried!
This easy method for how to cook all types of dried beans applies to the most common beans you find in your grocery store. It shows you how to cook chickpeas, cannellini beans, navy beans, great northern beans, kidney, black-eyed peas, black beans, pinto beans, lima and baby lima beans, gigante beans, and other dried beans of similar size.
Once you cook a big pot of beans, they are perfect for all of your meal prep for the week. I like to make about a pound of beans at a time.
Keep reading for step-by-step instructions on soaking, cooking, storing, and using dried beans so you can eat great on the cheap!
How Long Will Cooked Dried Beans Keep?
Beans keep at least 3-4 days, covered in the refrigerator.
What Type of Beans Does This Method Work For?
This method works for most types of beans that you will find at your grocery store. Here are a few favorites: chickpeas (garbanzo beans), cannellini beans, navy beans, great northern beans, kidney beans, black-eyed peas, black beans, pinto beans, lima and baby lima beans, and gigante beans.
How Can I Use Cooked Beans?
Cooked beans are super versatile. Here are a few beans focused recipes:
Below are some general dried bean conversions. Note that canned beans are just cooked beans.
1 pound dried beans = 6-7 cups cooked beans
1 pound dried beans = 2.5 – 3 cups dried beans
1 can of beans = 1.5 cups of cooked beans
1 can of beans = 9 oz. of cooked beans
3/4 cup dried beans = 1.5 cups of cooked beans (about the same as a can)
What Was Used in the Example Recipe Below?
The following recipe was created for example purposes using 1 pound of chickpeas. You can see from the picture below that they significantly increased in size after soaking and cooking.
This 1 pound of dried chickpeas measured just under 3 cups of dried chickpeas. After cooking, the volume increased to about 7 cups and the weight to almost 3 pounds. Those are some serious gains!
Dried beans are the ultimate meal prep and food pantry staple. They are cheap, filling, versatile, healthy, and can last for years. This is the best method for how to cook dried beans.
5 from 2 votes
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Prep Time 8 hourshrs
Cook Time 1 hourhr
Total Time 9 hourshrs
Course entree, Meal Prep, Side Dish
Cuisine Mediterranean
Servings 8
Calories 231kcal
Ingredients
1pound chickpeas (about 3 cups) or other beans noted above.(can change this amount based on how much cooked beans you want. This yields about 7 cups cooked chickpeas.)
1Tbsp. plus 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
Instructions
Soak dried beans - Add beans to a large bowl. Fill the bowl with enough water so that it covers the beans by a few inches. The beans will roughly double in size, so don’t skimp on the water. Add 1 Tbsp. kosher salt. Soak at least 8 hours.
Drain and cook soaked beans - Drain the soaked beans and add them to a large pot. Fill the pot with water so it covers the beans by a few inches. Bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Add 1/2 tsp. of kosher salt. Simmer 45 minutes to 1.5 hours until beans are tender
Prepare and/or store - Pour the pot into a strainer or colander. Use immediately or let cool, cover, and store in the refrigerator. You can also store the beans directly in their cooking liquid in the refrigerator. The beans will last 3-4 days.
Nutrition
Calories: 231kcalFat: 3.6g
Keyword Dried beans, dried chickpeas, beans for meal prep, meal prep for the week,
Place soaked beans in a large pot; cover with fresh water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently until beans are tender but firm. Most beans will cook in 45 minutes to 2 hours depending on the variety. Periodically, try a taste test or mash a bean against the side of the pot with a fork or spoon.
Place soaked beans in a large pot; cover with fresh water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently until beans are tender but firm. Most beans will cook in 45 minutes to 2 hours depending on the variety. Periodically, try a taste test or mash a bean against the side of the pot with a fork or spoon.
Simply place the beans in a pot on the stove, cover them with 3 inches of water, add salt and bring them to a boil. As soon as they boil, turn off the heat and let them soak for at least an hour. Drain, rinse and they are ready to create nutritious recipes.
Soaking beans can help improve the texture of the final product once the beans are cooked and reduce the gas produced when the food is being digested. But it isn't necessary to soak them.
To achieve a soft and creamy texture without the beans becoming mushy, try soaking them overnight in water. Then, cook them gently in simmering water or broth until tender. Avoid adding acidic ingredients like tomatoes until the beans are fully cooked, as acidity can toughen the beans.
Unlike cooking beans on the stove, cooking beans in the Instant Pot does not require soaking. Simply rinse your beans and then add them to the Instant Pot with your cooking liquid and start pressure cooking.
If you simmer beans in an uncovered pot, they will end up firmer and more intact. This perfect for dishes where you really want the beans to keep their shape without smooshing, like salads and pasta dishes.
GOYA® Small White Beans are very appetizing and are part of the wide variety of dried beans that GOYA® has for you. They're a delicious and nutritious option to prepare different dishes and the favorite ingredient in a variety of cuisines.
Our plump, ready-to-eat beans are simmered in a rich, vibrant sauce with authentic Latin seasonings and great homemade flavor. Choose from our tasty varieties. Then heat and serve over rice or as a delicious sidedish. Tastes like mom's home cooking, ready when you are!
As it turns out, baking soda significantly decreases the levels of raffinose, the gas-causing sugar present in beans. When should you add baking soda to beans? It works best with just a pinch (about 1/16 of a teaspoon) sprinkled into dried beans while they soak in water before cooking.
If you forgot to soak your beans the night before you plan to cook them, the hot soak method can come to the rescue. Cover the beans with water, bring to a boil and boil for three minutes. Remove them from the heat and let them soak in the hot water for an hour. Then drain, rinse, add fresh water and cook.
Brine your beans while soaking them by adding a tablespoon or two of salt to the soaking liquid, a trick from Cool Beans author and bean guru Joe Yonan. It effectively brines the beans, making them both tastier and more evenly cooked as it helps to soften the beans' skins, improving the final texture.
Anything you add can bring flavor to your beans- an advantage cooking dried beans has over buying canned. On average, I use ½ large onion, a few cloves of garlic, a few sprigs of hard herbs, one bay leaf, and a drizzle of olive oil for every 1 cup of dried beans I'm cooking.
Soaking dried beans before cooking lowers their potassium level in a big way. Try it with chickpeas and lentils as well! Soak them for 12 hours, then boil them or cook them in your pressure cooker or on the stove.
According to Serious Eats, undercooked beans maintain their firm texture while overcooked beans are too mushy. So with fully cooked beans, you're looking for the sweet spot in the middle, as beans should be plump, but mash easily when you press them with a fork, per Mayo Clinic.
Beans should not be soaked for longer than 12 hours.
If you soak the beans for longer than 12 hours, you run the risk of the beans losing both their characteristic flavor and texture. At that point, you'll be dealing with a gritty, tasteless bean that does no one any favors at dinnertime.
To quick-soak dried beans, simply bring a pot of beans and water to a boil and let them sit for an hour. It takes only about 5 minutes of your attention and works for any type of bean. Step one: Sort and rinse. Pour the beans out onto a sheet pan or somewhere else you can spread them out easily.
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