I don’t know about you, but I have a large bag of beans and several cans I bought to prepare for this quarantine situation. It’s one of the first things people think of when they think “shelf stable foods”, but how much can we actually do with them? Are endless batches of hummus and re-fried beans in my future? I mean. . . I would be up for it, but eventually you may want to branch out. Here’s the guide to do just that.

If you have never before seen a dried bean and thought, “I would like to make that into food”, start here with the Guide to Cooking Dried Beans. For those of you seasoned in the art of bean making, check it out as a refresher, or skip to my ideas on what I’m going to do with the 5 pounds of beans in my pantry.

Guide to Cooking Dried Beans

Stove Top Beans

Sort

Why do we have to sort beans? To get out the “bonus” material: stems, leaves, husks, and even little pebbles.

Soak

Option 1: Hot Soak

This method helps with the intestinal gas beans sometimes produce.

• Add 10 cups of water for every pound of dried beans to a large pot
• Heat to boiling, boil to 2-3 minutes
• Remove from heat, cover, let sit for 4 hours

Option 2: Quick Soak

For when you just don’t have 4 hours to sit around and wait for beans to re-hydrate. Spoiler: it’s the same as the hot soak, you just wait less.

• Add 10 cups of water for every pound of dried beans to a large pot
• Heat to boiling, boil for 2-3 minutes
• Remove from heat, cover, let sit for 1 hour

Option: 3 Overnight Soak

No heat involved. Very little prep work.

• Add 10 cups of water for every pound of dried beans to a large bowl
• Let sit on your counter overnight, or at least 8 hours

Cook

Finally!

• Drain water and rinse beans
• Cover with fresh water, simmer 1.5-2 hours or until tender

Microwave Beans

Prep

1. Add 1 pound of dried beans to 8 cups water
2. Cover and cook 8-10 minutes, or until boiling

Cook

1. Add 6-8 cups fresh, hot water
2. Cover and cook on full power for 8-10 minutes, or until boiling
3. Reduce power to 50% and cook 15-20 minutes, or until tender

Crock Pot Beans

1. Bring 3 cups water to boil on your stove top
2. Add 1 cup dried beans and simmer for 10 minutes
3. Pour beans and water into Crock Pot
4. Cook 2-3 hours on high, making sure they are covered with water
5. When beans are tender, turn to low and cook 6-8 hours

Bean Tips

• to avoid mushy or broken beans, boil gently and stir very little
• taste test often for desired tenderness to avoid over cooking
• add acidic foods such as tomatoes, lemon juice, vinegar, and ketchup last, so they will not slow the cooking and softening of beans
• use the add ins in the last half hour of cooking for added flavor
  • diced onion
  • whole, sliced, minced, or pressed garlic cloves
  • diced bell pepper
  • diced carrots
  • diced tomatoes
  • cooked meat

Storing Beans

• Store in the fridge 4-5 days
• If I make a pound of beans, I will immediately freeze half in cooking liquid in 2 cup portions. 2 cups is about what we’ll eat at one meal or use in a recipe

Nutrition

• eat beans with vitamin C containing foods to boost your absorption of non-heme iron (the type of iron in non-meat foods)
• eat beans with grains to make it a complete protein
• So. Much. Fiber.
• beans contain B vitamins, vitamin E, Calcium, Potassium, and iron
• Children’s iron needs are met for the day with a half cup of beans

To Help With Intestinal Distress

• use hot soak method
• slowly add beans to your diet over the course of 8 weeks
• frequent bean eaters experience symptoms less often
• drink plenty of water
• chew well!

What to Make With Beans

• falafel
• hummus (shake things up and try any type of bean)
• refried beans
• 15 Bean Soup
• red beans and rice
• minestrone
• baked beans
• Tarka Dal
• bean burritos
• cuban style black beans
• black bean salsa
• vegetarian chili
• lentil burgers
• refried bean and cheese sandwiches

Adding Beans

I love adding beans to dishes because it makes them stretch farther, adds protein, and adds fiber. Try adding a can or about 1 1/2 cups to any of these dishes.

• soup (obviously): blended soups tend to go over better with my toddler
• chili
• scrambled eggs
• any time I am cooking ground meat, I toss in a can. Brown lentils blend in particularly well, if you are dealing with a family new to beans.
• enchiladas
• lasagna
• spaghetti sauce
• tacos
• burritos
• quesadillas
• any type of casserole
• salads
• chicken or tuna salad
• egg salad
• pilaf
• stir fry
• muffins
• chocolate cake
• brownies (my sister in law is famous for her black bean brownies)

Cooking With Toddlers

Sometimes, exposures to new foods don’t always happen at the dinner table. They happen in the grocery store, at restaurants, and even during craft time. Try growing a bean stalk at home!

1. Find a large cup and fill it with good potting soil
2. Soak 2-3 dried beans over night
3. plant 1-2 beans in soil 1-2″ deep
4. water well and place in a sunny window
5. keep soil moist
6. in about a month, your plant will have grown quite large, and you may even have a bean!

Hope these tips help you up your bean game, or find inspiration to branch out and try something new.