I will never buy another can of beans

I've been cooking beans from dry for a while now, in an attempt to cut back on unnecessary sodium in the canned stuff. I got pretty resentful of all that sodium. I've cooked garbonzo beans, black beans, pinto beans, small white beans, and kidney beans. I've cooked up beans mixes with varying results. Generally, the beans are way yummier than the ones in the can.

But this weekend I discovered the best reason to alway buy dried....I noticed my bag of dried garbonzo beans was $2.19. And I got about 10 cans worth out of it!! Holy crow, just one can of beans costs nearly $2 here and sometimes more!

Go dry or go home, that what I say!! Anyway just wanted to share. Plus I am getting a huge payment from the Dried Bean Company for the advert.

i like your post!  I too love dried beans--the cost, the taste and I know what's in it.  However, you don't mention how you cook them!  I buy canned to save hours and hours of prep--I'd love to know your secret.

My grandma gave me a pressure cooker for my wedding present.  Love it.  I can never remember to soak beans and they cook in about twenty minutes in that thing.

Oooh I'd love a pressure cooker, I have to do it the long way....soak overnight (though I have soaked for just 4 or 5 hours and they turned out fine), then change the water, add a little salt (I use about 1/4 tsp for 1 cup of dry beans) and simmer until they are tender, about 30-60 min depending on the size of the bean. It takes a bit of pre-planning but is super-easy. I don't know how much of that salt they actually absorb but I count it all and it's still significantly less than canned.

I agree, dried beans are way cheaper than canned! The only problem is that some beans are heat-treated and it's hard to know which ones have been and which ones haven't until you're through with the soaking and cooking... Then you'll know, because heat-treated beans never properly soften and have an odd crunchy texture.

But generally I agree - beans are awesome, cheap, tasty and good for you too!

I also prefer beans cooked from dry.  It's mostly the texture rather than the flavour.  I find canned beans mushy but the ones cooked from dry still have a little firmness to them.

I love home cooked beans, I never knew until I made a bean soup from a mix.  Soaking overnight works out well, if I run out of time the next day I just keep them in the fridge until the next day when I toss them in the crock pot while I'm at work.

I love dried beans. I do mine in the crock pot in large batches and then freeze them until I need them, and keep some in the fridge for salads or such.

The crockpot works great (just make sure to have enough water)

I would way rather buy canned beans for the convenience factor (and I always buy no- or low-sodium varieties. If you rinse your beans, most of the sodium is gone anyway). If I had a crockpot, I might think differently. The one time I cooked dried chickpeas, it took 2 hours + soaking time and I was not impressed.

I guess the quality of the beans and how they've been treated make a difference. Like people, if beans are abused, they will have some issues! I never knew about the heat-treating, once I had some come out crunchy despite extra cooking time, I bet that's why.

I've been buying Unico beans from our Italian grocer, and they are great. Unico also makes lots and lots of varieties of canned beans that are good too, so I guess they are just good in general.

If you like refried beans, try making them yourself by just sauteing some minced garlic in olive oil spray then adding cooked or canned beans and smushing them while you saute for a few minutes. I did that with a can of Unico bean medley once, as a substitution because I had no cans of refried beans, and omg they were so much better!

Quick soak method is to put the beans in a pan of water, bring to a boil, boil for 5 minutes, then let sit for one hour. After that you cook them for the 1-2 hours until soft. It's not quick, but quicker than letting them sit overnight.

Original Post by thecrankyone:

I love dried beans. I do mine in the crock pot in large batches and then freeze them until I need them, and keep some in the fridge for salads or such.

The crockpot works great (just make sure to have enough water)

 

Just wondering... do you really need to soak them first if cooking them in a crock pot? I'm planning on doing the exact same thing this weekend.

I wondered this too, and so looked around a bit, and seems  the soaking is  recommended despite the cooking method....one comment noted that they tried omitting the soaking step when using a crock pot and it resulted in unevenly cooked beans.

Lots of others say it's fine to not soak them first....but apparently the soaking process allows the gases to be released and so if you skip that part, you will discover why beans are considered the musical fruit.

Heh, I'm horrible when it comes to slow cooking.. I'm a constant pot stirrer!

I think I'll try it without the pre-soak though, since the gas isn't usually an issue for me, plus the beans will end up getting mashed or tossed into soups anyway. I have three huge bags of black beans, garbanzos and pintos.. should keep me thoroughly busy this weekend :)

I'll let you know how they turn out!

I never presoak beans. My grandmother always does. In all honesty, I find no difference. Not in the texture, and not in the gas problems, either!!