How to (I) cook beans and save a lot of money.
Feeding my family high quality food is a priority. Even on a budget.
Enter the humble legume.
Cheap, easy, versatile?
Check.
Protein, vitamins, minerals, fiber?
Yep, it’s all there. Thank you, little beans.
I buy beans in bulk and cook big batches at a time. It’s easy and saves me a lot of money and time. Who doesn’t like to save money, save time, and nourish their body!
How to I Cook Beans
I learned how to cook beans following Sally Fallon’s directions in Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats
1. First, I soak the beans several hours (8+) or overnight. Soaking them reduces phytates (which can block mineral absorption) and makes them more digestible.
2. If I’m cooking black beans or lentils I add about a tablespoon of whey (or lemon juice) per cup of beans. All other beans, I use plain (preferably filtered) water.
3. I rinse the beans, add fresh water, salt, chopped onions, garlic, and cook until soft. Most of the time, I just use a slow cooker and let them soak one night, change the water in the morning, and cook. Other times, I cook them slowly in a pot on the stove. I’ve noticed lentils cook much faster than other legumes so I check them frequently.
Once they have cooled, I divide them up and freeze for the future. (I drain lentils for freezing. All the other beans I leave in their juices.)
That’s it! Now I have beans for burritos, grilled mexican pizzas, chili, vegetarian sloppy joes and salads.
Such sweet little beans!
You want to know more about the whys and hows of cooking your own beans? Here is an article from my favorite food organization, The Weston A. Price Foundation.
Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn
Check out our family’s adventures at New School Nomads as we plan to take a year long road trip through the United States!
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Hi! I really enjoy your blog, Jenn! Thanks for sharing this information on beans. I love beans! I’ve tried using dried beans but they never seem to get soft enough so I end up using the more expensive canned beans. Using the method above, do your beans become soft like canned beans?
Hi Cathy! Thanks for the sweet words. Yes, my beans do become soft. With black beans I often soak them for about 24 hours and cook them in a slow cooker all day. If they don’t get soft if could be that the beans are old and the outer skin has gotten really hard.
Very cool! I use a lot of beans but have qualms about canned beans. I just need to plan ahead and use more dried ones. Thanks for the tips!
I do this too! The exact same way, but I freeze them all drained. Then I can just grab out a handful when I want them on salads or something, since I am usually cooking for one. Why the whey though?
The acidic nature of whey (or you can use lemon juice) helps neutralize the phytates which are enzyme inhibitors which honestly I have a hard time totally understanding because my brain starts to melt when there is too much science involved. 😉 I’m “guessing” black beans have more phytates than other beans? Honestly, I just do it because it’s what I’ve read and my beans turn out well.
cooking my own beans on a regular basis has been on my to-do list for a long time. Somehow i often manage to not plan right. i will get organized though!
It was on my to-do list for a long time as well. One day I just threw them in a pot with some water and realized it was easier and less time consuming than I had made it out to be in my mind.
Great info (including the comments). Check the safety warnings about kidney beans. I think you have to rinse them and cook them really well and get rid of the water they cooked in… fuzzy on the details — it’s been a while.
8+ hours? Good to know. I used to get discouraged with dried beans. For some reason I couldn’t get them soft-enough. I will look into it more and try again.
Yes, there is something funky about kidney beans but I can’t remember what it is either. I will have to look it up. Thanks for the reminder and yes, I usually soak overnight or even up 24 hours and then cook in the slow cooker all day.