How to Soak and Cook Dried Beans from Scratch

Save money on your grocery bill with this SUPER simple, step-by-step tutorial on how to cook beans from scratch at home. They’re so creamy, delicious, frugal, and healthy – you’ll never go back to canned beans! (Psst! This is the method that de-gasses beans too!)

Cooking from scratch is one of the best ways to reduce grocery spending. And pound for pound, beans are one of the most affordable staples you can keep in your pantry.

But not everyone has cooked dry beans before, and many are intimidated by the process.

Let me show you how easy it is to get the best of both worlds – cooking from scratch and including beans in your meal plans – with a step-by-step tutorial on how to cook beans!

Why Bother Cooking Dry Beans

You may wonder if there’s any benefit to cooking dried beans versus buying cans of beans. The three biggest reasons are:

• Dry beans are cheaper. Regardless of what type of dry bean you cook (i.e. pinto beans, chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, red beans, lime beans, cannellini, etc), it’s cheaper to cook your dry beans than it is to buy canned. (Here’s the cost breakdown, if you want to nerd out on the math.)
• Dried beans are easier to digest. Starting with dried beans gives you the flexibility to soak, cook them slowly, and add other ingredients to counteract the negative side effects that canned beans can cause. Read on for my easy method for soaking beans and tricks for de-gassing beans.
• Dried beans are less popular. Remember the year when grocery store shelves were empty? Canned beans were quick to disappear, but dried beans still hung around. Why? Because most people don’t know how to cook them. Plus, if you ever want to grow your beans, your “fruit” is the dry bean itself.
• Dry beans last forever. Unofficially, dry beans will last indefinitely if they’re stored properly. Think of an airtight container in a cool, dry spot. (I use 5-gallon food-grade buckets with gamma lids. The cheapest buckets are at Tractor Supply for $5. These are the lids I bought, but there might be some in multi-packs for a better price per lid.)

Ingredients for Cooking Dried Beans

In the most basic of recipes for cooking beans, you only need two ingredients:

• Dried Beans
• Water

It doesn’t matter what type of bean you choose – black beans, white beans (cannellini beans or navy beans), pinto beans, garbanzo beans – this method works for them all. You can also use this method for red kidney beans, but there are special considerations for cooking dried red kidney beans at home.

Bay leaves and sea salt add a subtle flavor, and that’s why I include them in my beans recipe, but they’re optional. Home-cooked beans are a fantastic way to make low-sodium or salt-free beans!

Before You Cook: Consider Soaking Dried Beans

It’s not NECESSARY to soak dried beans before cooking them, but it’s something you should consider. Here’s why:

• Soaked beans produce less flatulence. Dried beans contain an enzyme called oligosaccharides, which is difficult for a lot of people to digest. The body will continue to try to break this enzyme down as it gets further into the digestive system and gas is produced as a byproduct. Soaking dried beans (and tossing the soaking liquid) can help remove 75-90% of the oligosaccharides.
• Soaked beans cook faster. Cooking dry beans without soaking takes several hours. By soaking the beans first, you can reduce the cooking time to as little as 30 minutes.
• Soaked beans taste better. Beans tend to be softer and more evenly cooked when they’re soaked versus cooked straight from dry.

How to Cook Beans (Black Beans, Chickpeas, Pinto Beans, etc.)

Step 1: Pick them over. Rinse your beans in cool water well and pick out any that are broken, deformed, or discolored. This also helps to remove any dust.

Step 2 (optional): Soak the beans. Follow your preferred method of soaking below, if desired. Be sure to discard the soaking liquid and rinse the beans with fresh water thoroughly before cooking.

Step 3: Cook the beans. Place the beans in a large pot, add 1 tsp of salt and cold water. Generally speaking, you need 1 quart of water for every 1 cup of beans.

Simmer gently and allow them to cook until desired tenderness, periodically checking the beans for doneness. Add more water as needed to ensure the beans are fully submerged during the cooking process. When the beans are almost done, you can add additional seasonings like ground black pepper, granulated garlic, onion powder, cumin, or Italian Seasoning.

• For partially-cooked beans, this will take anywhere from 45-90 minutes. (This is ideal in situations when the beans will be cooked again – like in soups or stews.)
• For fully-cooked beans, this will take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours of cooking time. (The beans are tender, so this is ideal when you need soft beans immediately, in dishes like Hummus or Refried Beans.)

Drain and allow the beans to cool completely before storing.

How to Cook Dry Beans in a Slow Cooker

Follow steps 1-2 above, but place the beans in a crock pot instead of in a large pot on the stove. Allow the beans to cook for 5-6 hours on LOW or 3-4 hours on HIGH. For step-by-step details, follow this Slow Cooker Beans tutorial.

How to Cook Beans: Instant Pot

Follow step 1 above, but place the beans in the pressure cooker instead of a large pot on the stove. Press the “manual” or “pressure cook” button so that it’s set to high pressure and adjust the timer to 25-40 minutes, depending on the type of bean. For step-by-step details, follow this Instant Pot Beans tutorial.

How to Cook Beans Without Being Gassy (How to Soak Beans)

There’s no right or wrong way to soak beans, so I’ll share my methods for soaking beans. (If beans tend to make you gassy, you’ll want the long soak method.)

Quick Soak Method:

1. Rinse your beans well and pick out any that are broken, deformed, or discolored.
2. Place your beans in a large stock pot, add 1 tsp of salt, and cover with water 2” past the top of the beans. (If you have hard water, use distilled or purified water to cook beans.)
3. Bring the beans just to a boil. Stir, cover with a lid, and remove from the heat. Let the beans sit in the hot water until the water has cooled to room temperature, about 30-45 minutes.
4. Drain the beans and repeat the process (starting with step 2), or follow the recipe below to cook the beans.

Note: This is the method recommended by the USDA, but you should reduce the soak time for cannellini beans to just 30 minutes. They tend to get soft very quickly.

Long Soak Method

1. Rinse your beans well and pick out any that are broken, deformed, or discolored.
2. Place your beans in a large stock pot or large bowl, add 1 tsp of salt, and cover with water 3” past the top of the beans. (If you have hard water, use distilled or purified water to cook beans.)
3. If you like seasoned beans, add 1 tsp of salt to the water.
4. Cover beans and let soak overnight.
5. Drain the beans and either repeat the process (starting with step 2) or follow the recipe card below to cook the beans

For either method, it’s imperative that you drain the beans and not consume the cooking liquid. If you’re trying to conserve water, consider watering your plants or giving them to the dog.

7 Methods for Reducing Gas in Dried Beans Even More

Anyone who cooks dried beans has a trick or two up their sleeve for reducing the gas in beans. Some methods work for some people, some methods don’t. It’s honestly a matter of personal preference and a little bit of trial and error to see which method works best for YOU.

1. Pacific Kombu. This is a specific type of seaweed that helps to break down the oligosaccharides in beans. You add a 1” piece to the beans in the soaking process and again when the beans are cooking. This is my personally preferred method and trust me, you can’t taste the seaweed when the beans are done.
2. Baking Soda. Some swear that baking soda reduces the gas in beans, but any bubbling you see is merely excess carbon dioxide. If you try this trick, remember that baking soda is alkaline and will decrease the cooking time by 50%. A faster cooking time means less time to reduce the oligosaccharides in the beans.
3. Bay Leaves. Others swear that bay leaves tenderize the beans and help with digestion, but in my experience, my method of soaking and rinsing de-gasses works better. (But I still add a bay leaf for flavor!)
4. Lemon Juice or Whey. Still, others think that adding lemon juice or whey (the liquid from yogurt) will help get rid of the gas in beans because they slow down the cooking time. I haven’t found this to be the case personally, but be careful if you try this trick – acidic water can sometimes lead to hard beans, despite a very long cook time.
5. Try pressure-cooking beans. I’m sharing methods for cooking beans below, but several readers have shared that pressure-cooked beans are less gassy for them. Here’s my Instant Pot Beans tutorial.
6. Add ajwain (carom seed) and epazote. Ajwain is an Indian spice that tastes like cumin and thyme, traditionally used for upset stomachs. Epazote is a South American herb.
7. Take Beano. There’s an enzyme derived from the fungus Aspergillus niger that helps to digest oligosaccharides. If all else fails, take Beano (or another brand with this enzyme) with your meal.

Generally speaking, a long soak time, a long cooking time, and adding your own “trick” to the pot of beans will greatly reduce how much gas is produced when you enjoy your home-cooked beans.

How Long to Soak Beans?

I shared two methods for soaking beans above, but if you need a timer on how long to soak, you need about 45 minutes for the quick soak, and up to 12 hours for the long soak.

Both methods can be repeated – depending on how sensitive your digestive system is – which affects the total soaking time.

Cooking Dried Beans – Exceptions to the Rule

This is the method I use to cook almost every bean variety, but there are a few legumes that are exceptions to the process:

• Lentils. Lentils don’t require soaking at all. There are several varieties of lentils – green, brown, black, and red – and each requires different cooking times.
• Split Peas. Green and yellow split peas also do not require soaking.
• Adzuki Beans. Adzuki are sweet and nutty and one of my favorite beans, and they don’t require any soaking. They’re ready in about 40 minutes from start to finish.

FAQs on How to Cook Beans

My Favorite Dry Bean Recipes

• Black Bean Brownies
• White Bean Blondies
• Chocolate Hummus
• Snickerdoodle Hummus
• Cake Batter Hummus

Watch How to Soak and Cook Beans from Scratch: