Learn how to cook beans from scratch at home. This super simple step-by-step tutorial will give you creamy, delicious beans every time at a fraction of the cost of canned beans. Plus 7 bonus methods for de-gassing 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.
However, not everyone knows how to cook dry beans, 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 beans you cook (i.e. pinto beans, chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, red beans, lima 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 beans.
- Bonus: Dry beans last forever. They’re the perfect pantry staple! 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 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.
Bay leaves and sea salt add a subtle flavor, and that’s why I include them in my dried beans recipe, but they’re optional. Cooking dried beans is a fantastic way to make low-sodium or salt-free beans!
Psst…Did you know that many salts contain MICROPLASTICS? It’s a sneaky toxin that may be in your everyday salt, and thus your everyday food (um, gross). I love Ava Jane’s Kitchen because their salt is FREE of microplastics, and it tastes delicious! (PLUS, you can get a free 8oz. bag of sea salt – just pay shipping and handling!)
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, depending on the type of bean.
- 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: STOVETOP METHOD
Step 1: Pick them over. Rinse your beans in cool water in a colander and pick out any that are broken, deformed, or discolored. Rinsing also helps to remove any dust, dirt, and debris.
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: Place the soaked or unsoaked beans in a large pot, add 1 teaspoon of salt (if using) and cold water. Generally speaking, you need 1 quart of water for every 1 cup of dry beans.
Step 4: Simmer gently over medium heat and allow the dried beans to cook until they reach your desired tenderness, periodically checking the beans for doneness. Add more water as needed to ensure the beans are fully submerged during the cooking process.
Step 5: When the beans are almost done, you can add additional seasonings like ground black pepper, granulated garlic, onion powder, cumin, or Italian Seasoning, or even frozen herbs.
- How to cook beans: partially cooked. Partially cooked beans are still fairly firm but are cooked enough that you can split them in half with a spoon. 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.)
- How to cook beans: fully cooked. Fully cooked beans are softer and more tender. This will take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours of cooking time. (This is ideal when you need soft beans immediately, in dishes like Hummus or Greek Quinoa Salad.)
Drain bean cooking liquid and allow the beans to cool completely before storing. Store cooked beans in an airtight container or resealable bag in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Note: You can use this method for all types of beans, but please note that red kidney beans must be boiled for 10 minutes before cooking (regardless of what method of cooking you choose) due to their higher levels of phytohemagglutinin, which can cause digestive distress.
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 dry 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 DRIED BEANS IN AN INSTANT POT
Follow step 1 above and then place the dried 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.
Soaking beforehand is not necessary when cooking beans in the Instant Pot since they cook more quickly and evenly. However, if you want to soak the dry beans beforehand, cut the cooking time in half.
HOW TO COOK BEANS TO REDUCE GAS (HOW TO SOAK BEANS)
There’s no right or wrong way to soak beans, so I’ll share my two methods for soaking dry beans. (If beans tend to make you gassy, you’ll want the long soak method.)
QUICK SOAK METHOD:
- Rinse your beans well and pick out any that are broken, deformed, or discolored.
- Place your beans in a large stock pot, add 1 teaspoon 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.)
- 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.
- Drain the beans and repeat the process for an additional soak (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 limit the soak time for cannellini beans to just 30 minutes. They tend to get soft very quickly.
LONG SOAK METHOD:
- Rinse your dried beans well and pick out any that are broken, deformed, or discolored.
- Place your beans in a large stock pot or large bowl and cover with water 3” past the top of the beans. (If you have hard water, use distilled or purified water to cook beans.)
- If you like seasoned beans, add 1 teaspoon of salt to the water.
- Cover beans and let soak at room temperature for 4-8 hours (or overnight) or refrigerate them for up to 24 hours.
- 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 soaking liquid to avoid gassiness. If you’re trying to conserve water, consider using it to water your plants.
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.
7 METHODS FOR REDUCING GAS IN DRIED BEANS EVEN MORE
Anyone who learns how to cook 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.
- 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.
- Baking Soda. Some swear that adding a teaspoon of baking soda to a pound of dried beans 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.
- 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 better. (But I still add a bay leaf for flavor!)
- 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 cooking time.
- Try pressure-cooking beans. I’m sharing several methods for cooking beans in this post, but some readers have shared that pressure-cooked beans are less gassy for them. Here’s my Instant Pot Beans tutorial.
- Add ajwain (carom seed) and epazote. Ajwain is an Indian spice that tastes like cumin and thyme and is traditionally used for an upset stomach. Epazote is a South American herb.
- 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. And by cooking and freezing a big batch of dried beans ahead of time, you get the convenience of canned beans without the side effects!
COOKING DRIED BEANS – EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE
This is the method I use to cook almost every kind of dried beans, 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. Here’s how to cook green or brown lentils in the Instant Pot.
- 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.
COOKING BEANS FAQS
What is the best way to cook beans?
I recommend the above method of cooking beans on the stovetop as the best way to cook beans – especially for those with sensitive digestive systems. It’s the best way to ‘de-gas’ the beans and cook them tender.
Do you have to soak beans before cooking them?
It’s not NECESSARY to soak dried beans before cooking them, but it’s something to consider if you have difficulty digesting beans. If you don’t have time to make soaked beans, or just don’t want to, I recommend my recipe for Instant Pot Beans.
Should you add salt before cooking beans?
If you’ve ever heard that adding salt before cooking your beans will prevent the beans from cooking through, you heard wrong. You can salt your beans before, during, or after cooking and they taste much better!
Why are my beans hard?
Dry beans that have been cooking for a long time (hours) without getting soft are usually the result of old beans, having hard water, or having something acidic like lemon juice or Apple Cider Vinegar in the pot (which can slow down cooking).
How many cups of beans does cooking dry beans make?
One pound of dry beans yields 3-5 cups of cooked beans, depending on the size of the dry bean. Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) make about 3 cups per pound of dry beans, while black beans make about 5 cups per pound of dry beans.
You need about 1 ½ cups of cooked beans in place of one 15oz can of bean
MY FAVORITE DRIED BEAN RECIPES
Now that you know how to cook beans, you can use those cooked dried beans in these yummy recipes.
- Black Bean Brownies
- Tortilla Soup
- Southwest Chicken Salad
- Enchilada Casserole
- Black Bean and Corn Salsa Tacos
- Slow Cooker Vegetable Curry
- Our Favorite Rice and Beans Recipe
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How to Soak and Cook Dried Beans from Scratch
Learn how to cook beans from scratch at home. This super simple step-by-step tutorial will give you creamy, delicious beans every time at a fraction of the cost of canned beans. Plus 7 bonus methods for de-gassing beans too!
- Prep Time: 8-24 hours
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 26 hours
- Yield: 6 cups 1x
- Category: How To
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 lb dry beans
- water
- 3–5 Tbsp whey or lemon juice (if making black beans)
Instructions
- Place beans in a colander and rinse well. Remove any whole or partial beans that are significantly discolored. You also want to check for pebbles and clumps of dirt.
- Measure beans into a large stockpot. Add 4 cups of water for every 1 cup of beans. One pound of dry beans yields 3-5 cups, depending on the beans, so you’ll need approximately 3-5 quarts of water.
- If you’re making black beans, add 1 Tbsp whey or lemon juice for each cup of dry beans.
- Allow the beans to sit undisturbed for at least 8 hours, or up to 24.
- After soaking, strain the beans into the colander and rinse very, very well with cold water.
- Return the beans to the stockpot and add the same amount of water you originally used, plus an extra cup for each cup of beans.
- Place the beans on the stovetop and bring the water just to a boil. Turn off the heat and cover the beans. Allow the beans to sit undisturbed, for 2-8 hours.
- Strain beans into the colander and again, rinse very, very well with cold water.
- Return the beans to the stockpot and cover with water so that the water line is at least 2″ above the beans. Bring the beans to a very low simmer and allow them to cook until desired tenderness. For partially-cooked beans, this will take anywhere from 45-90 minutes. For fully-cooked beans, this will take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours.
- Periodically check the beans for doneness and add more water as needed to ensure the beans do not dry out while cooking. Season with salt and pepper to taste when the beans are almost done.
- Drain and allow the beans to cool before storing.
Notes
- Beans. Cook black beans, white beans, pinto beans, and garbanzo beans, which are the ones I cook with most often.
- Cooking Methods. Cook beans on the stovetop (like in the recipe above), in the slow cooker, or the Instant Pot (you don’t have to soak first with the Instant Pot!).
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 167
Corie
Thank you so much for sharing this method! I had to take beans out of our diet because they don’t settle right for my husband & me, but we do love them. I am hopeful that our leftover Christmas Day ham will be able to be used in a soup this year. We used to love this soup because of the taste & affordability. I started soaking my beans yesterday. I’m making the soup tomorrow. Thanks again for the tips!! I love your site & find myself getting lost post after post. You are inspiring & motivational. I’ve actually been using your site for a few years now, though this is my first comment. (I’ve never been able to go back to commercial toothpaste since trying your recipe…..you’ve ruined me! 😉)
Tiffany
If I’m going to ruin someone, homemade toothpaste is my preferred method! 😉 So glad you found this post Corie – thanks for being a long time reader!!
lylah
how do you degas yellow split peas? they don’t need ot be soaked. ALso, I soaked them for 2 days with 2 tablespoons of ACV (apple cider vinegar) and they cooked for 5 hours and still didn’t get soft. Was it the acv that caused the beans not to cook? Help
Tiffany
Hi Lylah – I have only heard of adding acid to black beans. I haven’t cooked much with split peas since I was very young, so I can’t offer much advice, but if you want to soak them again, try it with just water and skip the vinegar.
lylah
Help how do you degas yellow split peas? Can you put apple cider vinegar in the pot while they are cooking? Also what’s the rinsing regime again?
Chichi
Hi, thanks for this info. I have tried soaking overnight which is what I have known but haven’t really seen much of a difference. Will try your method to see if it does make a difference. I love beans black eyed peas tho, cause that’s the one we are used to coming Nigeria. Do you think your method will work for black eyed peas. Thanks
Gwendolyn
Thank you for the quick reply! I will be trying this next month!
Gwendolyn
If I cook black beans and then freeze them, will they have an off texture if I use them in something like a salad? I would like to cook some to use on a southwest/taco salad, but don’t want to go to all of the trouble if they will be mushy! Thoughts?
Tiffany
Hi Gwendolyn! If you cook them just until they’re done, then you won’t have any problems at all. I do this all the time! Thaw completely and you’re good to go. 🙂
KRISTI
LOVE the site! Thankful for helpful comments as well!! You have earned coveted bookmark space on the mobile too! Got to have you when I’m on the go or at the store! THANK YOU!
Tiffany
Wow! That’s such an honor Kristi! Thanks so much for the compliment and the mobile bookmark! 🙂
Jill
Hi, I am doing this for the first time. Do I cover the beans initially when letting them sit in water for 8-24 hours?
Tiffany
I do Jill, but you don’t have to. 🙂
CJP
I cook pinto beans by soaking overnight and cooking in a pressure cooker for an hour and fifteen minutes after the starts rocking. Doesn’t soaking for so long make the beans lose their flavor??
Allyson Ellis
Ok, I’m planning to make chili next week, and looking forward to trying this with dried kidney beans. Do I still pre-cook beans after soaking before they cook in the chili in the crockpot chili?
Tiffany
It depends on how long your chili will cook Allyson. If it’s an all day chili, you can start with par-cooked beans and you should be ok. If it’s a half-day chili, you’ll need to start with cooked beans.
Meagan
I’ve started canning beans. I just soak for a couple days in the fridge and then pressure can them. This does make them a tiny bit more expensive though because of the lids and electricity to hear the canner.
Tiffany
I can see that, but the benefits of no-gas? Priceless!;)
Autum
How do you store the beans once they are cool? Can, freeze, etc?
Cassie
I canned mine using a pressure canner.
Cassie
I found this page on Pinterest and repinned it. I have been looking for recipes to add more beans to our diet (to eat healthier and to save money), but I was worried about how to prep them, having not been raised in a bean-eating family. I found your post very informative and I am so glad you posted storage instructions in the comments as that was intimidating me, as well. I now feel empowered to get this done and currently have two pounds each of black and great northern white beans soaking on the counter for my husband’s Southwest Chicken Chili (I plan to can the chili in convenient pint “serving sizes” for him). Thank you!
Tiffany
You’re welcome Cassie! Great thinking to can the chili for convenience later! 🙂
Abbey P.
Hi! Thanks for this great post, I just pinned it!
I also wanted to add to the discussion my own little trick for de-gassing beans. While cooking the beans, put a russet potato in the pot to cook the whole time. I don’t know exactly HOW it works, but it does! I’m guessing the potato soaks up some kind of enzyme in its starches. And hopefully it goes without saying, but don’t eat that potato! I learned this trick from my Dad who grew up eating lots of beans in the South.
Tiffany
Thanks Abbey!
That’s a GREAT tip! I hadn’t heard of that before, but hey, if it works, it works!!
Joyce Owens
Do you peel the potato, cut it in pieces, or put it in whole?
Lee
I also used the potato method. It was so effective that I did batches of several kinds and colors. After cooking, dried on towels, froze on cookie sheets, fput in heavy plastic bags for longer term freezing – easy to scoop out needed amounts. Some bags of mixed types for chili- very colorful like a bag of jewels!
Bradd Graves
Thanks for all the suggestions on how to remove harmful substances from beans! There is another angle in addition to the convenience vs. less expensive consideration, and that is that fresh vs “dead” food. My point of view is Ayurvedic medicine, which maintains that the fresher the food, the healthier it is for us. ANY food from a can was cooked months or perhaps even years ago. It may retain basic nutrients the body needs in a degraded form and will keep you from dying if there is nothing else to eat, but freshly prepared and cooked beans not only taste better than their canned counterparts, they supply “vital energy” that is absent from canned foods. It is possible to experience this difference in health value, but only after eating only fresh foods for some time. Then if you go back to a canned food meal, you will feel like you have eaten sludge or something.
Hélène
just for the record, i LOVE beans for a snack 😉
and i eat beans and greens with eggs for brkfst often.
then again, I rly flavor up my beans…hamhock, celery, onion, garlic, bay leaves, parsley, pepper, lots of kombu (natural MSG) and after cooking, salt — i drink every drop of the pot likker!
Hélène
whoops i already commented above, just delete my duplicate post…my memory is gone lol
helene
acid will keep the beans from cooking. one time i salted the beans before cooking and they would NOT cook. never got them edible. im going to try again tho. its been 20 yrs. mebbe it was the beans? tho of course i had explored that possibility already lol
i soak 24 hrs on the counter…need the warm air to activate the enzymes and get rid of lectins, etc…starting at night. rinse beans and then add kombu to new water. also onions, garlic and celery, just for taste all of them. usually add ham hock. this way the broth is delicious. cook overnight. divide into containers at brkfst. eat beans and greens with eggs for brkfst! yum.
Laura N.
I put my beans to soak in salted water after dinner and in the morning, I rinse and cook them in a pressure cookie for 40 minutes and they turn out perfect every time. I sometimes add soup bones or stew meat during the cooking in the pressure cooker for added flavor and the meat is extra tender.
After pressure cooking, I put them in a smaller pan and separately cook the seasonigns that I use (chopped onion, sweet paprika, chicken or vegetable bouillion and some tomato juice) and then mix that with the beans in the smaller pan.
Kim
Quick question… Do I need to add lemon juice to the second soak when making black beans? Or is that only necessary for the first soak?
Thanks!
Tiffany
I believe it’s just the first soak Kim, but I’ll double check NT and let you know otherwise!
Jackie
Great post. I loved all the information in it, especially the tip about using lemon juice in black beans. I have cooked my own beans from scratch numerous times & have one problem, the skins always seem to be tougher than canned beans. I know this can be an issue with beans that are older, but every package of beans I buy? I use filtered water to soak & cook them, no salt, & I keep having the problem. I have tried adding a pinch of baking soda to them when cooking & it seemed to help a bit. Does anyone else have this problem? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Tiffany
Hi Jackie! Unfortunately, I don’t have an answer for you, but there are many bean eating readers here, so hopefully someone can chime in with some ideas! 🙂
Deidre
I have the same problem with black beans. I’m not sure if it’s high altitude or what but it’s the only besn I buy canned anymore. I was glad to see the lemon juice tip, maybe that will help.
Just to say, I never soak lentils or split peas, and I add a handful of one or both to almost any soup I make. Gotta get that protein in where you can when you don’t eat much meat.
Betty Robertson
Add salt to your first soaking to prevent tough skin.