Cooking beans at home is an easy way to add delicious taste and lots of nutrients to your meals. Beans are high in fiber, protein, and antioxidants. In addition to being the basis of many preparations, beans offer many health benefits. You can cook canned beans quickly and comfortably, but if you prepare them yourself with a normal saucepan, pressure cooker or slow cooker, then you will have more control over their flavor and ingredients and you do not run the risk of eating preservatives.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Cooking the Beans on the Stove
Step 1. Soak the beans
Pour the dried beans into a large bowl and remove any that are shriveled or that don't look good. Cover the beans with 5-7 cm of water and leave them to soak overnight.
- Soaking beans overnight (from 10 to 14 hours) reduces cooking times and evens the cooking time, makes legumes more digestible as it eliminates most of the sugar (oligosaccharide) that causes flatulence.
- If you are in a hurry, you can speed up the soaking times by covering the beans with water, boiling them for 2 minutes and letting them rest for an hour on the stove that is off.
- Lentils, peas, and black-eyed peas do not need to be soaked before cooking.
Step 2. Drain the beans
To remove excess water, drain the beans with a colander and rinse them under cold water.
Step 3. Transfer the legumes to a saucepan
Place them in a Dutch oven or thick-bottomed saucepan.
At this point, if you wish, you can add spices and aromas, for example half an onion, garlic cloves, small pieces of carrots or bay leaves
Step 4. Boil the beans
Cover the beans with fresh water and place the pot over the stove. Boil the water over medium-high heat for a few minutes.
Step 5. Simmer the beans
Turn the heat down to low and cook the beans very slowly, you should see the water barely moving.
- Put the lid on the pot and leave it slightly ajar to get a sort of cream, great for soups, stews and burritos.
- If you want beans to be firmer for pasta and salads, don't put the lid on.
Step 6. Cook the beans
Simmer according to the variety and recommended cooking time.
Step 7. If you wish, add some salt
When the beans are slightly tender and almost cooked, you can add salt to flavor them.
Avoid adding salt too soon otherwise the legumes will remain tough
Step 8. Use or store the beans
You can now add beans to any recipe. If you want to keep them, put about 300 g in a container with the cooking water, leaving a space of about 1.5 cm from the edge. Close the container and store it in the fridge for a week or in the freezer for up to a year.
Label the containers with date and content
Method 2 of 4: Cook Beans With the Pressure Cooker
Step 1. Soak the beans
Pour the dried beans into a large bowl and remove any that are shriveled or not looking good. Cover the beans with 5-7 cm of water and leave them to soak overnight.
- Soaking beans overnight (from 10 to 14 hours) reduces cooking times and evens the cooking time, makes legumes more digestible as it eliminates most of the sugar (oligosaccharide) that causes flatulence.
- If you are in a hurry, you can speed up the soaking times by covering the beans with water, boiling them for 2 minutes and letting them rest for an hour on the stove that is off.
- Lentils, peas, and black-eyed peas do not need to be soaked before cooking.
Step 2. Drain the beans
To remove excess water, pour the beans into a colander and rinse them with cold water.
Step 3. Transfer the beans to the pressure cooker
Put 2 liters of water every 450 g of legumes.
At this point, if you wish, you can add spices and aromas, for example half an onion, garlic cloves, small pieces of carrots or bay leaves
Step 4. Cook the beans
Close the lid of the pressure cooker according to the instruction manual and turn up the heat on the stove. When the pressure inside the pan reaches a high level, reduce the heat to medium and start calculating cooking times. Follow the instructions based on the variety of the legume.
Step 5. Turn off the heat and let the pressure reduce
Let the pot cool down and let the pressure drop naturally. To find out when you can remove the lid, follow the instruction manual.
Step 6. Remove the lid
Unlock and remove the lid carefully, opening it on the opposite side from you. Make sure that the condensation drips into the pot. Use a skimmer to remove the herbs.
Step 7. Use or store the beans
Now you can add legumes to any recipe. If you want to keep them, put about 300g in a container and store it in the fridge for a week or in the freezer for up to a year.
Label the containers with the date and type of food
Method 3 of 4: Cooking Beans in a Slow Cooker
Step 1. Soak the beans
Pour the dried beans into a large bowl and remove any that are shriveled or not looking good. Cover the beans with 5-7 cm of water and leave them to soak overnight.
- Soaking beans overnight (from 10 to 14 hours) reduces cooking times and evens the cooking time, makes legumes more digestible as it eliminates most of the sugar (oligosaccharide) that causes flatulence.
- If you are in a hurry, you can speed up the soaking time by covering the beans with water, boiling them for 2 minutes and letting them rest for an hour on the off stove.
- Lentils, peas, and black-eyed peas do not need to be soaked before cooking.
Step 2. Drain the beans
To remove excess water, pour them into a colander and rinse them under cold water.
Step 3. Place the legumes in the slow cooker
Cover them with about 5 cm of water.
At this point, if you wish, you can add spices and aromas, for example half an onion, garlic cloves, small pieces of carrots or bay leaves
Step 4. Cook the beans
Set the pot to low and cook the vegetables for 6-8 hours. Start checking for doneness after 5 hours and then every 30 minutes, until the consistency is what you want.
In the last stage of cooking, if you wish, you can add salt
Step 5. Use or store the beans
You can now add beans to any recipe. If you want to keep them, put about 300 g in a container with the cooking water, leaving a space of about 1.5 cm from the top edge. Close the container and store it in the fridge for a week or in the freezer for up to a year.
Label the container with the date and name of the food
Method 4 of 4: Cooking Canned Beans on the Stove
Step 1. Drain the canned beans
Open the can, put the beans in a colander and rinse them with cold water.
Step 2. Prepare the pot for the beans
Place a Dutch oven or thick-bottomed saucepan on the stove and turn the heat to medium. Add cooking oil suitable for high temperatures such as sunflower or coconut oil. Heat it for 1-2 minutes.
At this point, if you wish, you can add spices and aromas, such as half an onion, garlic cloves, small pieces of carrots or bay leaves
Step 3. Put the beans in the pot
Heat the beans over low heat, stirring occasionally.
If you are preparing a soup or want the legumes to reach the consistency of a sauce, you can add water or broth
Step 4. Cook the beans
Canned beans are pre-cooked so you just need to heat them to the temperature you want. Usually 3-5 minutes is enough
Step 5. Finished
Advice
- When you have to calculate the amount of beans needed by the diners, know that 450 g of dried legumes correspond to about 3 cans of pre-cooked product.
- If you want to add beans to a soup or dish where they need to cook for a long time, it's a good idea to initially cook them for less time. You will thus avoid overcooking them.
- If you have a lot of cooking water left over, you can use it to create very tasty broths, soups and sauces.
- To see if the beans are ready, try them. They should be tender but not too soft.
Warnings
- If you are preparing red beans, before cooking, boil them for 10 minutes to neutralize the phytohemagglutinin toxin, which causes acute digestive problems.
- Be careful when using the pressure cooker and follow the instruction manual carefully to avoid dangers.
- While cooking, don't leave beans unattended unless using a slow cooker. In this case, place the pot away from walls or appliances.
