tips for cooking beans without going insane

[Anonymous]

I LOVE beans, bean soup, tacos with beans, etc -- anything with beans I love it. But cooking beans is A TOTAL NIGHTMARE. Yet, i refuse to eat canned beans. This sorting, rinsing, soaking, and cooking that takes hours and requires me to check on them is driving me insane. I just can't find the time (I work full time and have 2 kids and 3 dogs!). Anyone have tips for cooking beans or somewhere I can buy ready made freshly cooked beans PLAIN with no additives?

[Anonymous]

Crock Pot - best way to cook beans IMHO. You can add spices, garlic, etc. and the beans taste way better than canned. Can take awhile (6-8 hours depending on the bean), but I usually do it on the weekend or overnight.

[Anonymous]

are you using a crockpot? You can skip the soak stage.

[Anonymous]

OP here, I am not using a crockpot, i am just doing a "fast soak" and then cooking them in a pot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Crock Pot - best way to cook beans IMHO. You can add spices, garlic, etc. and the beans taste way better than canned. Can take awhile (6-8 hours depending on the bean), but I usually do it on the weekend or overnight.

NP here. Can you please give me detailed instructions on how to do this? I am not experienced with dry beans and the few times I've tried to use them it has been a disaster.

[Anonymous]

Second crock pot!! If they bean are large I recommend soaking the night before. Then in the AM put them in the crock pot with enough water and cook on low all day.

[Anonymous]

If they're bad and crunchy, for pete's sake use the canned beans. You can get organic and low sodium if it makes you feel better. You just don't cook them that long in the final dish.

I keep canned beans in the house as a quick staple to add to a homemade dinner. Soaking dried beans overnight is one of the "super cook" badges I don't care if I ever earn.

[Anonymous]

I personally HATE canned beans and cans contain BPA.

[Anonymous]

I don't soak or rinse and my beans come out fine. I do use either crockpot or just cook slow on the stove. If you want to save time, get a pressure cooker. I think you can cook dry beans in like 30 min with one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Crock Pot - best way to cook beans IMHO. You can add spices, garlic, etc. and the beans taste way better than canned. Can take awhile (6-8 hours depending on the bean), but I usually do it on the weekend or overnight.

NP here. Can you please give me detailed instructions on how to do this? I am not experienced with dry beans and the few times I've tried to use them it has been a disaster.

14:12 again.

My favorite is black beans. For 1 c dried beans, I use about 5 c water, 3 peeled whole garlic cloves, salt and ground cumin. In the crock pot, this will take 6-8 hours depending on how old the beans are. (Usually I can find them at the coop and they are way fresher (hence take less time to cook) than the grocery store version.

For soaking, I have better luck with overnight soaking than the "quick soak" method mentioned. The "quick soak" (i.e. bring beans and water to a boil, turn off heat, let soak for ~ 2 hours) never seems to work well. Yes, the overnight method takes planning, but so do most things.

[Anonymous]

Agree with pp, use the crock pot. Just put the beans and more than double the water in in the morning on low. Try it on the weekend so you can get a feel for how long to cook them to get the texture you like.

Then when you get home, make a saute of oil, garlic, and LOTS of whatever seasoning you like, either an italian seasonings mix, herbs de provence with bay leaf, or mexican is what i go to most. For the mexican, use lots of cumin, at least 4 tablespoons of chile powder, and 3-4 tablespoons of smoked paprika (costco has a huge container we use often). saute it until the onions are soft, and leave it about 10 minutes on a low heat. it will be a nasty looking, almost black paste. But when you stir it into your beans and add salt and pepper, voila, delicious beans.

[Anonymous]

Another slow cooker fan here. It's the easiest, and it's wonderful to come home to the smell.
You can even cook up a big batch, place them into freezer bags, and freeze them until you need them.
Yum!

[Anonymous]

Don't need to soak or cook forever on a crockpot. For 1lb rinsed and picked beans, add 7 cups water and 2 tbs baking soda. Bring to boil, skim surface, cover and reduce to low boil and cook for 1.5 hours. Can double this to have leftovers.

[Anonymous]

I always do overnight soak. Yes it takes advance planning, but it's literally 30 seconds worth of work the previous night.
Also, I have better luck doing the beans on the stovetop than in the slow cooker, because each batch/ type of bean seems to vary in cooking time, and the set 4-hr/ 8-hr slow cooker cycles sometimes lead to mush. I put the beans to cook at a simmer as soon as I come back from work, and they're usually done by the time I'm done clearing up after dinner. It helps that I'm around to check to see if they're done from time to time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I personally HATE canned beans and cans contain BPA.

Not all cans contain BPA. I think I'd stop cooking beans altogether if I didn't have canned beans. I detest cooking them from dry. It never works for me.