Here are my tips for Cooking Dry Beans In The Slow Cooker. It’s easier than you might think! I recommend making a giant batch and freezing the cooked beans for future meals.
Whether they are served with breakfast, lunch or dinner, beans are included in a great many of our meals. I bought the canned varieties for years, because cooking my own sounded overwhelming. Little did I know just how simple cooking beans really can be. I make several batches of them all at once and then just grab them from my freezer whenever I am ready to use them.
First, I sort them. Just quickly look through the beans and make sure there aren’t any tiny rocks or bits of anything else in there with them.
After the beans are sorted, pour them into the crock-pot. You don’t want your beans to fill the pot more than about a third full. They will expand greatly as they cook. Now, fill the pot most of the way with water and cover with lid.
(Side note: Yes, I really do use all of these Crock-pots. I figure that the savings on my beans alone, justifies my having so many of them.) I cook up several different varieties of beans all at the same time, about every month or so, and then package them for the freezer. Did you know that in order to cook them for future use, you really don’t need to season or do anything special with them at all? Just soak, cook and freeze. When you are ready to use them, that’s the time to season and adjust them to your taste.
Soak the beans for 8-24 hours. I try to soak mine 24 hours most of the time. When you are ready to cook them, just drain the water, refill with clean water and turn the Crock-pots on to low or high depending on what works best for you.
I recommend cooking beans on low. I seem to get the best results that way. However, I have cooked them on high numerous times if I needed them to be finished in time for dinner that night. Either way works, just stay aware of how close to finished they are. It’s easy to overcook when the beans are on high.
Different beans require different cooking times. Did you know that? I discovered the hard way when my great northern beans were consistently overcooked and mushy long before the black beans had even started to soften. I recommend cooking beans on low and after about 6-8 hours, start checking them every 30-60 minutes to see when they are soft.
Once they are cooked, simply pour them into a strainer and wait for them to cool. Once they are mostly cool, scoop them into freezer bags for later use. I store my bags flat in the freezer. When things are stored flat, it makes it very easy to thaw and use in just minutes.
Now that you’re using the slow-cooker to cook dry beans, you’ll want to try this White Bean and Ham Soup and this recipe for Slow Cooker Louisiana-Style Red Beans and Rice. There’s nothing better than homemade beans made even easier.
Kitchen Tip: I use this slow-cooker and this slow-cooker for this recipe.
- dry beans any varieties
- First, sort the beans. Just quickly look through the beans and make sure there aren't any tiny rocks or bits of anything else in there with them.
- After the beans are sorted, pour them into the crock-pot. You don't want your beans to fill the pot more than about a third full. They will expand greatly as they cook. Now, fill the pot most of the way with water and cover with lid.
- Soak the beans for 8-24 hours. I try to soak mine 24 hours most of the time. When you are ready to cook them, just drain the water, refill with clean water and turn the Crock-pots on to low or high depending on what works best for you.
- I recommend cooking beans on low. I get the best results when cooking on low. However, I have cooked them on high numerous times if I needed them to be finished in time for dinner that night. Either way works, just stay aware of how close to finished they are. It's easy to overcook when the beans are on high.
- Different beans require different cooking times. I recommend cooking beans on low and after about 6-8 hours, start checking them every 30-60 minutes to see when they are soft.
- Once they are cooked, simply pour them into a strainer and wait for them to cool. Once they are mostly cool, scoop them into freezer bags for later use. I store my bags flat in the freezer. When things are stored flat, it makes it very easy to thaw and use in just minutes.
Pam says
Becky says
thekitchenaffaire says
Mike@ The Culinary Lens says
Inside a British Mum's Kitchen says
Mary
Whisked Away says
dagny
http://whiskedaway2.blogspot.com/
My Journey With Candida says
I had to laugh at all your crock pots.... I too have a lot. In fact, my Granddaughter came to me for a crock pot for her apartment. My Hubs told her it that one breaks, there are plenty more where that came from.
Demandra says
Yet again, I just want to move in with you. And seriously? Look at all those slow cookers!! I swear, you are an absolute champion.
sonja says
Elaina Newton says
Kathy Crosby says
Kim Honeycutt says
Anonymous says
Like Elaina, I use homemade stock for cooking beans because I like the depth of flavor that it adds. Depending on the beans and their intended purpose, I'll also add rough-chopped carrot, celery and onion as well as the other seasonings she mentioned. Recently I got the idea from Ree Drummond via The Pioneer Woman to add chicken stock or broth when warming canned beans on the few occasions I use them.
For Demandra, I overcame the issue of tough / not soft beans by reading a number of articles and changing two things I had been doing: 1) Only use fresh legumes and 2) Season with salt only at the end. I had always assumed since they were dried, legumes could languish in the pantry to use whenever convenient. Not true. Time does make a difference. So, I am much more attentive to expiration dates, both while shopping and when rotating pantry staples. Adding salt at the beginning of the cooking time toughens the beans. I got that information from several agricultural extension services, and while I cannot explain the chemistry, I experienced an immediate improvement in "softness" when I followed their recommendations to salt at the end rather than the beginning. I hope you find this information useful.
Recently, I read some articles urging pre-soaking beans is unnecessary. Has anyone stopped pre-soaking and what's been your experience?
One article is by Russ Parsons via http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-dont-soak-dried-beans-20140911-story.html#page=1
Mary, your blog is a wonderful gift for your children. Thank you for sharing your recipes, ideas and tips with the rest of us, too.
Mary says
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Mary says