For this weeks Happy Homesteading post we are talking about beans! I am going to show you how to quickly cook dried beans with a no soak method to save time, money and learn a little bit about doing things the old fashioned way.
History
Cowboy poem:
He mixed his beans with honey,
He’d done it all his life.
Not because he liked it,
But to keep them on his knife.
Would you like to be out on the trail with your own chuck wagon and horses like this guy? I am sure it was really hard living, but honestly some days when the kids are driving me bonkers the thought of being out all alone cooking beans and listening to the sounds of nature seem pretty nice. 😉
Beans kept many cowboys and pioneers alive while moving west and surviving through cold winters. They are easy to store dry, last a long time, they are full of protein and can leave you full & satisfied. About 5 years ago I wanted to try and become more self reliant so I stocked up and have years supply of white, black and pinto beans stored at my home in old Costco frosting buckets that I cleaned out. I have been trying to start using up some of my stockpile of goods, so I have been making bean soups, chili’s and tacos a whole lot more lately.
Good For You
Beans are super healthy and good for you. They are high in antioxidants, fiber, protein, B vitamins, iron, magnesium, potassium, copper and zinc. Eating beans regularly may decrease the risk of diabetes, heart disease, colorectal cancer, and helps with weight management. Plus beans are hearty, which can make you feel full so you tend to not eat as much. One cup of beans is around 100 calories. So…we should be eating them!
But Making your Own Takes so Long, right? Wrong!
Most of the recipes for cooking dried beans calls for you to soak them overnight and then boil them on the stove top for a few hours after that. But today I am going to show you how I make beans super quickly. All you have to do is bring the dried beans to a boil, cover and cook in the oven at 250 degrees for 75 minutes. This method actually keeps more nutrients in the beans than overnight soaking.
Dried Beans No Soak Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. beans (red, black, pinto, white etc.)
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Spread out your beans on a cookie sheet and pick through to take out any rocks or misshapen/shriveled beans.
Use a colander to quickly rinse them with water. Then add the beans to your dutch oven and top with enough water to cover the beans by an inch and a half. Add your salt.
Note: I took pictures of the black beans, but you couldn’t see them (they blend in with the pot), so I also took some pictures of making pinto beans.
Bring pot to a boil.
Cover and put your pot into the oven. Let it cook for 75 minutes. If you want half-way through you can check to make sure you are not low on water. I have never had a problem with this so I usually don’t check.
Voila, after 75 minutes your beans should be nice and soft. Ready to gobble down or add into soups/stews. I drained out the broth and here is what they look like:
You can keep the bean broth and use it in soups/stews later.
Also it’s a great idea to do a bigger batch of beans and freeze them into baggies. This is what I always do. I can then just take them out of the freezer, thaw and add to my recipes quickly. I am kind of a BIG fan of freezer meal cooking.
WORTH THE COST? YES – Canned beans can cost anywhere from $0.60 – $1.00 per can. Winco/Walmart sells their generic dried beans for around $1.00/lb. or even less in the bulk sections. One pound = 6 CUPS of cooked beans. 6 Cups of cooked dried beans for $1.00 vs. 1 can for around the same price…it’s not hard to see that cooking your own is a much better value.
WORTH THE TIME? YES – This recipe for dried beans (no soak) only takes around 75 minutes to bake in the oven. Freeze the beans in smaller bags to pull them out when needed quickly later for recipes to save even more time.
All in all it was fun to get making some beans again. In fact I felt so good I decided to go and get on my pioneer dress & apron. I sat on the porch and enjoyed some homemade bean & vegetable soup (recipes for that one coming up soon).
Happy Homesteading everyone!
Quick Cook Dried Beans (No Soak Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 lb beans Back, pinto, white, red or other beans
- Water
- Salt
- 5 qt Dutch oven or Tightly lidded oven safe pot
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
- Spread out your beans on a cookie sheet and pick through to take out any rocks or misshapen/shriveled beans.
- Use a colander to quickly rinse them with water.
- Then add the beans to your dutch oven and top with enough water to cover the beans by an inch and a half.
- Add your salt.
- Bring pot to a boil.
- Cover and put your pot into the oven. Let it cook for 75 minutes.
- If you want half-way through you can check to make sure you are not low on water.
- Voila! After 75 minutes your beans should be nice and soft. Ready to gobble down or add into soups/stews.
Nutrition
—> See ALL of my Freezer Meals recipes here.
{recipe adapted from The Paupered Chef}
I think she has written the recipe to bring the beans to the point of BEGINNING of being ready to throw them in the Crock Pot and adding your water and spices and THEN cooking for the 8 hrs in the Crock Pot…that’s what it sounds like to me…making these today in my Crock Pot! Thanks for sharing!
I forgot to rate my last comment… works like a dream every time. Sometimes I will give it a little more time.
Thank you for sharing your recipe! I make beans this way all the time, for all kinds of beans. I often make frijoles from black beans or pinto beans for freezing. Once they are refrigerated they’re pasty enough to spread on a cookie sheet about 1 inch thick. Then I score them and freeze. I break up the frozen squares and put into freezer bags. These pieces are very easy to heat up quickly as needed.
Hello: This is not a complaint, but comment. This method does not seem to work at altitude. We live at 7000 ft in Colorado. I followed the recipe and they were not done. I simmered them for an extra hour, still not done. I then boiled them for yet another hour, still no joy. Maybe I should think about getting a small pressure cooker.
250 degrees farenheit?
Great recipe! For a little quicker version…
I do
1 pound of pinto beans
12 cups of water
Hour and five minutes in the pressure cooker
Spice as you will
Thank for sharing many infomative knowledge! So that black baked beans can be freeze land last in the freezer like other baked beans is, can’t it?
I tried this and after the 75min in the 250 degree oven they were still very hard. Did I miss something?
I had this happen today for the first time – which is strange, because I’ve done them this way about three times and had them come out perfectly every other time. It may be that the beans I used this time were an older bag, not sure. At any rate I had to boil a cup or two more water and add it and pop them back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes. Not a huge problem, but I’m glad I wasn’t on a time crunch.
Thank you for this recipe! I made these today, and they turned out great. So creamy with no fat! They needed an extra 15 minutes to get soft enough. i also added a few shakes of garlic powder and onion powder before they went into the oven. So tasty with cornbread.
Mine didn’t cook withing 75 mins they were no where near done at this tiī