How to Cook Dried Beans

Have you ever tried making dried beans? They take longer to cook than canned beans, but it is interesting to go through the process of cooking beans from scratch.

I have been cooking dried beans instead of canned beans to save money. Some dried beans I have made are black beans, kidney beans and garbanzo beans. I usually buy the Whole Foods brand, but you can find dried beans almost anywhere. In this entry, I will show you how I make garbanzo beans. 

Ingredients:

1 pound dried beans 

1 onion, quartered 

Sea salt 

This recipe makes about 7 cups of cooked beans.

Instructions:

1. The first thing to do is find beans with any debtors or small stones and remove them. You can lay the beans on a baking sheet to do this. Then, rinse the beans well.

2. Soak the beans. Cover with cold water in a large pot or bowl. Let sit overnight or at least 8 hours. To do a quick soak, cover beans by 3 inches with cold water in a large pot. Bring to a boil and then remove from heat. Let set covered for an hour. Drain the beans. 

3. Cover the beans with cold water by 2 inches in a large pot. You can add an onion if you want. This will give the beans nice flavor. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1-2 hours or until beans are tender. Cooking time may vary depending on the type of bean you are cooking. 

4. Drain beans and discard the onion. Add salt and season as desired.

I like to freeze the beans in serving size bags until I use them to cook with. I like to make a variety of things with garbanzo beans including hummus, chickpea "tuna" sandwiches, falafels and salads.

Do you ever make beans? Which is your favorite kind to make?