How to Cook Beans

In terms of nutritional and literal “bang for your buck,” beans are hard to top—they’re packed with protein and fiber and extremely affordable. And while I’m a fan of canned beans for convenience, there’s nothing like beans cooked from scratch.

In this post, I share all my secrets for how to cook beans so they taste utterly irresistible: tender and creamy, perfectly seasoned, and ensconced in a luxurious and flavorful broth.

I meal prep a pot of these brothy beans nearly every week, and while they’re good enough to eat on their own, they add life (and nutrition) to so many different meals: enjoy them with tacos, on toast, in grain bowls or burrito bowls, and alongside breakfast scrambles!

📣 Calling all Instant Pot fans! I have an entire blog post (and YouTube video!) dedicated to how to cook beans in the Instant Pot. It’s a one-stop shop with everything you need to know to cook all types of beans using the Instant Pot—check it out!

Brothy beans vs. “plain” beans

A point of clarification: this post is focused on how to cook a legendary pot of brothy beans that are good enough to eat all on their own.

If you are looking for guidance on cooking beans more simply, perhaps to use as a one-to-one substitute for canned beans, no problem! 

Here’s what I recommend for “plain” beans:

Use the method described in this post, but simply cook the soaked beans in water with salt and black pepper (add 2 bay leaves to the cooking water, as desired). Skip the sauteed aromatics and the finishing olive oil/vinegar, but season to taste with salt.

Once cooked, I recommend storing the beans in 1.5-cup increments if you’re freezing them (I love Souper Cubes for this!)—that way you have an easy equivalent to a standard 15-ounce can of beans.

Ingredient notes

Dried Beans

The method in this recipe will work for virtually any variety of dried bean, but keep in mind that the overall cook time will vary based on several factors:

1. Bean size and density: smaller beans cook faster; large, dense beans take longer.
2. Bean freshness: the fresher the beans, the quicker they cook.
3. Soaking: Soaked beans cook a fair amount faster than unsoaked beans.

Aromatics

AKA, the ingredients that take these beans from “much better than canned beans” to “a food that is not even in the same realm as canned beans.”

When you start a pot of beans with sautéed aromatics—I use shallot and garlic here, but onions and leeks are also welcome—and then throw in a bouquet garni (bundle of herbs) and a couple dried chile peppers, you’re laying the flavor foundation for a transformative bean experience.

Water

Of course, you need some water to cook your beans! I start with 6 cups (1.5 L) of water for 1 pound (454g) of dried beans and then add more water as needed while the beans cook. 

Finishing elements

I promised you a luxurious pot of brothy beans, so you must finish them with good-quality olive oil for richness!

Plus a generous amount of salt (beans are dense and need it!) and a bit of acid for brightness and balance—think fresh lemon juice or a mild vinegar such as champagne vinegar / white wine vinegar / apple cider vinegar.

To soak, or not to soak?

Technically, you don’t have to soak your beans, but it means you’ll have to cook them for longer. 

Here’s why I always soak dried beans:

1. It cuts down on the cook time, pretty significantly so for larger beans. 
2. In my experience, it makes the beans much easier to digest (read: fewer toots!).
3. I find I get fewer split skins with soaked beans, so a more even texture.

My preferred method: a salty soak.

Cover the beans with a few inches of cool water, add a generous amount of salt, and let them soak overnight (for larger beans, I’ll soak for 12 hours).

Contrary to the annoyingly persistent myth—that adding salt to beans early on in the cooking process prevents them from cooking—salt actually softens the outside of the bean skins, so the beans end up creamier. Plus, you’re seasoning from the start, which is the best way to build flavor into the beans.

For larger beans, I’ll also add a bit of baking soda to the soaking water. It raises the pH of the water, which breaks down the pectin in the skins faster, so the beans soften more quickly.

Tips for minimizing toots

A few tricks for reducing the, shall we say, aromatic side-effects of eating beans (💨💨💨)!

• Soaking is the big one (covered above), since it draws out the oligosaccharides, the starches that ferment in your gut and can cause gas. Be sure to drain the soaking water and cook the beans in fresh water, as those oligosaccharides are found in the soaking water.

If you’ve tried soaking your beans and still struggle with gas, here are two more options to try:

• Add a strip of kombu (an umami-rich seaweed) to the beans while they simmer, then fish it out at the end. In my experience (and others), this helps with digestibility. Just don’t add the kombu while the beans boil, as this can make kombu slimy and bitter.
• OR, try using asafetida, a secret weapon South Asians have used for generations to make dals and bean dishes more digestible. It’s fat-soluble, so you’ll need to add a few pinches of it to the oil when you sauté the aromatics.

PS: For more benefits on using kombu, check out this article from America’s Test Kitchen.

Get creative! 

Once you’ve nailed the basics, the fun part is making this pot your own:

• Try out new varieties of beans! Once you’ve gone through the major varieties at your local grocery store, consider trying out some specialty or heirloom beans (I’m a Rancho Gordo girly). 
• Want to add some spices? Sauté a few of your choosing after you add the garlic.
• Got leftover vegetables like carrots, celery, or fennel lying around in the fridge? Give them a rough chop and throw them in with the beans. 
• Don’t have dried red chiles? Add ¼ to ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes (or 1 to 2 teaspoons of Aleppo pepper) for ~20 seconds after the garlic is done. 
• Vary the herbs based on what you have on hand and the type of bean (e.g., oregano is  lovely with black beans and pinto beans). 
• Finish the beans with chopped fresh herbs or gremolata!

Getting creative lets you customize these beans from week to week, and it’s great practice for honing and trusting your chef’s instincts 👩🏽‍🍳

As for ways to eat them, these beans are good enough to spoon straight from the pot, but a few of my favorite ways to use them:

• In tacos. A no-brainer.
• In burrito bowls (10x better than Chipotle).
• Alongside a breakfast scramble. I have this combo regularly and finish it with something fermented like sauerkraut + broccoli sprouts or other greens + a fun condiment like chili crisp, pesto, or hummus. 
• On toast. Toast some crusty sourdough, rub a halved garlic clove across the craggy surface, and pile the beans on top. DELISH!
• In a grain bowl, for an easy boost of protein and fiber.

Storage Instructions 

Store leftover beans with their cooking liquid in the fridge for up to 5 days (any longer, and they’ll start to smell). Or freeze them (still with their liquid, which is delicious and prevents the beans from drying out) for 3 to 6 months.

PS: My favorite freezer hack is to portion the beans into Souper Cubes before freezing. Each block pops out as a single serving, so you can grab exactly as much as you need for a meal without thawing the whole batch.

Did these brothy beans level up your meal prep game? Let me know by leaving a rating and review! It makes my day to hear from you 💕