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<\/p>\nCook dried beans from scratch and stop worrying about the extra sodium, safety of the chemicals lining the cans, and the metallic taste of canned beans. Cooking dried beans and freezing them will make it easy to add more beans to your everyday meals.<\/p>\n
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Beans are a budget-friendly source of fiber, protein, iron, vitamin B and C, and calcium. They can easily be used for making chili<\/a>, simmered into New England Baked Beans<\/a>, pureed into dips<\/a>, and tossed into salads and salsas.<\/p>\n When it comes to purchasing beans, your choices are canned or dried. Canned beans are convenient, but there are many advantages to cooking dried beans from scratch.<\/p>\n Are dried beans worth the time and effort?<\/em><\/p>\n Here are some reasons you may want to cook dried beans from scratch instead of using canned beans:<\/p>\n Consider cooking dried beans from scratch and stop worrying about the extra sodium, safety of the chemicals lining the cans, and the metallic taste of canned beans.<\/p>\n The effort it takes to cook dried beans from scratch is minimal. It does take time to soak and cook the beans, but there is not a lot of actual hands-on time.<\/p>\n Thawing a container of beans is just as easy as opening a can. If you cook large batches of beans ahead of time, you can have a freezer full of a variety of beans ready to add to your favorite recipes.<\/p>\n There are many articles on the internet about skipping the soaking step when preparing dried beans, but soaking is recommended for many reasons:<\/p>\n Here are two ways you can soak your beans: Presoak overnight or quick soak:<\/p>\n Don’t skip the boiling for 10-minutes step before adding to your slow cooker. Slow cookers do not reach a high enough temperature to release a naturally-occurring toxin called, Phytohaemagglutinin. This toxin can cause gastroenteritis and make you sick<\/a>.<\/p>\n Red kidney beans contain a high level of this toxin. To release this toxin and make kidney beans safe to consume, the FDA recommends soaking the beans for at least 5 hours, draining, rinsing, and boiling in fresh water at 212\u02daF (100\u02daC) for 10 minutes before adding to your slow cooker.\u00a0Other dried beans contain this toxin as well, but in smaller doses. Boil your dried beans for 10 minutes before adding to your slow cooker.<\/p>\n Electric pressure cookers are a huge time saver in the kitchen. Since pressure cookers cook dried beans quickly the timing is slightly different depending on the type of bean.<\/p>\n The Instant Pot<\/a> seems to be the most common brand and is the one used for this recipe.<\/p>\nCanned Beans vs. Cooking Dried Beans<\/h2>\n
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Tips for Cooking Dried Beans from Scratch<\/h2>\n
Soaking the Dried Beans<\/h3>\n
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Two Ways to Soak Dried Beans<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nTips for Cooking Dried Beans in a Slow Cooker<\/h3>\n
Tips for Cooking Dried Beans Using Electric Pressure Cookers<\/h3>\n
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