I used to think dried beans were a total waste of time

For years, I only bought canned beans because the soaking and cooking seemed like a hassle. Then my friend in Phoenix showed me her freezer method, where she cooks a whole 2-pound bag at once and freezes them in jars. I tried it last month and now I have cooked beans ready to go for about a third of the cost per can. It took one afternoon and my chili budget dropped a lot. Anyone else have a cheap bean prep trick that actually works?

4 comments

4 Comments

emeryj661mo ago

My buddy in Tucson does something similar but with his instant pot, lol. He got one at a yard sale and now he just dumps a bag of dry beans in there with water, no soaking at all. Says it's done in like an hour and he portions them out. His whole deal was that he hated planning ahead for the soak, so this was his game changer.

the_fiona1mo ago

Honestly that's the only way to use an instant pot that makes sense to me. The whole no soak thing is a total game changer for lazy cooks. Mine just lives on the counter for beans and rice now. Can't imagine planning a bean soak a day ahead, that's crazy.

martin.riley1mo ago

Yeah, I just use my slow cooker overnight.

claire8722d agoProlific Poster

Yeah the no soak thing is what finally got me on board with the instant pot too. I used to just do the slow cooker overnight method like you @martin.riley, but I got tired of having to think about it the night before. Now I just toss in dry beans, set the timer, and walk away. That hour is way better than remembering to soak them 8 hours ahead. @the_fiona hit on it - having it live on the counter makes all the difference. I went from maybe making beans once a month to doing it every week. Planning ahead just never stuck for me either.