How to use dried beans in place of canned

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Through asking my mother-in-law, reading some cookbooks and trial and error, I think we have finally figured out how to use dried beans in place of canned beans!

The older the bean, the harder they are to rehydrate.  You can order them on-line (Amazon has them), buy them from your local co-op, or some grocery stores (like Whole Foods) have bulk bins with many varieties of beans available.

For a crockpot of chili, I use a half pound each of 3 different types of beans.  My husband always wants red kidney beans so that is a given.  Then, you can use pinto beans, black turtle beans, chili beans, great northern beans, there are many to choose from!

I soak the beans overnight.  This allows them to sprout, taking them from a seed to a plant with more nutrients.  In the morning, I rinse them well and put them on the stove.  Continue to cook them until they are just slightly crunchy.  Rinse well, then they are ready for the crockpot! 

Cook them up in the crock, just like you would canned beans.  It is a lot cheaper (about 70% less), you avoid BPA from cans (Eden has BPA free canned beans), and you get to rinse them multiple times which decreases tummy gas.