How to Cook Dried Beans

VEGAN | GLUTEN-FREE | DAIRY-FREE | SUGAR FREE

Dried beans are super affordable, full of fibre and protein and simple to make into a meal.
Use dried beans anywhere you’d usually use canned beans - soups, casseroles, dips, tacos and more.

Follow our easy step by step instructions on how to cook dried beans.

Do I have to soak the beans?
It’s not essential to soak your beans, but it does slightly reduce the cooking time (by about 30-45 minutes) and some people find the beans easier to digest.

If you do decide to soak your beans you need to put your beans in a bowl or pot and cover them with cold water. Leave the beans for 3-4 hours, or even overnight.
Pick out any beans that float.
DO NOT add salt to the water - it will make your beans too salty.

Let’s get cooking.
Put the beans into a saucepan or pot (drain them first if you have soaked them or rinse the beans if you did not soak them), and cover the beans with about 10 cms of water.
Set the pot to boil. After about 30 minutes lower the pot to simmer. Remove any foam from the surface.

Add some salt and seasoning and continue cooking for another 30 minutes. Continue to remove any foam from the surface.
.Check the beans every 30-40 minutes and eat one to see if they are cooked enough.

When the beans are cooked through to your liking remove them from the stovetop and drain the water.

Cooking Times

Some beans can take longer to cook than others. See our guide below on how long different beans “should” take to cook using the method above.

Great Northern Beans: 60 -90 minutes

Kidney Beans: 90 -120 minutes

Navy Beans: 90-120 minutes

Pinto Beans: 90-120 minutes

Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas): 90 -120 minutes

Check out our Baked Beans recipe for creating a super tasty bean dish at home, that all the family will love.