Beans

A Soaking and Cooking Chart

Beans are a great source of carbs, prebiotics, fiber, and protein. They support optimal gut health, help to balance blood sugar, can curb hunger and keep you feeling full and reduce your risk of heart disease.  They are a great source of vegetarian protein but also good for meat lovers to add in as well to their diet. 

Always toss the liquid from soaking, do not reuse if you have issues digesting beans. 

Soak beans drain the liquid and then cover by a few inches of water and let simmer on stove top for allotted time or cook in slow cooker for time mentioned. 

You can store beans in fridge for up to 5 days and in the freezer for up to 8 months. 

Beans are high in carbs but these are not the type of carbs you need to avoid. Avoid the carbs you get from processed foods such as bread, pasta, cookies, muffins, and all the other processed white flour products.  Beans are not the issue for weight gain, diabetes, blood sugar, heart disease and so forth. In fact they will help to prevent these health issues, not cause them.  

While it is much easier to buy beans cooked and in the can, for some people, they cannot tolerate beans unless they soak them and drain the liquid off first. There are other reasons too to buy dried beans-they are cheaper and you avoid the toxins that are in the can lining. Even if the can says BPA Free, it still has other toxins that are hormone disruptors. Limit your can use as much as you can.  

Bean Soaking time Cooking time Slow Cooker time
Adzuki

A mild nutty flavor

 1-2 hours

 

 50-60 minutes 3 hours on high, 6 hours on low
Black beans

High in Mg., go well with bacon and cumin

 6-8 hours 60-90 minutes 3 hours high, 8 hours on low
Black Eyes Peas

High in iron

 Don’t need to soak! 45-60 minutes 3 ½ hours on high
Cannellini

Creamy texture

 6- 8 hours 60-90 minutes 3 hours on high
Chickpeas

Also called Garbanzo

12-24 hours   2-4 hours 3 ½ on high, 8-12 on low
Great Northern Beans

Use in soups, stews, soaks in flavors

 6-10 hours 90-120 minutes

 

 2 ½ on high, 5 ½-6 ½ on low
Kidney Beans

Use in chili and soups

 6-8 hours 60-90 minutes 3 hours on high
Scarlet runner beans

High in starch (think prebiotics)

 

 10-24 hours 3-4 hours 9-12 hours on low
Lentils (not a bean) but thought I would add)

Good for soups, mixed into sautéed greens

60 minutes  45 minutes  

Simple Bean Recipe:

Cook cannellini or great northern beans according to directions above and set aside-you can do this 1-2 days in advance and store in fridge.  Sauté 1 clove minced garlic in avocado oil, add large handfuls of dark leafy greens to the pan, along with a dash sea salt, and herbs such as rosemary, thyme and sage.  Sauté for a minute. Add one half cup bone broth and 2 T. tomato paste and simmer for 3 minutes.  Remove from stove top and add in 1 T. lemon juice. Top with beans and drizzle with pure EVOO.