Jeanette's Healthy Living

Where delicious and healthy come together

  • Home
  • Recipes
    • List of All Recipes (alphabetical)
    • Breakfast
    • appetizers
    • soups
    • salads
    • main courses
    • side dishes
    • dips and sauces
    • beverages
    • smoothies
    • Desserts and Cookies
  • Special Diets
    • gluten-free
    • dairy-free
    • vegetarian
    • vegan
    • Liquid/Soft Food Diet
    • Pureed Food Diet
    • Low Residue Diet
  • Cancer Cooking
  • Faith
  • Healthy Living
    • Healthy Living
    • travel
  • About
    • About
    • Contact Us
    • Work With Me
    • Media Features
    • Terms & Conditions

How To Cook Beans

October 5, 2010 by Jeanette 4 Comments

14 shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Yummly
Dried Black Beans

 

Beans are a great source of fiber and protein, and are naturally low in fat (1 cup of cooked black beans has 15 grams fiber, 15 grams protein, 2 grams fat, and 0 grams saturated fat).
In addition, beans are considered antioxidant “superstars,” given their rich antioxidant level, which helps fight disease-causing free radicals. For example, red kidney beans have 13,259 antioxidants.

Beans also contain alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), one of the three omega-3 fatty acids which are believed to delay or reduce tumor development in breast, colon, pancreatic and prostate cancer.

Although it’s more convenient to buy canned beans, cooking your own beans is easy, cheaper, healthier, and better for the environment (see Huffington Post article). Canned beans tend to be high in sodium, less flavorful than beans prepared at home, and are sometimes mushy.  More importantly, recent concerns have been raised that cans used for prepared foods, including many beans, are often lined with BPA (Bisphenol A), which is believed to cause cancer and other diseases, even more reason to consider cooking your own beans.  

I like to cook my beans with some flavorings, so they’re tastier in soups, stews, or whatever I end up making with them.  Cooked beans can be frozen, so oftentimes I make a bag or two, and freeze them in 2-3 cup portions so I have some on hand for soups and stews.

How To Cook Beans

Soaking beans overnight reduces the “gas” effect and makes them more digestible.


1 bag of beans (black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, cannellini beans, pink beans, chickpeas)
1 carrot, peeled, but into thirds
1 stalk celery, cut into thirds
1/2 onion
1 clove garlic
1 bay leaf
a sprig of thyme (rosemary is great with cannellini beans)
One 2″ piece kombu, rinsed
water
Cannellini Beans Soaked Overnight
Black Beans Soaked Overnight
Soak beans overnight in a bowl, covered with water to 3 inches above the surface of the beans.  Beans will double in size.  Rinse and drain.  
Cooked Cannellini Beans with Flavorings

Place beans in a large pot, along with carrot, celery, onion, garlic, bay leaf, thyme and kombu.  Add enough water to cover the beans by 3 inches.  Cook until tender on medium-low to medium heat at a low boil (length of time to cook depends on the type of bean, and how old the beans are; I made black beans and cannellini beans, which took about 45 minutes).

For More Information on Beans and Recipes:
Continuum Health Partner’s Fiber Chart
Savvy Vegetarian’s How to Eat Beans Without Gas and A Few of the Most Popular Savvy Vegetarian Bean Recipes
The Veggie Table’s Vegetarian Recipes with Beans and Lentils
International Vegetarian Union’s 72 Vegan Indian Recipes

More Information on Cancer and Beans:
American Cancer Society: Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Medicinenet.com: Antioxidant Superstars: Vegetables and Beans

More Information on BPA:
Huffington Post: BPA Exposure Worse From Canned Foods Than Plastic Bottles
USA Today: Fed up with BPA in your food? Here’s how to reduce risks given FDA’s new “concerns”
Related Posts
Filter by
Post Page
dairy-free Dinner main courses Asian chicken Low Residue Diet Pantry Recipe vegan vegetarian gluten-free Beans/Legumes meal prep traveling side dishes Slow Cooker healthy choices Clean Eating Pasta and Noodles farmer's market Summer Recipes ENTERTAINING Meal Planning Resources Recipes Healthy Living
Sort by
Stir Fry Ground Chicken and Green Beans - simple, healthy, delicious dish

Stir-Fry Ground Chicken and Green Beans Recipe

2019-02-25 05:00:51
jeanette

18

Caribbean Black Beans - quick, easy, healthy vegetarian/vegan dish; cilantro onion jalapeno salsa on top

Caribbean Black Beans Recipe

2018-06-11 05:00:22
jeanette

18

Gallo Pinto (Costa Rican Rice and Beans) - this versatile side dish can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Made healthier with brown rice.

Gallo Pinto (Costa Rican Rice and Beans) Recipe

2017-05-22 05:00:48
jeanette

18

Slow Cooker Creole Chicken Stew and Creole Beans

2014-09-29 05:00:00
jeanette

18

Slow Cooker Chipotle Style Black Beans - so easy you can make this at home

Slow Cooker Chipotle Style Black Beans Recipe

2014-01-20 05:00:37
jeanette

18

Quick Stir Fry Green Beans © Jeanette

Quick and Easy Chinese Stir-Fry Green Beans Recipe {Video}

2013-05-01 11:58:58
jeanette

18

Pasta with Caramelized Onions Wax Beans Tomatoes and Corn

Pasta with Caramelized Onions Wax Beans Corn Tomatoes Jalapeno

2011-08-03 03:12:00
jeanette

18

75 Summer Side Dish Recipes

Healthy Summer Side Dish Recipes

2020-07-01 00:45:50
jeanette

8

Healthy Pantry Meal Plan One

Healthy Pantry Meal Plan #1

2020-03-18 01:00:10
jeanette

8

healthy pantry recipes

Healthy Pantry Recipes

2020-03-10 01:00:24
jeanette

8

14 shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Yummly

Filed Under: Beans/Legumes, dairy-free, gluten-free, healthy choices, Pantry Recipe, vegan, vegetarian Tagged With: black beans, how-to

« The Farmer’s Market Sandwich
Healthy Dinner Menu »

Comments

  1. sweet artichoke says

    October 9, 2010 at 1:14 am

    This is a very informative and useful post! I, too, use kombu while cooking beans. All these seaplants (seaweeds) are so full of good nutriments, too!

    Reply
  2. melaney says

    January 31, 2012 at 2:34 am

    Did I miss where it says what heat to cook the beans at? or was it missed?

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      February 1, 2012 at 6:17 pm

      Thanks for the catch Melaney. The beans are cooked at a low rolling boil on medium or medium-low depending your stove.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Hi! I'm Jeanette - welcome! Step into my kitchen, where you'll find healthy dishes packed with flavor and goodness.

[Read More …]

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Get Your Free e-Book!

Weekly College Meal Planner

Good recipes come to those who subscribe!

Archives

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2025 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

14 shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Yummly