Quick-Soak Beans, Easy Time-Saving Method, Dried Beans Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How to cook dried beans quick soak? ›

Quick Soak: This is the fastest method. In a large pot, add 6 cups of water for each pound (2 cups) of dry beans. Heat to boiling; boil for 2–3 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and soak for at least 1 hour.

Cover with 3 cups of water per 1 cup of beans. Use 10 cups for a 1 pound bag. Do either a short soak or a long soak. Short Soak – Bring beans to a boil, boil for 2-3 minutes, remove from heat, and let stand covered for 1-4 hours.

Bring cold water to a boil in a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over high heat. Add beans and salt, and return to a simmer; cover. Bake beans in the preheated oven until tender, about 1 hour and 10 minutes, checking after 30 minutes to ensure beans are still covered with water. If necessary, add just enough water to cover.

An overnight soak before boiling is the default method because hydrating beans before cooking improves their quality, plus eliminates some of the starches that cause gassiness. But, an 8-hour overnight bath isn't always convenient. Enter quick-soaking, a technique that will shave about 7 hours off your task.

Lentils and peas are softer than dried beans. They'll cook within 5 to 20 minutes without any soaking time. Nearly all traditional cookbooks tell you to soak dried beans before cooking them. Modern cooking websites often say it doesn't matter.

Place the beans in a large pot and cover with 2 inches of water. Bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Skim any foam off the top, then add 2 teaspoon sea salt and desired aromatics.

One cup dry beans = three cups cooked beans, drained. One pound dry beans = six cups cooked beans, drained One pound of dry beans makes about 9 servings of baked beans or 12 servings of bean soup.

To soak beans the traditional way, cover them with water by 2 inches, add 2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt (or 1 tablespoon fine salt) per pound of beans, and let them soak for at least 4 hours or up to 12 hours. Drain them and rinse before using.

Boil and simmer until perfection.

Placing the lid on the pot will help the beans boil faster, but make sure to keep an eye on them so they do not boil/bubble over. After beans have reached a boil, you can reduce the temperature to more of a simmer.

Place 1 lb.

Add cold water until it's about 2 inches above the top of the beans. It's important for beans to remain submerged in a few inches of water throughout the cooking process so they don't dry out. Cover pot, bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and then remove from heat. Let rest 1 hour.

How long do unsoaked beans take to cook? ›

It depends on the cooking method. It takes two hours using the oven-baked method. It takes about an hour in the instant pot. Unsoaked beans can require 6-8 hours in the slow cooker.

Soaking thoroughly cleans accumulated buildup on the surface of the bean, such as dirt, pesticide residue or contamination from rodents and insects. Soaking also allows beans to cool evenly. Like grains, soak at room temperature for 4 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

Fun Fact: Discarding the soaking water and rinsing beans can help make cooked beans more digestible. Some people choose to save the soaking liquid because some nutrients are leeched from the beans into the liquid during soaking. We prefer to drain our soaking liquid but you can decide what works best for you.

Soaking cuts out the flavor

"You lose a lot of flavors when you soak them," Yonan says. "I've never had a pot of black beans as good soaking as when I don't soak them.

Beans should not be soaked for longer than 12 hours.

At that point, you'll be dealing with a gritty, tasteless bean that does no one any favors at dinnertime. Not to mention the fact that beans left to soak for a lengthy amount of time will begin to spoil.

Bottom Line. If beans make you uncomfortably gassy, sprinkle a little baking soda into their soaking water. It will reduce the volume of gas produced by the legumes, plus, they will cook quicker. If you're even shorter on time, you may want to try some of our favorite recipes to make with a can of black beans.

Soaking also allows beans to cool evenly. Like grains, soak at room temperature for 4 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. One bag of dried beans is equivalent to 4 cans of beans.