Do you need to soak beans before cooking them? We look at different ways to soak dry beans and what happens if you don’t.
First, I wrote a simple post about how to cook dry beans the best way. Now, I’m going to show you these recipes. I quickly learned, though, that there was a crazy amount of material to study and test on this subject. I’ve decided to split this up into several posts so that you can learn everything you need to know (that’s one of our goals here at The Incredible Bulks). There will be posts about the different ways to cook dry beans and posts about the tests I did to see which ways worked best. By the end, well all be bean geniuses. Now thats something you can put on a resume!.
Soaking dried beans before cooking is a practice that many home cooks swear by. However, soaking beans is one of those things that not everyone agrees on. Some say it’s an absolute must, while others argue it’s totally unnecessary. So what’s the truth – do you really need to soak beans before cooking them? Let’s take a closer look at the reasons for and against soaking to help you decide what’s best for your cooking needs.
The Case for Soaking
Supporters of presoaking dried beans point to a few key benefits:
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Shortens cooking time. Beans that have been soaked will generally cook faster than unsoaked beans. This is because soaking causes the beans to begin rehydrating, softening and becoming plumper. So presoaked beans don’t need to spend as much time simmering to reach doneness.
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Improves texture. In addition to shortening cook times soaking can also lead to beans that are more evenly hydrated. This results in a creamier texture without tough, overly dry spots.
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Removes indigestible compounds. Raw beans contain compounds like phytic acid and oligosaccharides that can cause gas or bloating for some people. Soaking beans helps wash away some of these compounds.
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Activates enzymes Soaking kickstarts the germination process, activating enzymes that can make beans more nutritious and easier to digest
For these reasons many people feel that going through the extra step of soaking beans overnight leads to better results. Soaking devotees say it’s worth the small amount of extra planning.
Reasons to Skip Soaking
On the other side of the debate, many cooks and food experts insist that soaking beans is unnecessary:
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Adds extra time. When you want beans but forgot to soak, skipping soaking avoids having to wait for hours before you can start cooking. Soaked beans also have to be cooked soon rather than stored for later.
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Cooking time difference is minimal. While soaked beans may cook faster, the time savings often amounts to just 10-15 minutes for most beans. Many feel this modest time savings isn’t worth the overnight wait.
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No difference in digestion. Studies show soaking doesn’t significantly increase digestibility or reduce gas-causing compounds for most bean varieties. The exception is red kidney beans, which contain higher levels of phytohemagglutinin and should always be soaked.
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Leads to bland beans. Since beans absorb water during soaking, some flavor can be lost rather than absorbed in flavorful cooking liquid.
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Extra planning required. For spontaneous meals or busy schedules, remembering to soak beans can be a challenge. Skipping soaking avoids having one more thing to plan in advance.
For these cooks, any minor benefits of soaking are outweighed by the convenience of simply cooking beans straight from dry. They don’t mind the barely longer cook time to avoid pre-planning.
Best Practices for Soaking and Cooking Beans
If you do decide to soak your beans, follow these tips for success:
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Sort beans to remove any stones or debris before soaking. Rinse.
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Place beans in a bowl and add enough water to cover by 2-3 inches. Allow to soak 8 hours or overnight.
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Drain the soaked beans, rinse, and cook in fresh water or broth. Discard soaking water.
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Add aromatics like onion, garlic, and herbs to cooking liquid for flavor.
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Simmer gently and add more liquid if needed to keep beans submerged.
If skipping soaking, keep these pointers in mind:
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Use a recipe designed for unsoaked beans, or add 1-2 hours to a soaked bean cook time.
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Make sure beans have enough liquid to swell and become tender. Add more if needed.
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Check frequently toward the end of cooking time to avoid overcooking. Beans cook quickly once softened.
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Flavoring the cooking liquid is extra important to boost taste in unsoaked beans.
Sample Cook Times for Common Beans
To give you an idea of average cook times with and without soaking, here are estimates for several popular bean varieties:
- Black beans
- Soaked: 1-1.5 hours
- Unsoaked: 2-3 hours
- Garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
- Soaked: 1-2 hours
- Unsoaked: 3-4 hours
- Pinto beans
- Soaked: 1.5-2 hours
- Unsoaked: 2.5-3 hours
- Kidney beans
- Soaked: 1-1.5 hours
- Unsoaked: 2-3 hours
- Navy beans
- Soaked: 1-1.5 hours
- Unsoaked: 2-3 hours
Keep in mind cook times can vary based on the age of the beans, altitude, and other factors. Taste as you go to determine doneness.
Should You Soak Beans or Not?
Whether to soak beans comes down to personal preference. If you love the ritual and tradition of soaking or want every bit of time savings, go ahead and soak on. But if convenience is key, you can confidently skip soaking knowing your beans will turn out just as delicious.
The most important thing is to choose a trusted recipe and method that works for your needs. Cook beans low and slow, keep them covered in liquid, and taste frequently. With these simple keys, your beans will be tender and flavorful no matter which camp you’re in.
Part 1: Soaking Dry Beans
It is often suggested that before dry beans are cooked, they need to be soaked in water. Soaking the beans helps make them soft before cooking, which cuts down on the time they need to be cooked by a huge amount. In the case of my Instant Pot, the directions say to cook dry beans for 25 minutes but only 8 minutes for soaked dry beans.
It is said that the beans will cook more evenly and have fewer split shells because they become softer when they soak. Some people also say that soaking beans breaks down some of the sugars that can be hard for some people to digest. Aka, maybe your husband will be less gassy after dinner if you soak your beans first. ( please, please, please, please )!.
For this post, I tried soaking things in different ways to see what the differences would be between cooking them and to see if I could pick a favorite way.
Testing the Soaking Methods Out
When we did the first part of our test, we used dried black beans that were cooked in the Instant Pot for 6 minutes at high pressure. We soaked the beans in three different ways: in cool water for eight hours, in hot water for four hours, and in hot water for one hour. We also did a batch of beans that had not been soaked and cooked them for 22 minutes. The goal was to find out how the different ways of soaking the black beans changed their look, feel, and taste.
It might be hard to tell from the picture, but the beans that hadn’t been soaked were darker and didn’t split as much as the beans that had been soaked. All of the beans that were soaked had a similar amount of beans that split.
More beans were cooked all the way through when they were soaked in hot water than when they were soaked in cold water or not at all. But there was no difference between the beans that had been soaked in hot water for 4 hours and the beans that had been soaked for 1 hour.
Some of the beans had a chewier skin than others, but the inside was very soft. The beans that had not been soaked had been cold for 8 hours. The chewier skin was not significant enough to make the beans unpleasant, however.
There was a very small difference in taste between the beans that had been soaked and those that had not. The difference, however, was not big enough to be significant.
Because the results from the Instant Pot were so similar, we decided to try out another cooking method. For the 2nd round of our test, we cooked beans on the stovetop. First, we tried beans that hadn’t been soaked. Then, we tried beans that had been hot-soaked for 4 hours.
The major difference between the two pots was the cooking time. It took 1 hour and 13 minutes to cook the soaked beans, but 2 hours and 6 minutes to cook the dry beans.
Why You Should Soak Beans Overnight Before Cooking
FAQ
What happens if you don’t soak beans?
How long does it take to cook beans without soaking?
Is it good to soak beans before cooking?
How do you quick soak beans?
Should beans be soaked before cooking?
After our first test, this myth became a moot point—if you don’t soak your beans, you’re always going to cook in fresh water. But die-hard bean soakers will still want to know whether they should drain their soaked beans in a colander and refill the pot with fresh water, or cook their beans in the water they were soaked in.
What is the best way to eat beans?
The best way to eat beans is to first cook them in a large pot of water, about 4 cups of water to every 1 cup of beans. Adding lemon grass or other herbs to the water can improve the flavor. Once beans are cooked the best thing to do is combine them with cooked rice, this is because beans are low in methionine and rice is low in lysine, so combining them makes a more complete protein.
Should you soak beans overnight?
So if you did forget to soak your beans overnight, consider this a win and skip that step. Rather than soaking those beans in mostly flavorless water, you can cook them in a flavor-loaded broth for just a little longer than normal and you’ll still have perfectly cooked beans but they’ll taste so much better than normal.
Can you cook beans without soaking?
Place the beans in a pot, cover them with water, and bring to a boil. Let them simmer for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and let them soak in the hot water for an hour before draining and cooking. 6. Can I cook beans without soaking them? Yes, you can cook beans without soaking, but be prepared for longer cooking times.