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This step-by-step guide will teach you how to use the "quick soak method" when preparing dried beans. Quick soaking is the fastest way to prepare dried beans, and improves their flavor!
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I love cooking with and eating fresh, homemade beans! They are healthier, more cost-effective, and better for the environment than canned beans. Plus, they are just so delicious! The only problem is that preparing them can take a long time.
Soaking beans can often speed up the cooking process, helping you cook dry beans fast. Pre-soaking the beans also helps them cook more evenly.
They also use less water during the cooking process. When I make unsoaked beans on the stove, I need to check on them and add more water about every 20 minutes. If I don't keep a close eye on them they start burning to the bottom of the pan and my house smells like burning farts. It's the worst! When I cook presoaked beans on the stove, I usually only have to add more water once, at the end. I prefer the less hands-on method of cooking presoaked beans!
There are two different methods for soaking beans: the overnight soak and the quick soak method. The quick soak method is also sometimes called "the hot soak method" or "fast soak method."
I prefer the quick soak method, and here's why:
Why use the quick soak method
- The quick soak method is faster! That's the whole point of soaking beans, isn't it? Instead of 8 hours of soaking, this method only takes 1 hour. Plus it can shave about 20 minutes off the overall cooking time of your beans. (Each type of bean has a different cooking time. The amount of time saved will vary based on the variety of bean).
- The quick soak method makes your beans taste better! A group of food experimenters over at Epicurious did a taste test on 12 different methods of cooking beans. The winner was the quick-soak method. They said, "The flavor was our favorite of the bunch."
Almost all types of beans can benefit from the quick soak process, including:
*black beans
*pinto beans
*red kidney beans
*red beans
*lima beans
*garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas)
*navy beans
*cannellini beans (aka white beans)
*Great Northern beans
Black-eyed peas and Adzuki beans are both small and cook fairly quickly, so they don't need to be soaked before cooking.
How to Quick Soak Beans
Step 1
Start by rinsing your dried beans with cold, clean water to remove any dust or debris that has built up in storage.
Pick through the beans and remove any damaged, old, or broken beans.
Step 2
Place the rinsed beans in a large pot and add enough water to cover the beans with 1-2 inches of water on top.
(I typically use 3 cups of water for every cup of beans).
Step 3
Place the uncovered pot on the stove and bring to a rolling boil for 2-3 minutes.
Step 4
Turn off the heat and cover the pot. Let the beans sit for 1 hour off the heat.
How does it work?
The boiling water causes the beans' outer skins to soften and expand, allowing water to penetrate the beans more quickly. After boiling, the beans are left to soak in the hot water for about an hour, which further softens them, significantly speeding up the rehydration process.
Step 5
Your beans are ready to be prepared! You can now use the stovetop, crock pot, or Instant Pot to continue cooking your beans.
Cooking Beans Tutorials
Find all our tutorials on how to cook beans, from the stove top to the instant pot.
Frequently Asked Questions
According to The Bean Institute, gas-producing fibers are released into the soaking water, and discarding it removes some of these compounds.
So, draining the soaking water might help you have less gas when you eat your beans.
On the other hand, the Epicurious food experimenters found "the beans cooked in the soaking liquid were much more flavorful, had a prettier, darker color, and had a more pleasant texture."
Therefore, it's a personal preference as to whether or not you should drain your soaking water or not.
Yes! You can soak your beans too long, and the result will be mushy, bland beans.
If you need to soak your beans for a longer time, I recommend using the overnight soak traditional method, which uses cold water, instead of the quick soak method.
If you use the quick soak method, the ideal amount of soaking time is 1 hour. I wouldn't recommend soaking for longer than 2 hours with this process. The result will be bland, mushy beans.
If you use the overnight soak method, the soaking time is 8-10 hours, and I don't recommend soaking longer than 12 hours.
No, you don't have to soak your beans. However, there are several benefits, including cutting down on overall cooking time, better-flavored beans, and more even cooking.
It will be totally fine if you don't soak them but they will take longer to cook.
Beans contain a type of carbohydrate called "oligosaccharides" that can't be fully digested in the small intestine, which can make your body produce gas.
When you quick-soak beans, some of those carbs are removed from the beans into the soaking water. So if you drain the water, and instead cook the soaked beans in fresh water, it is potentially less likely for you to have gas when eating them.
However, everyone's body is different and it's not a guaranteed solution.
According to The Bean Institute, regularly consuming beans helps your body get used to digesting them, so "the more often you eat beans, the less often you'll experience GI discomfort!"
Cooking Beans and Recipes
Now that you've got a big pot of beans ready to be cooked, here are some of my favorite ways to prepare them.
Conclusion
The quick soak is the fastest method for preparing your favorite dried beans. I hope this guide has been helpful to you!
Let me know how it works out in the comments. I always love hearing from readers.
Also, share some of your favorite bean recipes. I'm always looking out for more ways to eat plant protein!
✌️ Ems
Recipe
How to Quick Soak Dried Beans
Ingredients
- dried beans
- water
Instructions
- Start by rinsing your dried beans with cold, clean water to remove any dust or debris that has built up in storage. Pick through the beans and remove any damaged, old, or broken beans.
- Place the rinsed beans in a large pot and add enough water to cover the beans with 1-2 inches of water on top. (I typically use 3 cups of water for every cup of beans).
- Place the uncovered pot on the stove and bring to a rolling boil for 2-3 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and cover the pot. Let the beans sit for 1 hour off the heat.
- Your beans are ready to be prepared! You can now use the stovetop, crock pot, or Instant Pot to continue cooking your beans.
Notes
- black beans
- pinto beans
- red kidney beans
- small red beans
- lima beans
- garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas)
- navy beans
- cannellini beans (aka white beans)
- Great Northern beans
Equipment You Might Need
Bellemain 5 Qt Metal Colander with Handle
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Jamie
The printable recipe/instructions show the same steps for three and four. The fourth step I believe is to allow the beans to soak off of the heat for one hour. I hope you can fix it in your blog. Thanks for the instructions.
Emily
Thank you! I'll fix that.