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Wondering how to cook dried beans? Our Dutch oven method for cooking dried beans is quicker and simpler than the traditional stovetop method.
At the risk of sounding over-dramatic, this dried bean cooking method has revolutionized our lives. But first, why cook dried beans in the first place? To be honest, we’ve used canned beans frequently, since they’re quick and easy. But dried beans they taste better and are much cheaper. Beans cooked from dry taste deliciously al dente, much less mushy than canned beans. We can always tell in a recipe when we’ve used cooked beans versus canned (especially chickpeas!). Also, dried beans are about ¼ the price of canned beans!
Got an Instant Pot? Try Instant Pot black beans or Instant Pot chickpeas.
What’s a Dutch oven?
Do you have a Dutch oven? (I didn’t know what it was before we started cooking 6 years ago!) It’s a large, cast iron pot with a lid that’s perfect for soups and is oven-safe so it can be used for baking. We use ours all the time: for soup, risotto, bread, and so forth. If you don’t have a Dutch oven and want to start cooking dried beans, this might be a good place to start. They are an investment, but we found ours at a discount store for much cheaper than regular price (see below).
If you don’t have a Dutch oven and are not looking to buy one at this time, never fear: you can still cook dried beans! Use the stove top method in this dried beans recipe from our friend Annie.
Related: 12 Easy Dutch Oven Recipes
Why use the Dutch oven method to cook dried beans?
We’ve tried the stovetop method many times, but when we found the Dutch oven method, it stuck. Why? It’s quick and easy: you can set it and forget it. Many of the stove top methods take about 3 to 4 hours total (including soaking the beans) with a little more active time; some recipes even call for soaking the beans overnight.
In contrast, the Dutch oven method takes about 1 ½ hours, and it’s easy enough for me to remember how to do it without a recipe, which I love. Here are the basic steps:
- Preheat to 350°F.
- Put beans in a pot and cover with 1 inch of water.
- Cook for 1 ½ hours; then check and cook a little more if they are not yet done.
Is it really that easy?
Yes. Typically we cook beans on the weekend while we’re doing other things around the house, like cleaning or writing blogs. Just don’t get too far away so you don’t hear your timer; I’ve done that before accidentally! I try to set a timer on my phone since it’s generally closer to me at any given moment than our oven.
Does this method work for all types of beans?
Yes, at least all types that we’ve tried! Black beans and garbanzo beans (chickpeas) are our go-to options in the bulk section, but we’ve cooked kidney beans, white beans, mixed beans, and they’ve all worked with this method. The key is to be extra vigilant the first time you try a new bean type and make sure to cook just the right amount of extra time (see below).
How do I store cooked beans?
Cooked beans will only last a few days in the refrigerator, so usually we save out the equivalent of one can of beans for immediate use and then freeze the rest. The frozen beans will stay good indefinitely. We freeze them drained (without the cooking liquid). The magical formula for cooked versus canned beans:
1 ½ cups cooked beans = 15-ounce can of beans
You can use this formula anytime you are substituting cooked beans for canned beans in a recipe.
Where can I get a Dutch oven?
This post is not a secret advertisement for a Dutch oven. We wrote it because we wanted to share this method, and we find our Dutch oven to be an essential kitchen tool for the home cook. (You’re welcome, Dutch oven companies of the world.)
Our Dutch oven: Cuisinart Cast Iron 5-Quart Dutch Oven (but we got ours from TJ Maxx for a much better deal!)
If you’re feeling really fancy, Le Creuset is a very-well known brand for Dutch ovens; if we had our pick, we’d use this one: Le Creuset Cast Iron 5 ½ Quart Dutch Oven. That Caribbean color would look so fun in our kitchen!
Any questions?
Please let us know if you have any questions on this method! We’ve been using it for about a year with great results.
Looking for other DIYs?
Whether it’s how to grow bean sprouts or how to hard boil eggs, our essential recipes are easy DIYs to make at home! Here are few more of our essential and DIY recipes:
- How to Hard Boil Eggs
- How to Grow Bean Sprouts
- Everything Bagel Seasoning
- Homemade Taco Seasoning
- How to Make Homemade Salad Dressing
- Pressure Cooker Chickpeas (How to Cook Chickpeas in an Instant Pot)
- Pressure Cooker Sweet Potatoes How to Cook Sweet Potatoes in an Instant Pot)
How to Cook Dried Beans (Dutch Oven Method)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 to 7 cups cooked 1x
Description
Wondering how to cook dried beans? Our Dutch oven method for cooking dried beans is quicker and simpler than the traditional stovetop method.
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried beans of any type
- Water
- Dutch oven
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Rinse the dried beans and pick out any debris (sometimes we skip this when we are feeling lazy).
- Place the beans in the dutch oven, and cover with enough water so there is one inch above the top of the beans.
- Cover the dutch oven, place in the oven and let the beans cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- Taste a bean and determine whether the bean is tender and cooked through. If not, continue to cook and check every 10 to 15 minutes until the beans are to your liking. Drain the beans and rinse with cold water; let sit for a few minutes to cool.
- Store beans in a sealed container in the refrigerator for several days; or, freeze them for use indefinitely.
- Category: Essentials
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Vegetarian
Keywords: How to cook dried beans in a dutch oven
I love this post! I use dried beans all the time-it’s so much cheaper! And much easier than you’d think! But I’ve never tried the dutch oven method so I’m excited to try it!
Whaat, there’s not even a need to soak the beans overnight? This truly is a genius method to cook dried beans. Thank you so much for sharing!
I thought it was always a given that you had to soak the beans. What a relief to see it’s not necessary! Giving this a try immediately!
I actually love this post too, I had no idea about the oven method! This will make it so much easier. I use a pressure cooker but I know it’s not the most popular kitchen equipment, so I’m happy to have another method to recommend to people. I still soak beans overnight though because I personally find that it makes them easier to digest (helps reduce the phytic acid content).
Thank you for this post. I have never had success with dried beans without soaking them overnight, partly due to hard water in our area. Do you know if that makes any difference? I have also never had a Dutch oven (I am in my 50s now), and am seriously considering investing in one, as I have also seen great bread recipes using those. But mostly, I appreciate the reminder about how easy and nourishing it is to use dried beans (and inexpensive), especially now that some of the plastics lining the insides of cans are being linked with health hazards. I think it’s going to be a good winter with lots of beans! :-)
Interesting! I am not sure if hard water has anything to do with cooking beans :) I’d highly recommend a Dutch oven – we use it quite often and love how evenly it heats! We’ve cooked bread in it with good results too!
I am excited to try this method out too. Even a basic recipe gets me excited to be in the kitchen. On another note, keep your eyes peeled at T.J. Maxx, I found a 3 1/2 quart Le Creuset for less than half the price. A dutch oven that is definitely worth the splurge.
Yep, that’s where we got our good deal too :)
It’s pretty amazing to me that this works without soaking the beans. I just cooked some black beans the other day, and I did it stove top after soaking for 24 hours (change the water, using hot water, after 12 hours). I soaked them that long following a method I learned for making lentils more digestible. For me, soaking the black beans that long made them more digestible also. For that reason it’s worth taking the time to soak them that long. It also took only about 1.5 hours to cook perfectly on the stovetop after the long soak. Thanks for doing this post – it was not at all boring!
Haha, thanks so much! Yes, it sounds like many people like the soaking method for the digestion factor. We’ll have to try that too! I think that this method would be even quicker with a soak.
I was seriously just going to soak some beans overnight when I read your post. So I waited until morning and this method worked great! Simple and quick. I’ll be using this from now on. Thank you!
I can’t wait to try this out! I have a bunch of dried beans but I confess I have never tried to cook them…mostly due to poor planning…this sounds like the solution!
This is a super informative post. Thank you! And that first photo is insanely good.
Thanks! Let us know if you try this method :)