How to Cook Dried Beans in the Oven
Save money by using dried beans vs canned. With these few simple steps, you will have one of the most frugal and versatile recipes around!
Servings 8 servings
Calories 191kcal
Ingredients
- 1 bag Dried Beans any variety will work. I used Pinto
- Water
Instructions
Prepare and Cook Dried Beans
- Soak dried beans for the amount of time recommended on the package. I do it for about 8 hours.
- Drain the beans. Add them to a large casserole dish/roasting pan. Cover completely in water – there should be about a 1/2 inch of water above the beans. Do not add salt or any seasonings at this point because it will interfere with the cooking process.
- Bake at 350 for 90 minutes. You may find that yours will need a little more or a little less time. Taste test a bean or two to see whether you need to let it bake a bit longer.
- Remove from oven and drain. There will still be a fair amount of water left in the pan. This is completely normal – just drain it off.
- Add seasonings to taste. You can also go ahead and add your salt now as well. You can skip the seasoning process altogether if you’d like.
- Let cool and package up into freezer bags or containers I was able to get about 10 cups out of the one package of dried pinto beans.
Notes
Flexible: This recipe is very flexible. If you have a full bag of beans, use that and just make sure the water covered all of the beans. If you only have a half of a bag, you can still do this and just make sure there is enough water to cover the beans.
Hard Beans: If you have some hard beans after cooking, odds are that they just didn’t soak in the water long enough. When soaking the beans, make sure to add water as needed to ensure that they are adequately covered. When beans age, they don’t absorb the water as well either. So it could be that you got a batch of dried beans that have been sitting around way too long. Don’t give up and try again because odds are next time they will be perfect.
Freezing Friendly: Yes, once you package the beans and freeze them, they will last up to nine months in the freezer! How amazing is that? Make sure to remove the air from the freezer bag and leave a little bit of room at the top. Then label them, and you are all set. You can use the Free Freezer Labels to keep track of what is in your freezer.
To thaw the beans, you can place the bag in the fridge overnight or run the bag under some cool running water. Don’t submerge the bag into the water if there is a small hole; it’s better just to run it under the faucet. The beans don’t take very long to defrost; then, you can cook with them or add them to your favorite recipes.
Nutrition
Calories: 191kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 7mg | Potassium: 771mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 4mg