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Home ยป Recipe Index ยป How To

How to Make Dried Beans

Modified: May 3, 2025 ยท Published: Dec 24, 2021 by Gigi & Sersie ยท This post may contain affiliate links.

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Learning how to make dried beans can feel intimidating at first. No worries! We'll show you how to cook beans on the stove, in the slow cooker, and the Instant Pot. You'll be whipping up recipes like Cuban black beans with ease.

Nine different bowls lined up with different dried beans in them.
Jump to:
  • What Are The Benefits of Dried Beans?
  • Choosing Your Beans
  • Measure, Sort, and Rinse Dried Beans
  • How to Cook Dried Beans on the Stove
  • Delicious Bean Recipes
  • How to Cook Beans in a Slow Cooker
  • How to Cook Beans in the Instant Pot
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Conclusion

What Are The Benefits of Dried Beans?

Cooking dried beans is a great way to lower your food cost (check out our round up of budget vegan meals), and avoid excessive sodium and preservatives found in canned beans. Plus, dried beans offer better flavor, texture, and more control over seasoning. Once you master the cooking process, youโ€™ll never look back.

Curried butter beans and red kidney bean soup are best when you make them with dried beans. You get a better texture and flavor.

Choosing Your Beans

There are many varieties of beansโ€”black beans, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), pinto beans, cannellini beans, black-eyed peas, butter beans (large lima beans), great northern beans, kidney beans, and more. There are also heirloom beans, like Rancho Gordo. Heirloom beans are beans that can be harder to grow and donโ€™t yield as much, but the amazing flavors and textures you get are totally worth it.

The age of your beans affects cooking time. Fresh beans cook faster than old beans that have been sitting on a pantry shelf for a year.

The size and shape of your beans also affects cooking time. Chickpeas and butter beans take longer to cook than black eyed peas and small red beans.

If you're not sure when your beans were harvested, look for a harvest date or choose beans from trusted sources. The shelf life of dried beans is long, but older beans require longer cooking times and may be difficult to soften.

Measure, Sort, and Rinse Dried Beans

All three cooking methods (stovetop, slow cooker, and Instant Pot) require measuring the amount of dried beans you want to cook. A general guide is a 1:3 ratio, where one cup of dried beans will yield about three cups of cooked beans. 

After measuring, do a quick sort of the beans to remove small stones or other debris you donโ€™t want to eat. Just dump the dry beans in a pie pan or on a rimmed cookie sheet and browse through them with your fingers.

Finally, rinse the beans in a strainer under cool water.

black eyed peas being poured into a measuring cup while sitting on a wooden cutting board

Step 1: Measure the amount of dried beans you want to cook.

a hand sorting through dried pinto beans in a pie tin sitting on a wooden cutting board

Step 2: Sort the beans to remove small pebbles or other debris.

dried chickpeas being rinsed in a strainer over the sink

Step 3: Rinse the beans under cool water.

Now, proceed to the method you plan to use to cook your beans.

How to Cook Dried Beans on the Stove

Soak the Beans

Soaking beans isnโ€™t mandatory, but it makes a huge difference in cook time, and can help with digestion. Soaking also helps the beans cook more evenly. You can do this in one of two ways.

  1. Overnight (8-Hour) Soak: Put the beans into a bowl and cover them with water by at least 2 inches, letting them sit overnight or for 8 hours.
  2. โ€œQuickโ€ (1-Hour) Soak: To do a faster soak, place the beans into a pot. Add enough water to cover the beans with about 2 inches of water. Bring the beans to a gentle boil. Turn off the heat and let it sit for 1 hour.   
Black beans soaking in water.

Youโ€™ll know the beans are soaked by the amount of water absorbed from soaking. Your beans will increase in size, and the water level will appear to decrease. But what's happening is that the water transfers into the beans, plumping them up.

When the beans are done soaking, drain away the soaking water and rinse them.

Now itโ€™s time to fire up the stovetop.

Cook the Beans

Put the soaked, rinsed, and drained beans into a large pot or dutch oven with enough water to cover the beans with 2 to 3 inches of water. Aim for 3 inches if cooking chickpeas or larger beans that require more cooking time.

Turn the heat up to medium-high to bring to a gentle boil, then partially cover with a lid and reduce heat to low or simmer.

cover beans with 2 or more inches of water
lid partially covered and beans simmering

How Long to Cook Beans

Beans typically take between 10 minutes and 2 hours to cook on the stovetop, depending on the beanโ€™s type, size, and shape. As you can imagine, tiny beans like mung beans will take less time, whereas larger (round) beans like chickpeas typically take more to cook through. Below are estimated cooking times of common beans:

Dried Bean TypeEstimated Stovetop Cooking Time
(in minutes)
Mung beans, French lentils, red lentils, small brown lentils10 to 15
Adzuki beans, split peas, brown/green lentils, small red beans30 to 40
Black-eyed peas, purple hulled peas40 to 45
Black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, cannellini beans, navy beans, cranberry beans, small lima beans45 to 60
Chickpeas (garbanzo beans), butter beans (large lima beans)60 to 75

Periodically stir the beans and make sure they are cooking to the desired consistency. Stoves can vary, so a "low" or "simmer" on my stove may differ from your stove. Also, longer-cooking beans will lose more water through evaporation, so check in on them and add more boiling water, if necessary.

Also, if you cook them too long, theyโ€™ll lose their shape and turn into mush. If youโ€™re making refried beans, a blended soup, hummus, or veggie burgers, itโ€™s probably not a big deal since youโ€™re going to smash them anyway. But if youโ€™re making the beans for a vegan chickpea salad, black bean buddha bowl, or veggie chili, youโ€™ll be disappointed. So check them frequently.

When the beans are done cooking, drain any excess water and use them for whatever! Check out these bean recipes.

Delicious Bean Recipes

  • top view close up of easy cuban black beans in a yellow bowl with a sprig of fresh cilantro
    Easy Cuban Black Beans (VEGAN, OIL-FREE)
  • top view of a bowl of curried butter beans topped with fresh chopped cilantro and a fork and striped napkin blurred on the side
    Curried Butter Beans
  • A bowl of oil free refried beans with oven baked tortilla chips, and chopped tomatoes, cilantro and jalapeno. lime wedges on the side.
    Oil Free Refried Beans
  • A bowl of butter bean stew topped with fresh chopped parsley and spoon on the side.
    Butter Bean Stew

How to Cook Beans in a Slow Cooker

For hands-off cooking, the slow cooker is your best bet. After youโ€™ve measured, sorted, rinsed, and strained the beans, you can add them to a slow cooker with water. Thereโ€™s no need to soak the beans beforehand. You can put the beans on in the early morning, and theyโ€™ll be ready for dinner later that evening.ย 

For every one cup of dried beans, you'll need to add 3.5 to 4 cups of water. For most dried beans, like black beans, pinto beans, and black-eyed peas, you'll need 3.5 cups of water per cup of beans. For chickpeas and larger butter beans, you'll need 4 cups of water per cup of beans.

In the slow cooker, beans can take anywhere from 4 hours to 8+ hours, depending on the beanโ€™s type, size, shape, and whether youโ€™re cooking at high or low heat. As with stovetop cooking, smaller beans cook faster than larger beans. Of course, beans cooked at a high heat setting will be done sooner than at low heat. But if youโ€™re away from the house all day, a low temperature and longer cook time are actually more convenient, right?

Cooking Times in a Slow Cooker

While slow cooker temperatures may vary between brands and equipment performance, high heat settings typically cook twice as fast as low heat settings. I prefer the low heat setting because you can set it and forget it, going about your day without worrying whether itโ€™s going to burn. When Iโ€™ve left my beans in too long on โ€œlowโ€, the worst thatโ€™s happened is that some of them start to split. Below are the estimated cooking times by dried bean type:

Dried Bean TypeSlow Cooker High Heat Estimated Cooking Time
(in hours)
Slow Cooker Low Heat Estimated Cooking Time
(in hours)
Mung beans, French lentils, red lentils, small brown lentils1 to 22 to 4
Adzuki beans, split peas, brown/green lentils, small red beans2.5 to 35 to 6
Black-eyed peas, purple hulled peas3 to 3.56 to 7
Black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, cannellini beans, navy beans, cranberry beans, small lima beans3.5 to 47 to 8
Chickpeas (garbanzo beans), butter beans (large lima beans)4 to 59 to 10
top view of easy cuban black beans in a slow cooker
Cuban Black Beans made in a slow cooker

How to Cook Beans in the Instant Pot

The Instant Pot is one appliance Iโ€™m so glad I discovered. I purchased mine in 2015, about three years after I adopted a whole food, plant-based vegan diet. This little powerhouse of a kitchen appliance can do several things, including sautรฉ, steam, slow-cook, and of course, pressure-cook your favorite foods. In addition to cooking beans in the Instant Pot, you can also make soups, porridge, rice, sweet potatoes, and even cake!

With the Instant Pot, you donโ€™t need to soak beans. Yay!

The ratio of dried beans to water is similar to the slow cooker method, typically 1 to 3ยฝ (or 4). That means one cup of dried beans to 3ยฝ (or 4) cups of water. One cup of most dried beans (like black beans, pinto, and black-eyed peas) will need 3ยฝ cups of water, whereas chickpeas will need 4 cups of water.

Black-eyed peas in the Instant Pot for Black-Eyed Peas and Greens

Instant Pot Cooking Times

After adding the dried beans and water to the Instant Pot, youโ€™ll need to lock the lid and set the pressure release valve to the sealing position. This enables the Instant Pot to come to pressure when you turn it on. In many cases, it takes around 10 to 12 minutes for the Instant Pot to come to pressure and start cooking.

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Instant Pot pressure release valve in sealing position before cooking
Instant Pot pressure release valve in venting position to release pressure after cooking

Letโ€™s pause and go through how the pressure release works at the end of cooking beans in the Instant Pot. There are three types of pressure release methods: natural, quick, and a combination of the two.

Natural pressure release

A natural pressure release is when the beans are done cooking and the Instant Pot gradually releases the pressure. It can take about a half-hour to finish releasing. When itโ€™s done, youโ€™ll be able to unlock and remove the lid. Using the natural pressure release will continue to cook the beans and come to a slow stop.

Quick pressure release

Quick pressure release is when you carefully switch the valve from the sealing position to release. Youโ€™ll want to do this from the side so the steam coming out doesnโ€™t burn your hand. Quick-release can help rapidly stop the pressure cooking process with delicate smaller beans like mung beans to avoid mushy beans.

Combination of natural and quick

A combination of both natural- and quick-pressure release has worked well for me when cooking most beans like black-eyed peas, pinto beans, and black beans. After the program ends, you allow 10 to 15 minutes of natural release and then finish it off with a quick release.

Tap the Bean setting on the Instant Pot and adjust the time according to the type of bean youโ€™re cooking.

Dried Bean TypeSet Timer to
(in minutes)
Natural Release Time
(in minutes)
Quick Release
Mung bean1NoneYes, immediately
Adzuki beans1210Yes, after natural release
Black-eyed peas, purple hulled peas1515Yes, after natural release
Black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, cannellini beans, navy beans, cranberry beans, fava beans, lima beans3030Yes, after natural release
Chickpeas (garbanzo beans)5030Yes, after natural release

Frequently Asked Questions

Are beans a carb or a protein?

Beans are food that contains both complex carbohydrates as well as protein. They are often mentioned as a good source of protein, but they have both.

How do you get rid of gas from beans?

If you're new to eating a whole food, plant-based nutrition plan, having gas is pretty standard. However, the longer you eat these foods, including beans, the frequency of flatulence will likely lessen. Your body (i.e., the microbes in your gut) will adjust to this new way of eating. Be sure to chew your food well and eat slower. Also, tossing the cooking water you used to make the beans can help. Finally, consider adding a strip of kombu to the beans while cooking. Be sure to remove it before serving your beans. Kombu is high in iodine, so if you have thyroid issues, please be sure to check with your healthcare provider before adding it to your beans.

What does eating beans do to the body?

Beans are very nutritious. Eating a diet rich in beans (and other legumes like lentils and peas) have been shown to promote weight loss, improve heart health, insulin sensitivity and gut health. Nutritionally, beans are high in fiber, antioxidants, and a good or excellent source of iron, potassium, magnesium, folate, and other B-vitamins.

Can you eat beans every day?

Absolutely! As a nutritionist and athlete, I typically eat 4 servings of beans or other legumes (like lentils and peas) daily. But other nutrition experts recommend 3 servings daily. A serving is ยฝ cup of cooked beans (or other legumes). It's also good to have variety so be sure to mix things up!

Conclusion

Beans are nutritious and found to be a staple in the longest-lived populations, often referred to as โ€œBlue Zones.โ€ They are packed with fiber, protein, several micronutrients, and beneficial compounds. While I appreciate the convenience of canned beans (donโ€™t get me wrong, I use those too!), dried beans hold a special place in our hearts. They are budget-friendly and generate less recycling and garbage waste than canned beans. Plus, thereโ€™s no added sodium with dried beans.

I hope this how-to guide is helpful. The more you cook with dried beans, the more it becomes second nature. Your feedback is important to us. Please leave a reply below and share.

Two women standing in the kitchen smiling.
Gigi & Sersie

Gigi Carter and Sersie Blue have over 25 years of combined experience in plant-based nutrition and health coaching. Their passion for healthy eating inspired them to create Danielโ€™s Plate, a recipe site focused on whole food, plant-based meals.

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