Cooking With Beans: Canned and Dried

Beans are cheap, filling and keep for months on the shelf. Canned beans are ready to use; dried beans cost less and let you control the texture and salt. Both have a place in a weeknight kitchen.

Canned beans

A standard 15-ounce (425 g) can holds about 1½ cups (roughly 250 g) of beans once drained. Rinse them in a colander under cold water to remove the starchy, salty liquid, then drain well. For recipes where crispness matters, such as roasted chickpeas, dry them on a towel as well.

Cooking dried beans

One pound (454 g) of dried beans makes about 6 cups of cooked beans, the equivalent of four cans.

1. Sort and rinse. Spread the beans out and pick out any small stones or shrivelled beans.
2. Soak. Cover with several inches of cold water and soak for 8 to 12 hours. For a quick soak, bring the beans and water to a boil for 2 minutes, then cover and leave for 1 hour. Lentils and split peas do not need soaking.
3. Drain and cook in fresh water. Cover with fresh water by about 2 inches (5 cm), bring to a boil, then simmer gently, partly covered, until creamy all the way through. Most beans take 1 to 2 hours; older beans take longer.
4. Season. Adding salt to the soaking or cooking water seasons the beans throughout. Acidic ingredients such as tomatoes or vinegar slow softening, so add them once the beans are tender.

Kidney bean safety

Raw and undercooked red kidney beans contain a natural toxin, phytohaemagglutinin, that can cause severe vomiting. Food-safety agencies advise soaking dried kidney beans, draining them, and then boiling them vigorously in fresh water for at least 10 minutes before simmering. A slow cooker on low may not get hot enough to destroy the toxin, so do the boiling step on the stove first. Canned kidney beans are already cooked and safe to use as they are.

Storing cooked beans

• Cool and refrigerate in their cooking liquid within 2 hours. They keep 3 to 4 days.
• Freeze in portions with a little liquid for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.

Where to use them

Chickpeas go into our coconut curry, and black beans make the filling for crispy tacos. Use 1½ cups of home-cooked beans for each can a recipe calls for.