Cooking Dried Beans

Dried legumes, except lentils, require a two-step soaking then cooking process before they're recipe-ready. Here are the guidelines.

Step 1: Soak

Long Soak: Rinse beans; place in large bowl with 3 times their volume of water. Let soak for 6 hours or for up to 24 hours. Drain, discarding soaking water, and rinse.

Quick Soak: Rinse beans; place in saucepan with 3 times their volume of water. Bring to boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, let soak for 1 hour. Drain, discarding soaking water, and rinse.

Step 2: Cook

Stove-Top: In saucepan, cover beans with 3 times their new volume of water; bring to boil. Start timer; reduce heat, cover and simmer until beans are tender, about 30 to 80 minutes, depending on variety and age (see below). Drain, discarding cooking water.

Slow Cooker: In slow cooker, cover beans with 3 times their new volume of water. Cover and cook on low until tender, about 10 hours for chickpeas or 12 hours for beans. Drain, discarding cooking water.

Stove Top Cooking Times
Black beans: 30 minutes
Black-eyed peas: 35 minutes
Chickpeas: 45 minutes
Kidney beans: 50 minutes
Large lima beans: 55 minutes
Navy beans: 40 minutes
Romano beans: 45 minutes

Start checking beans, regardless of soaking method, 10 minutes before the end of suggested  cooking time, then every 5 minute thereafter until done. Taaste the beans; a well-cooked one is tender and easy to squash.

Yield:
Generally, 1 cup dried beans turns into about 2 cups cooked beans. Some varieties yield up to 1/2 cup more.

Storing Cooked Beans:
Let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate in airtight containers for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.