How to Cook with Dry Beans

Dry beans are very inexpensive, delicious and nutritious. So instead of opening a can of frank and beans, don’t be afraid to experiment a little.

Here are some tips for you:

• Soak dried beans in 3 times their volume of water overnight before cooking.
• If you’re in a hurry, you can speed up the bean soaking process. Bring water and beans to a boil and remove from heat and soak at room temperature for about an hour.
• The following beans don’t need pre-soaking because they have thin skins: lentils, split peas and mung beans.
• 1 cup of dry beans = approximately 3 cups cooked.
• 1 pound of beans = approximately 6 cups cooked.
• Your beans are done cooking when you can mash them easily with a fork.
• When cooking beans, make sure to simmer and avoid high heat as it can damage the beans.

Bon appetit! Some of my favorite bean meals are chili and 3 bean salad. My mom also used to make a sort of lentil dahl and topped it with sauteed onions. So good!