Hey, canned beans are great. We’re the first to suggest that a couple of cans of black beans or cannelini beans or kidney beans should be in your pantry to make a quick meal.

But a cup of canned beans costs about $1.30 these days. And a cooked cup of dried beans is often less than $.50. That’s an appreciable difference.

The thing is, dried beans take time and planning – two things we often don’t have, whether by choice or circumstance. So let’s work with those constraints – we want real-world solutions here.

Time-saver 1 * Sort and wash some dried beans. The quantity will depend on what you think you might be needing for the next 3-5 days. Put them in a big glass bowl, and cover them with water. Let them soak overnight on the counter. If you don’t get to them that night, put the bowl in the fridge (keep the beans covered with water), and use up the beans within the week.

Time-saver 2 * Sort and wash some dried beans. Put them in a pan of cold water, and bring them to a boil. When the water boils, turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let them sit for an hour.

Time-saver 3 * Sort and wash some beans. Toss them in a crock pot, cover them with water, and cook on low overnight (or about 6 hours).

Time-saver 4 * Swap out the beans in the recipe for smaller legumes like dried peas or lentils. They cook faster.

Save money. Save time. Eat well.

Photo by Zsuzsanna Sebők

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 19th, 2009 at 5:30 am and is filed under Articles - Food, Budget & Finance, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.