The Ultimate Guide to Beans

How to Sprout, Cook, and Preserve Beans for less gas and more savings

Since canned beans are an extra $0.34 a cup, compared to dry bulk beans, I started bean sprouting to make our cheaper beans less gassy after cooking them. The first two times I tried sprouting beans, all was well. The beans were amazing, and no one had much more discomfort than a non-bean meal. The third time I tried bean sprouting, something went horribly wrong.

First, I tried sprouting some old "sprouting" peas I had gotten from Food Not Bombs. I used all 8 oz. I seemed to follow the instructions on the package and on my sprouting jar. Then I soaked the peas overnight, rinsed and drained them twice a day. The peas didn't sprout for 3 days, and instead had an unearthly bad smell.

We threw them to the chickens, cleaned the jar fully, and tried again with an old package of pinto beans I got from a friend. I had the same result as the peas and gave that batch to our worm bin to compost.

How to get beans to sprout and not rot!

So, I decided to trouble-shoot and this is what I learned:

• Use whole fresh beans: Buy your beans in bulk for sprouting, and soak any older beans or broken beans instead. Beans in bulk are cheaper than meat, by the pound and each pound can make several meals. I'm pretty sure that the age of the peas was a major factor as to why they didn't sprout.


• Don't use canned beans: Canned beans are cooked, so they won't sprout. They also happen to be more expensive than dry beans.


• Use beans from your country: No imports from other countries as they spray them with growth inhibitors. I'm pretty sure this is what made my pintos go bad; they were from outside of the US.


• Use a colander for larger batches: To get better drainage, use a colander for larger batches rather than a sprouting jar. It's also easier to work with.

How to sprout beans properly

Check your beans over to make sure any broken beans are set aside for soaking. Use whole beans only for sprouting. Cover the dry beans with an extra few inches of water in a large container with plenty of room for expansion.

Add a tablespoon of unrefined sea salt.  Place a towel on top of the soaking container to let it breathe and keep them clean. Soak the beans for at least 8 hours, up to 24 hours. I did mine overnight.



Drain the soaking water. Rinse the beans in a colander until the water runs clear. Place the colander of rinsed beans in your large container to catch any water that drips out.

Keep the beans in the colander to sprout, be sure to rinse them every 8 – 12 hours. Your beans should sprout between 12-24 hours after adding them to the colander. Once the beans have sprouted their little tails, they are ready to cook.

How to cook and eat beans for less gas and better taste

Place beans in a crockpot and add double the water to cover the beans. Cook on low for 4-8 hours, until beans are soft and not mushy. I cooked one batch of beans with a ham bone left over from Easter, because I had it and it makes an amazing ham and bean soup. I make other beans where I just cook the beans  to dehydrate for "quick cook" beans for emergency preparedness.

Add water as needed. Add 1 TB fennel and 1 tsp epazote to every 4 cups of beans or a little apple cider vinegar to the beans during the last twenty minutes of cooking to aid in digestion. Drain the water.

Rinse the beans if you don't like the bitter epazote, and season according to taste. Garlic, onion, cumin, Spanish paprika, or oregano are all good flavors to go with beans. Feel free to make homemade refried beans (3/4 cup of coconut oil/grassfed butter to every 4 cups of mashed beans. Stir until well-blended.)

Make bean burgers/burritos, or substitute 1/2 the meat in meatballs. Try replacing flour with beans in baked goods for extra protein. Personally, we love this amazing brownie recipe that uses black beans instead of flour and honey instead of sugar. To reduce gas further, chew your beans thoroughly and take Beano with your meal.

Making Extra Beans for Convenience

To have beans on hand, cook large batches of beans. Cook until tender. Let the beans cool and either freeze any extra beans in glass jars or dehydrate. Leave roughly 1-2 inches of room for the beans to expand when freezing.

Dehydrate the cooked beans for cheaper "quick-cook" beans for meals in a jar. Quick cook beans cost $5.40 a lb vs. home-dehydrated beans, which cost roughly $2.10 a lb to cook and dehydrate yourself. That's a $3.30 savings, per pound. The home cooked beans would be prepared for maximum nutritional value (unlike the freeze dried version), convenient for trips or emergencies, and less gassy. I prefer to sprout, cook, dehydrate, and seal in a mason jar for easy storage.

Dehydrating Slow-Cooked Beans for Meals in a Jar

Spread the cooled cooked beans out on dehydrating trays or on cookie sheets for dehydrating in the oven. Set the dehydrator to 120 degrees and dehydrate until crackly, up to 24 hours. Check throughout the day, if possible.

If using an oven, heat to the lowest possible setting and dehydrate until crispy, about 12-24 hours. The oven method will take less time than most dehydrators, as it is at a higher temperature.

The most important things I learned about sprouting: to use fresher dry beans, use beans grown in your own country, and use a colander for easier drainage.

The most important things I learned about cooking beans for less gas: sprout them first, cook the beans slowly, use digestive helping spices, chew my food, and take Beano when I can afford it.

What are your favorite ways to cook beans? Be sure to share this post so other people can save money on using canned or freeze-dried beans!

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