4d ago

What is your favorite way to cook beans?

Beans are a staple at my house. They're cheap, healthy, and my kids love them.

I think my favorite way to eat them is in chili. Soak small red or black beans (or ideally half a pound of each) for a few hours.

Trim 1.5 pounds stew beef, add black pepper and salt. Brown in pan. Add in onion and fresh peppers (bell, poblano, jalapeno, serrano) and cook until onions are clear.

Pour a beer in there, Modelo works great. Add the beans. Add a can of chipotles in adobo sauce. Don't bother chopping, they'll break down. Add a jar of salsa. Add water to cover the beans. Add chili powder, bay leaves, oregano, cumin, and more salt & pepper to taste.

Simmer until the beans are fully cooked, probably around a couple hours. Serve with tortilla chips or corn bread.

And before anyone says "beans don't belong in chili," they absolutely do.

I'm always on the lookout for more ways to cook beans. What's your favorite?

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Something I do which I've come to find is unusual is a Mexican-ish side dish. Soak and cook black beans. Then cook some onions in another pot, when soft add some cumin seeds and bloom then, deglaze with tequila, add the black beans and orange juice. Smash some of the beans to make it thicker. Cover and simmer for an hour. Its a magnificent side.

Chili and refried. And by refried I don't mean as a side dish but as the meal. Top it with whatever you have on hand and a a side of chips as a delivery system.
I'm always adding a teaspoon of homemade chili powder and another teaspoon or two of ground cumin to a large can of refried beans to add a lot of depth of flavor.
- Refried with everything tasty added in is also one of my favorites. With chips or on tacos, both are fantastic.
  My family did tacos last Christmas, where everyone brings an ingredient and we just set up a bar so that people plates their own and gets what they want. For lunch the next day I combined everything that fit into a big bowl and served with chips. It was mostly refried beans by volume, but also rice, meat, cheese, veggies, and more. It's a delicious meal that everyone likes.

I've been on a bean kick since I found bags of 15 bean soup mix for less than $3. The creamy large Lima beans are my fave. I toss the ham flavor in the trash and make a batch with whatever I have on hand. The following batch was my favorite so far:
20 oz 15 bean soup - soaked overnight
Two small white onions - diced and browned with a pinch of salt and sesame oil
Eighth red cabbage chopped and browned in a skillet
2 celery stalks diced
6oz crimini mushrooms coarsely diced and browned - finely dice stems
6oz white button mushrooms coarsely diced and browned
1/4 cup textured veggie protein
1 heaping tbsp chili powder
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes with garlic
1 tsp salt
2 tsp potassium salt
1 tbsp MSG
Half tsp cracked black pepper
Half tsp garlic powder
Half tsp paprika
The biggest thing to remember is to make sure that you get the rehydrated beans in a good boil for at least 10 minutes to denature the toxic proteins, otherwise you'll have an upset stomach.
- All those mushrooms sound delicious. I'll have to give this a try.
- Your lack of garlic disturbs me.
  
  The can of tomatoes has chunks of garlic. We were out of garlic when we made it, but turned out fine.
  I'm a garlic fiend too, don't get me wrong.

Curried refrieed. I normally 'cheat' with cans. Adjust for what you have.
a bit of oil/butter, cook a couple garlic cloves. Then throw some whole mustard seed in until they start to pop, some toast some whole cumin, then corriander until it snells good. I didn't use termeric last tine but that goes well too. Then add pinto beans, until warm and snash.
lentils do well too.
note that I didn't give amounts. I have done this so often that I can follow the dump the right anount in plan.
- Basically an Indian Dal, but with whatever beans you want instead of just lentils?
  
  I combined Mexican and Indian traditions there in ways that I doubt either would be willing to claim as their own. Which makes this an American dish I guess. Whatever, it is good and you should try it.

I love pinto beans. Throw them in an instant pot with a large onion, 4 cloves of garlic, and a jalapeno or two. Set it to cook for 45 minutes and let it release pressure naturally. Salt to taste. They make a great side and you can then make refried beans, if you like.
- That’s basically how I make my pot of black beans. I just add in some epazote if I have it and cumin. The main trick I’ve been using lately is 1 lb beans to 7 cu water, and then after the pressure cook, I quick release and set it to simmer (sauté setting) for 5 minutes to cook down a bit. I add in olive oil and the salt at the end (after the release, before the simmer).

Hummus! Five ingredients, five minutes, a full batch. All you need is a food processor and you're good to go.
• Garbanzo beans
• Garlic
• Salt
• Tahini
• Lemon juice.
I usually throw in some cumin for a minor twist on basic hummus.

Slow-boiled until tender (roughly 1.5 hours at a simmer) with an onion, salt, pepper (black and/or cayenne), garlic powder, cumin, and paprika. Spoon onto a flour tortilla, add shredded cheese and salsa, crema, BBQ sauce, whatever. Eat and enjoy!
And beans absolutely do belong in chili!

I'm totally making chili tomorrow after reading this.
And I'm a big fan of hummus or falafel. Garbanzo bean ftw!

Honestly I really like just having them warmed out of a can with some rice.

Red beans and rice.
Slice up about a pound of kielbasa or andoullie sausage, brown it with some vegetable oil in a large pot, then lift out the sausage and set it aside. Add in your trinity (diced onion, celery, green bell pepper) and saute it for about 10 minutes. Add minced garlic to your preference (I usually do 1 clove) a tablespoon of tomato paste, probably 2-4 tablespoons of Cajun seasoning, and stir it for like 5 more minutes until everything is coated and gloopy. Add your sausage back in and 3 cans of red beans (maybe 24oz?) drained and rinsed. Add enough beef stock to just barely cover everything, and grind black pepper into the mix until your hand cramps up. Then add a lot of Louisiana Hot sauce. You can use Frank's Red hot in a pinch. If you use Tabasco I will jump through this phone and slap you. Let this concoction simmer on low heat, covered, for about 20 minutes to cook the beans, then uncover and let it condense until you get the texture you want. Helps to smash about half of the beans with a spatula to thicken the mix. Serve over rice with diced green onions, cheese, sour cream, or whatever. Re-heats well and will stay good in a container in the fridge for a week.

I make Cuban style black beans (but I increase the amount of basically every seasoning) and use the leftovers to make enchiladas. I don't know why black bean enchiladas aren't a thing because they're delicious.

I love cooking garbanzo beans in bbq sauce for like ten or twenty minutes, then tossing them in a wrap with some coleslaw and lettuce. So easy and good

Black eyed peas I love "Texas Caviar" style. There's a few variations, but basically saute peppers & onions plus whatever other aromatics you like (celery, carrots, garlic, etc...). Add beans, southwest-type spices, some oil and water / stock. Bake until tender.
One example: https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a10902/hoppin-john/

My top 3 are, in no particular order; pintos with pinto seasoning (red chile powder, onion, garlic, black pepper, and oregano), pasta y fagoli (white beans and pasta soup), and Cajun red beans and rice.
- Red beans and rice is tied for my top spot as well. So good!

I vote chilli as well. Just made a batch with ground turkey a couple days ago. Cheap, relatively nutritious, and tastes pretty good imo.

Navy Bean Soup. Here's the (US) Senate Bean Soup recipe https://www.senate.gov/about/traditions-symbols/senate-bean-soup.htm
Italian Wedding Bean Soup. Various recipes, but generally beans, pasta, veggies, meat
Legumes aren't just limited to beans...
Split Pea Soup. Split peas, onions, carrots, celery, ham hocks.
A can of baked beans is a tasty treat with eggs for breakfast.

Doesn't count as cooking: A can each drained of garbanzo, kidney, navy, and green, a handful of frozen peas, maybe some celery or cherry tomatoes, make a nice lemon vinaigrette to soak them in, and serve on baby spinach leaves

I like to add small beans to mac & cheese. I started doing this recently, and it's surprisingly good.

I've never successfully reconstituted beans, its the one thing I've tried I can't cook. I think my water is too hard, I'll simmer them at low temp for literally days in the crock pot and they don't get soft. I've read Guides, I've seen videos, the beaniverse just said fuck this girl in particular.
I get the canned mixed kidney beans and make chili with them. Back before I went vegetarian I'd cook them with some cross-cut ribs and marrow. Nowadays I use minced mushrooms and seitan
- I've read that cooking them with baking soda added can help shorten the cook time. Might be worth an experiment?
  Although beans are one of the best canned foods anyway.
  
  I'm never touching a dry bean again, lentils are where its at nowadays.
  I'll keep the baking soda in mind if I ever make another attempt
- Dry beans need to be pressure cooked for the best results. An instant pot can do it if you want the simple appliance. Google the settings for the beans you want to cook. They come out better than anything you can buy at the store, but results can depend on your experience.
  
  I guess I wasn't clear when I said the beaniverse said 'fuck me'. I've wasted probably fifteen pounds of dried beans using pressure cookers over the years. They still cronch in the middle.
  As I told the other person, I think my Water is too hard and I'm not gonna buy bottled water just to make beans.
  Either that or the same temporal anomoly that makes people lost track of time around me also effects bean time.

Instantpot. I eat pulces every day mostly as a variety of curries.

Spicy beanssssssss

Justin Wilson's Red Beans and Rice
https://www.food.com/recipe/red-beans-rice-175545

Honestly just straight up beans on soda crackers or toast with butter. Sometimes I’ll add cheese slices or cottage cheese but that’s not the main event here.

I got this recipe from a Sorted video. It's not exact, cause I don't remember the details, but I really like it. It's a honey-harissa halloumi tray bake. I eyeball the quantities, but it's always been good to me, exact quantities/ratios aren't super important.
Preheat oven to 400F/200C
One large red onion, chopped pretty big. I quarter it, and then chop each quarter into 3 chunks, and break it all apart with my hands when saucing it up.
About one can kidney or navy beans. I usually use a bit less than a full can, or I guesstimate the equivalent of cooked-from-dry.
A handful of nice black olives, pitted. You want some salty savory ones, not the ones come from a can and taste like metal.
One block of halloumi, about 200-250g, cut into large pieces. 6-8 pieces depending on the size.
The sauce is as follows:
2-3 tablespoons of harissa
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
2-3 tablespoons of honey or maple syrup
2 ounces of olive oil
You can vary the spiciness by changing the ratio of tomato paste to harissa.
Chuck all the main ingredients in a baking tray, coat everything in sauce, stick in the oven. After 20 minutes, the onions are softened but still have some bite. If you want them softer, bake a bit longer. Serves 2-3, but it makes a decent side in smaller servings.
If you can get them, I like to add brined (not dried) peppercorns. But you can basically add anything to this and it'll be good. It's sweet, salty, savory, and spicy with pops of flavour from the olives. In the time it takes your oven to preheat, you should be done preparing everything and it should be ready to go in.

I think to make delicious beans you have to take your time. So saucepan over microwave.

Pretty basic pork and beans for me. I've been a fan since Dr. McCoy served em up in Star Trek V.
Gotta be liberal with the secret ingredient.
- Bourbon and beans. An explosive combination.

in an orb while wearing jeans, lately with a bit of corn

Not sure if this relates to other beans. But with dried red kidney beans. Soak in water for an hour. When used in a stew, cook in a pressure cooker for more than an hour (depending on quantity). They come out soft, with good flavor.
Other option is to use in slow-cooker, alongside vegetable broth, for 8+ hours.

Gotta go bean hole!

I like to add small beans to mac & cheese. I started doing this recently, and it's surprisingly good.

45 comments