Cooking and Freezing Dried Beans

I love eating beans. I love them on salads as well as in recipes. Soups, rice dishes, Mexican dishes, just about anything.

My family will even eat them, yep, even the kids.

If I have to cook beans every time I want to serve them, it just doesn’t happen. Beans are so good for you, that I do like to serve them. But if I don’t have them prepared and ready to use, I just don’t use them. So I cook and freeze them now.

I prefer to use the over night soak for the beans. I have used the quick soak that is listed on the dried bean bags, where you bring them to a boil. Then let them sit for an hour, rinse, and then cook. If I decide to do a bean cooking session in the morning, instead of the night before, I will use this method.

Some people also like to cook the beans in the crockpot. They turn out nice that way also.

To freeze, I measure out the amount I want in each freezer bag. I freeze beans in 2 cup and 4 cup bags. 2 cups is a good amount for us for using in salads, or for some recipes. I use the 4 cup bags for making chili.

I like to make a lot of beans at one time.

I usually keep Great Northern, Kidney, and Pinto beans on hand in the freezer. I have found that in most recipes, you can use whatever beans you have on hand. I have even made refried beans with kidney beans. No one said a word about the different beans, and I liked the flavor.

I have also found that in recipes using ground meat, I can use more beans, and less meat, and no one notices. Since beans are cheap and nutritious, using more beans and less meat is a healthy alternative. For you and for your grocery budget.

For more Kitchen Tip Tuesday tips, visit Tammy’s Recipes
Eat More Beans at Homestead Revival