Buying dried beans is so much cheaper than buying canned, it’s almost ridiculous. When you are in a hurry to get dinner on the table, sometimes the canned variety is worth the time savings, but if you have a crock pot meal, you should totally consider swapping dried beans out for canned. They will have plenty of time to cook, and quite literally cost pennies on the dollar to their canned counter-part.
To make the swap, just substitute 3/4 cup of dried beans for each can of beans the recipe calls for. By dinnertime, your beans will be nice and soft.
If you have the beans, beans the magical fruit issue, you may want to soak your beans before tossing them into the crock pot. Just soak them overnight in water, and then, when you are ready to toss them into the crock pot, rinse them well. Drain them. Toss ’em in.
While you are only saving a dollar or two per meal, it will add up over the course of a year.
Saving money is rad.
~Mavis
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Brianna says
I have never had beans in my house! My husband has an anaphylactic reaction to beans and some bean products, so they are not used in my kitchen. However, I do still make chili, ham and bean soups, and other bean recipes, but I substitute a grain (brown rice, barley, etc) to provide a similar texture to beans in a recipe. I also make a hearty bean less chili and put it over steamed rice and it seams to work for us. My kids and I will always go out for a bean dish (to someone’s house or a dining establishment) when my husband is gone. It is funny how when you are forbidden to consume something, how much you really want it and you become very mindful about eating it when you can. Beans never tasted so good!
Ellie says
I don’t know, but the two times I tried to make beans from dry ones, Even though I soaked them for some 24 hours prior to cooking, they were still rock hard and dry in the center… I don’t know if I bought old ones or what went wrong or if I cooked the life out of them, haha. How long exactly should they be soaked, how much water for soaking, and once they are soaked, how long to cook them?
Carrie says
I have had similar problems…
I’ve made Mavis’s refried beans and they turned out great. All my other attempts have not been successful enough for me to make the switch, even though I would really like too. I’d love to hear anyone’s feedback as to why this happens and how to solve it!
JULIE ANN says
Old beans take longer to cook, but were talking YEARS old. Also don’t add salt to beans until they’ve cooked soft. Something about the salt makes them not absorb water (soften) correctly.
Ashley says
I did a post on the cost dried vs. canned beans on my blog recently! I usually make beans in the slow cooker in advance and freeze them. I have had the beans stay hard if I add them to a recipe with lots of tomatos. Great tip Mavis!
Stacey says
Yes! I make big batches of beans and freeze them in 2C increments for recipes. But there are those nights where canned beans would be easier and more convenient. I need to try canning them for that purpose.
Martha says
Stacey, I’ve been canning my own beans lately, but only because I have a pressure canner. I’m sure you know that this is the only way you can can beans, right? If you don’t have a pressure canner, freezing is still convenient and still cheaper than buying the cans!