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?
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.

-
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.
-
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?
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.
-
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?
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
-
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?
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.
-
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?
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.
-
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?
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.
-
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.
-
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?
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/
-
Basically an Indian Dal, but with whatever beans you want instead of just lentils?
-
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?
I vote chilli as well. Just made a batch with ground turkey a couple days ago. Cheap, relatively nutritious, and tastes pretty good imo.
-
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.
-
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?
Justin Wilson’s Red Beans and Rice
Red Beans & Rice Recipe - Food.com
Posted for ZWT 2006. Recipe comes from Justin Wilson's Louisiana Homegrown Cookin. Red beans and rice is the traditional Monday dish in New Orleans.
(www.food.com)
-
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.
-
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?
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 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’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
-
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?
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’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
Bean freshness matters.
If your regular supermarket’s beans don’t get tender in a reasonable amount of time, they may have been sitting around for a long time and are really, really dried out.
Try another source.
Also, yay for lentils and split peas!
-
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?
I like to add small beans to mac & cheese. I started doing this recently, and it’s surprisingly good.