Eating healthy on the go and retaining your sanity requires a bit of prep work. This will look different for everybody. I don't work outside the home so I obviously can spend more time in my kitchen. But these beans are manageable if your home a few hours in the evening and don't mind 60 seconds of prep work and pressing a button. Not to mention it saves a lot of $$$ if you eat beans often.How to Cook Dry Beans in a Rice Cooker:
Yes DRY and yes RICE COOKER. I used to use my crockpot but when we sold everything and moved that was out the door. The only appliance we've bought brand new for our current kitchen is a rice cooker. Fly Guy made dinner one night and bought one as gift. I said thanks but was screaming at him inside "we have an empty kitchen and you choose rice cooker? why not crockpot, or mixing spoons, or coffee maker? argh!"
Turns out rice cookers are awesome. More so if there is a 'slow cook' button on them. It heats my kitchen less than the crockpot and cooks beans from dry to ready eat in about 3 hours flat. No soaking required. So here is the rundown.
- Rinse a one pound bag of dry beans picking out any debris
- Place in rice cooker with water covering by a few inches
- Press slow cook button
- Turn off after 2 to 4 hours checking every 30 minutes after the 2 hour mark
- Fill approximately 4 pint jars with cooked beans and some of the liquid
- Let cool
- Freeze if not using in the next few days
- Use each jar in place of a 15 oz can of beans in recipes
Tips
- I find white beans get a little mushy and still buy them canned for now.
- Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) I sometimes add a pinch of baking soda to help soften them up.
- I can them with the liquid in the event I need it in a recipe (refried beans) but it can be drained.
- Defrost frozen jars on counter overnight, in microwave, or a bath of warm water.
- Stir once or twice during cooking for more even results.
- If you add seasoning wait until the beans are cooked or it can alter cooking time or make beans tough.
- My rice cooker automatically shuts off after 2 hours and I just press the button a second time.
- The longer beans have been sitting on the grocery store shelf, the longer they take to cook. Buy beans that likely have a high turnover rate in the store.
There you have it. 4 cans of beans for around 25 cents each minus the metal can taste. If you have a crockpot it's the same rundown but an hour or two more cooking time.
We use this model Aroma Rice Cooker
. The slow cook button is a must for this method!
