From scratch · Beans

Black beans from dry

A pound of dried beans soaked and simmered: about as much as four cans, for a fraction of the cost.

✋ 20 min hands-on ⏱ 10 hr 35 min start to finish 🍽 About 6 cups of cooked beans, drained: about the same as four 15-oz cans.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb dried black beans, sorted and rinsed
  • 6 g table salt
  • 1 leaf bay leaves (optional)
  • 20 cup water, about 10 cups to soak and 10 to cook

Time

Hands-on time is when you’re busy; the rest is rising, simmering, chilling or cooling, when you can do something else.

StepHands-onWaiting
Sort, rinse and soak10 min8 hr
Boil hard, then simmer until tender10 min1 hr 30 min
Cool in shallow containers–45 min
In all20 min10 hr 15 min

How long it keeps

  • Refrigerator: 3 to 4 days, as for other cooked leftovers (USDA).
  • Freezer: 3 to 4 months in their liquid (USDA’s time for leftovers).

Nutrition

Estimated from the ingredients’ USDA FoodData Central numbers.

Steps

You’ll need: large pot, colander.

  1. Spread the beans on a tray and pick out any small stones or shriveled beans, then rinse them.
  2. Soak them in plenty of cold water (about 10 cups) at least 5 hours or overnight.
  3. Drain and rinse. Cover with fresh water by about 2 inches, add the bay leaf, and bring to a boil. Boil hard for at least 30 minutes: soaking and then boiling in fresh water for at least 30 minutes destroys a natural toxin in raw beans, especially kidney beans (FDA).
  4. Turn the heat down and simmer, partly covered, until tender all the way through, 1 to 1½ hours in all depending on the age of the beans. Add the salt in the last 15 minutes.
  5. Cool them in their liquid in shallow containers and refrigerate within 2 hours. Freeze them in their liquid in can-sized portions (about 1½ cups each).
⚖️ Scaling1 lb of dried beans makes about 6 cups cooked, about four 15-oz cans. Use a pot big enough that the beans stay covered by 2 inches of water.
🛡 SafetyNever eat raw or undercooked dried beans. Soak at least 5 hours and boil in fresh water at least 30 minutes (FDA).
🛡 SafetyCool in shallow containers and refrigerate within 2 hours (USDA).

Use it in

🌯 Freezer Bean and Cheese Burritos🥗 Turkey Taco Rice Bowls

🌱 Grow it

You can grow some of what goes into this: dry beans.

🌱 Plan a garden with it →

Sources

  1. Natural Toxins in Food, U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Accessed 2026-10-25.
  2. Leftovers and Food Safety, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Accessed 2026-10-25.

In the meal planner, tap Make it next to black beans (canned) on the shopping list: the list swaps it for these ingredients, scaled to your meals, and the Prep day tab fits the waiting into your week. More from-scratch recipes.

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