Beans - Dried and Canned General Instructions

Here is a quick reference for dried beans and canned beans - how they compare and how to cook and use them

Beans
1/2 cup cooked beans is considered to be "a serving"

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Dried Beans
There are two steps to cooking dried beans:

• Soaking (note: Split peas, lentils and black-eyed peas do not need to be soaked before cooking)
  
• Cooking
  

There are many methods used to soak dried beans need before they are cooked:

• Quick soak:
• Overnight soak:
  

Canned Beans
Canned beans are ready to use right out of the can.  They are usually perfectly cooked, without being split or mushy, and packaged in water.  Depending on the use, I either drain the water and rinse the beans or use the entire can in my recipe, depending on what I'm doing.  For chili (especially home canned), I like to use the water from the can as it provides a natural thickening agent.

Nutritional Information
Get the info

Equivalents:
Dried:
1 pound of dried beans  =  2 cups dried beans = 6 cups cooked beans (5 1/2 - 6/12 cups?)
1 cup dried beans = 2 to 3 cups cooked beans

Canned:
16 oz can of beans = 2 cups with liquid, or 1.5 cups drained




Links:
Livestrong.com: Dried Beans VS. Canned Beans for Nutritional Values by ANNE TOURNEY

©2012 Laura Delanty, Wife With A Knife - All Rights Reserved