Today’s post isn’t really ONE good thing… it’s TWO! The two techniques that I’m sharing today are perfectly wonderful on their own, but they work so perfectly together that I wanted to share them that way!
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Making Beans in Your Crockpot
Dried beans are high in fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals…and low in fat, sugar, sodium, and COST! Basically the perfect food. :-)
I’m always surprised to find out how many people have never tried cooking dried beans in their crockpot before. It couldn’t be simpler or more affordable to do, and the result is absolutely delicious! One pound of dry beans will make about 4-5 cups of cooked beans, which can be used in soups, burritos, enchiladas, tacos, hash, skillets, and MORE! You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
(Note: You can make all kinds of beans using this method, but if you choose to use kidney beans you’ll want to boil them for 10 minutes before putting them in your crockpot. This will eliminate a natural toxin found in raw kidney beans that can cause severe digestive distress.)
The night before you plan on having beans, sort through your beans and discard any debris, along with any broken or shriveled beans. Place the remaining beans into a large bowl and add enough cold water to cover the beans by about 2 inches. Let the beans soak overnight. (Note: soaking the beans overnight is optional, but most people believe this step helps to minimize the gas-inducing quality of the beans!)
In the morning, drain the beans and give them a quick rinse. Place them in your crockpot along with any desired aromatics and seasonings, and cover with 6 or so cups of water.
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Turn crockpot on low and cook for 6 to 8 hours, testing for doneness around hour 6. When the beans are done, remove any large aromatics such as the garlic cloves and bay leaf. Scoop the beans and some of the cooking liquid into a bowl and enjoy!! (But make sure to hold onto the rest of the cooking liquid though, as we will be using that in our next recipe!)
Slow Cooker Black Beans
adapted from Cafe Johnsonia
- 1lb. sorted black beans, soaked overnight in cold water
- 6-8 cups water
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 Tbsp dried cilantro
- 1 Tbsp salt
Making Homemade Vegetable Broth
In addition to beans, another pantry staple that is simple to make at home is vegetable broth! This vegetable broth would make a great base for homemade soups and sauces, and can also be used in place of water to punch up the flavor of rice, lentils, or couscous.
This is a great way to use up veggies that you happen to have on hand. You can also utilize the peels, ends, and tops of veggies that would normally get tossed! So remember that bean water that you’ve been holding onto from earlier?? That’s right… we’ll be using that to lend additional flavor to our vegetable broth!
(Note: If you are using the cooking water from black beans like I did, your vegetable broth will turn out dark in color – as you can see above. However, it will also be very delicious, so don’t let the color deter you!)
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Start with some veggies chopped into 1″ pieces, like onion, celery stalks, carrots, and green onions. Add several sprigs of fresh herbs, a couple of bay leaves, and a bunch of minced garlic for good measure.
Cook everything together for 5-10 minutes in a large pot over medium-high heat, adding salt and pepper as desired. Then add the equivalent of 2 quarts of liquid. I had 2 cups of cooking liquid leftover from the beans, so I added 6 cups of water to make 2 total quarts of liquid in the pot.
Bring the pot to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain the vegetables and herbs and discard (or add to your compost!) I got one full quart jar and one full pint jar worth of broth using this recipe.
Basic Vegetable Broth
adapted from allrecipes.com
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion
- 2 stalks celery
- 2 large carrots
- 1 bunch green onions
- 8 garlic cloves, minced
- 8 sprigs fresh parsley
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 2 quarts liquid
Be forewarned. Once you start making your own “canned” beans and broth you’ll have a hard time going back to the store bought stuff. Not only do they taste better, they’re better for you and your food budget!
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We’re not vegetarians but I do love pulses. I’ve been cooking them in the slow cooker since the 70s and when I discovered slow cooker liners — Hallelujah! Today’s post got me thinking about all those containers of dry beans and cans of ready-to-use beans in my pantry. Next pot of beans will have a pint or two put into the freezer. But….I was wondering about canning the beans. I’ll put that on my “to do” list because my one attempt at pressure canning didn’t go well (nothing bad…just overcooked). This would be an excellent way to reduce waste by… Read more »
I love this, as we make a lot of beans. I have never seen bean liquid added to a broth. It is very dark, which doesn’t really bother me, but my question is do you dilute when using or just use it at 100%? Thanks Jillee!
We used 2 cups of bean liquid with 6 cups of water :-) But you can experiment with different proportions!
looks delicious :)
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I was always told that you should never ever cook dried beans in a crockpot or slow cooker. The reason is that dried beans give off a toxin called phytohaemagglutinin because the temperature never gets high enough to get rid of the toxin. You should always bring them to a boil to cook them. Once they are cooked you can put them in the crockpot. Check it out….
Thank you for this information Doris! I did a search on the word and found this very helpful site http://www.choosingvoluntarysimplicity.com/crockpots-slow-cooking-dried-beans-phytohaemagglutinin/. A commenter (Danielle) said she always cooks her beans in the crockpot on HIGH for 8 hours and the water is always boiling. The key seems to be to make sure they boil for at least 10 minutes to make them safe.
Terrific article Jillee!
Thanks for doing the research, I wondered about this but know people who do beans in their crockpot and have never had issues so was going to try anyways. Now I no longer have to worry ; )
A couple of observations on thus very useful post. First, if you don’t add your salt until after cooking, the beans have a much better texture. Second, the baking soda that Susan mentions in her comment is especially important if you have hard water (like I do … Oh such a pain.) Finally, the cost of your broth can be brought down significantly by using the vegetable bits that you regularly throw out rather than the veggies themselves. Most tops, bottoms and leaves are super yummy and nutrition.
Thank you for this suggestion. I save my “scraps” in the freezer until it’s time to make broth. What’s leftover after straining the veggies from the broth goes to the compost heap. Cheaper broth and a ZERO WASTE KITCHEN.
Hi Jillee,
Love this post!
I’ve been cooking dry beans in my crock pot for many years, wouldn’t do it any other way….just did a big pot of Pintos yesterday.
Had with hot water bread….only meal & water….pour boiling water into the meal, stir, let cool…then make “patties”, fry them on my George Foreman grill. So easy! And, delicious!
Thank you for all you do! Love you:)
Sorry for my ignorance
Is meal corn meal?
Thanks
I had to look it up.
When I Googled “hot water bread”, the recipes on the first page were all made with corn meal, and titled “hot water corn bread”. It looks yummy!
How do you keep your veggie broth? Does it have to be pressure canned? Can it be water bathed, or frozen? Or do you just keep it in the frig if so hoe long is it good for?
I just store it right in the mason jars! It will be good in the fridge for about a week and good in the freezer for up to 3 months or so :-)
Two things…if you forgot to soak the beans overnight you can “quick soak” them. Put the dried beans in a pot, cover with water and boil them, rolling boil, for 15 minutes, turn off the heat and put the lid on for an hour, then proceed as usual. Second, if you want to boost your broth, you can do bone broth. Roast knuckle bones in the oven at 375 degrees until they get a bit brown, then boil them for 8 hours. I actually do it in the crockpot. Be sure to add vinegar to the water to leech out… Read more »
Thanks for the tips Lynne!
Better off soaking beans for 24 hours and add 1 tsp baking soda. The stuff that rises to the top is absolutely gross and would be going into your body if you don’t preseoak. And yes, it helps with gas. Then rinse really well then cook.
Ha, I usually soak beans for 24 hours because I forget them on the back of the stove. Glad to know it is useful.