• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer
The Healthy Home Economist

The Healthy Home Economist

embrace your right to a lifetime of health

Get Plus
  • Home
  • About
  • My Books
  • Shopping List
  • Archives
  • Log in
  • Get Plus
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Get Plus
  • Log in
  • Home
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Archives
  • My Books
  • Shopping List
  • Recipes
  • Healthy Living
  • Natural Remedies
  • Green Living
  • Videos
  • Natural Remedies
  • Health
  • Green Living
  • Recipes
  • Videos
  • Subscribe
Healthy Home Economist / Archives / Recipes / Other Recipes / DIY / How to Soak Beans Before Cooking (and why you would want to)

How to Soak Beans Before Cooking (and why you would want to)

by Sarah Pope / Affiliate Links ✔

Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
  • Take the Soaked Beans Challenge!
  • How To Prepare Beans by Soaking (video tutorial)
  • Kidney shaped beans
  • Non-kidney shaped beans (and other legumes)
  • How to Cook Beans After Soaking
  • Should You Use the Soaking or Cooking Water?
  • Other Types of Legumes+−
    • Recipes Using Pre-soaked Beans and Legumes

The simple overnight process of how to soak beans (by type) will help to eliminate gas and intestinal issues so you can enjoy eating these nutritious plant foods again!

soaking beans with thick foam on top in a large stainless pot

I went on a bean soaking binge this past weekend, and the amount of scum that came to the top of the large pot of soaking kidney beans was so huge, I thought it deserved its own blog post. Soaking beans for many hours before cooking them produces a lot of scum which is course, is rinsed and drained away when the soaking is complete.

What is all that scum anyway? Anti-nutrients, that’s what! And those anti-nutrients such as phytic acid, lectins, and enzyme inhibitors are going to be in your gut causing you gas, heartburn, reflux, and whatever other digestive ills beset you when you eat something that isn’t particularly digestible unless you soak your beans before cooking them.

Traditional cultures took great care to prepare their legumes with a long soak before cooking to enhance digestibility and nutrient absorption.

I love Mexican food but really try to avoid Mexican restaurants for this reason .. they don’t soak their beans before cooking them!

After a meal at a Mexican restaurant, I will typically feel very bloated. Eating the same meal prepared at home where I soaked the beans properly before cooking results in no digestive upset whatsoever.

Take the Soaked Beans Challenge!

If you think unsoaked beans don’t cause you any trouble .. take this challenge. Soak beans next time before cooking and notice the difference in your stomach after eating. 

You may think that the unsoaked beans don’t cause you any trouble, but you just may find that soaked beans are infinitely more filling and that you eat less and enjoy the meal more as a result!

Traditional peoples were very wise in the preparation of their foods.  They not only selected nutritious foods but they prepared them for maximum digestibility and nutrition.  

What good is eating nutritious legumes if the body is so whacked by the anti-nutrients that it can’t very easily extract and digest the nutrition?

So, the next time you make your beans, make sure you soak them first!

I soak large pots of various types of beans every month or so and then cook them – freezing for easy, quick meals when beans are required like homemade chili.

**If you absolutely do not have time to do this, at least buy pre-soaked legumes and beans packed in glass jars. Your digestion will thank you!

How To Prepare Beans by Soaking (video tutorial)

If you’ve never soaked beans before, it’s so easy. It’s a very similar process to soaking nuts. The method also mimics the wisdom of traditional societies that soaked seeds.

See this short video below that demonstrates the simple process.

Kidney shaped beans

For kidney shaped beans and dried/split peas, put a pinch of baking soda and enough water to cover in a large pot and soak uncovered for 12-24 hours. Drain, rinse and cook as usual.

Examples of kidney-shaped beans include:

  • Red kidney beans
  • White kidney beans (cannellini beans)
  • Pinto beans
  • Anasazi beans
  • Black-eyed beans (black-eyed peas)
  • Great Northern beans
  • Lima beans

Non-kidney shaped beans (and other legumes)

For more oval-shaped beans and other legumes, soak for 12-24 hours in filtered water to cover plus 1 tablespoon of cider vinegar or lemon juice for every cup of dried beans/legumes used.

A homemade apple cider vinegar recipe or store-bought are both fine (make sure the ACV is packed in glass). Liquid whey from yogurt, kefir, or clabbered milk may also be used. Drain, rinse, and cook as usual.

Examples of non-kidney shaped beans include:

  • Black beans (turtle beans)
  • Navy beans
  • Fava beans
  • Adzuki beans
  • Chickpeas
  • Lentils

For maximum digestibility, it is best to rinse and refresh the filtered water and baking soda or the acidic medium once or twice during the soaking period. If you forget, no worries.

I try to always soak beans for the full 24 hours instead of just overnight. Sometimes if I get busy, I might even soak them 36 hours, but this is risky as they can get moldy sometimes if you go over 24 hours. Best to stay between 12-24 hours particularly during summer months.

How to Cook Beans After Soaking

After soaking, be sure to thoroughly drain and rinse the beans until all the scum is washed away. Then, complete the process by doing the following.

  • Fill the pot of rinsed pre-soaked beans with fresh filtered water, bring to a boil, and skim away any additional foam that may come to the top at the start of the boil.  
  • Turn down the heat to a simmer, add 4 crushed garlic cloves, and cook until the beans are soft (about 4 hours).
  • Drain beans and add to your favorite dish or let cool and freeze in large freezer bags for quick meals at a later date!

You won’t be needing over-the-counter gas meds after preparing beans the traditional way!

Should You Use the Soaking or Cooking Water?

Some alternative cooking circles advocate using the soaking or bean cooking water. Unfortunately, neither of these practices is traditional.

Using the cooked bean water or aquafaba is actually a dangerous practice. See the linked article for reasons to avoid this modern food especially during pregnancy!

Other Types of Legumes

This article plus video on soaking lentils provide additional information specifically for this legume. Because they are soaked exactly the same as all non-kidney shaped beans, it is helpful for visual learners.

Lentils were the favorite of nutritional pioneer Dr. Weston A. Price due to their very high potassium content.

different types of beans for soaking on a purple background

Recipes Using Pre-soaked Beans and Legumes

Here are some recipes to try using soaked beans and other legumes to entice you!

  • Pan-fried halibut with vanilla spiced butter and blistered beans
  • 15-minute buffalo chili
  • Curried lentil soup
  • Chickpea burgers
FacebookPinEmailPrint
Category: DIY, Legume Recipes, Side Recipes, Videos
Sarah Pope

Sarah Pope MGA has been a Health and Nutrition Educator since 2002. She is a summa cum laude graduate in Economics from Furman University and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

She is the author of three books: Amazon #1 bestseller Get Your Fats Straight, Traditional Remedies for Modern Families, and Living Green in an Artificial World.

Her four eBooks Good Diet…Bad Diet, Real Food Fermentation, Ketonomics, and Ancestrally Inspired Dairy-Free Recipes are available for complimentary download via Healthy Home Plus.

Her mission is dedicated to helping families effectively incorporate the principles of ancestral diets within the modern household. She is a sought after lecturer around the world for conferences, summits, and podcasts.

Sarah was awarded Activist of the Year in 2010 at the International Wise Traditions Conference, subsequently serving on the Board of Directors of the nutrition nonprofit the Weston A. Price Foundation for seven years.

Her work has been covered by numerous independent and major media including USA Today, ABC, and NBC among many others.

You May Also Like

homemade sauerkraut

How to Make Traditional Homemade Sauerkraut (+ Video)

homemade green laundry powder in container with wooden scoop

DIY Laundry Powder

chia seeds in water as egg substitute

The Best Egg Substitute for Baking (+ VIDEO)

saffron rice

Saffron Rice Recipe (Traditional Method)

soaked seeds on a white plate

How to Soak Seeds (and why you would want to)

bottle of witch hazel on wood table

Practical Benefits & Uses of Witch Hazel (+ DIY recipe )

Going to the Doctor a Little Too Often?

Get a free chapter of my book Traditional Remedies for Modern Families + my newsletter and learn how to put Nature’s best remedies to work for you today!

We send no more than one email per week. You will never be spammed or your email sold, ever.
Loading

Reader Interactions

Comments (365)

  1. Lee Kane

    Jun 11, 2017 at 5:38 pm

    I just read your post on soaking beans and thought you might be interested in this Consumer Labs post which says that soaking beans for 12 hours is enough to reduce the anti-nutrient compounds, such as phytate which inhibit the absorption of nutrients from beans and other legumes. It also states that soaking for longer may result in a greater loss of nutrients.
    One other interesting point is that bloating and gas are caused by the complex sugars in beans, which are reduced by soaking.
    consumerlab.com/answers/_/soaking-beans-phytate/

    Reply
  2. Sarah

    May 4, 2017 at 9:08 pm

    Not everything from nature is supposed to be consumed especially the muck red beans or any other beans leave behind while soaking. Like the author said our ancestors soaked beans and lentils for long hours before consuming them so I would do just that instead of using the bubbly water for consumption

    Reply
  3. Jarrett

    Mar 4, 2017 at 7:41 pm

    Just purchased dry beans for the first time and I was clueless on why the bag had soaking instructions. Thanks for the answer

    Reply
  4. Debie

    Feb 10, 2017 at 3:40 pm

    Do you soak them at room temp or in the fridge?

    Reply
    • Sarah

      Feb 10, 2017 at 5:21 pm

      At room temperature on the counter.

  5. Tamara

    Jan 29, 2017 at 4:24 am

    I’m not seeing replies to

    What are “kidney shaped beans” other than kidney beans? Are pinto beans considered kidney shaped?
    Was wondering why baking soda was used with one and and acid with the other.
    Also why is anything but water needed?
    I saw one reply somewhere that Cook’s Illustrated (I THINK) said they should be soaked in brine… something to do with them being creamy and not mushy.

    Anyway, I’m DEFINITELY soaking my beans from now on, as I have IBS and anything that can help build up my system to beans is good, as I do love them.

    Reply
  6. Marie McCarty

    Jan 23, 2017 at 4:25 pm

    My kidney beans soaked for over 48 hours baking soda. Now they smell awful like rotten eggs. Anyone else have that problem?

    Reply
    • Sarah

      Jan 24, 2017 at 7:35 am

      Please throw them out! Beans are only to be soaked a maximum of 24 hours. Even just 8 hours or overnight is fine. Please follow the instructions in the article.

  7. Tony B.

    Dec 26, 2016 at 12:02 am

    Why pour nature’s food down the sink? I never throw away the soak water and never have any problem with the beans. Four or five decades ago, when Americans began having excessive health problems a wise doctor said that we throw our energy giving food down the sink and eat the valueless pulp that is left after cooking. He was right.

    Reply
  8. Ana

    Dec 4, 2016 at 12:59 pm

    I’m from a indigenous culture that lives of beans. We don’t soak our beans. I didn’t knew of beans been prepared this way until I came to the USA. Careful making those arguments about “indigenous ” cultures to argue your point. We don’t have the flatulence problem either, when beans are an staple of your diet your microbiome adapts to process the sugars that are indigestible for the cultures that only eat beans occasionally. To me soaked beans have no flavor. This refers mostly to pinto, red and black beans. We don’t usually use kidney or cowpea, so I make no claims on those.

    Reply
  9. Jackie

    Oct 17, 2016 at 7:10 pm

    I had the same problem until I started pressure cooking my beans. I think it must be the higher elevation here that doesn’t allow them to soften, no matter how long they are simmered. Under pressure, however, they cook in just 30 minutes (I soak them overnight first). Hope this helps! ☺

    Reply
  10. SumerR

    Oct 7, 2016 at 2:04 pm

    What about fresh lima beans. I put them in a bowl of water with a splash of ACV and a pinch of sea salt. Will this be an effective soak. Not much I can do to change it at this point, as I am at work and won’t have access to them until I get home tonight. But at least I will know for next time 🙂

    Reply
« Older Comments
Newer Comments »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Sidebar

Mother Nature’s Medicine Cabinet

5 Secrets to a Strong Immune System

Loading

The Healthy Home Economist

Since 2002, Sarah has been a Health and Nutrition Educator dedicated to helping families effectively incorporate the principles of ancestral diets within the modern household. Read More

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Check Out My Books

Mother Nature’s Medicine Cabinet

5 Secrets to a Strong Immune System

Loading

Contact the Healthy Home Economist. The information on this website has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure any disease. By accessing or using this website, you agree to abide by the Terms of Service, Full Disclaimer, Privacy Policy, Affiliate Disclosure, and Comment Policy.

Copyright © 2009–2025 · The Healthy Home Economist · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc.