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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!
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.Â
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. Â
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. Â
- 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.
Recipes Using Pre-soaked Beans and Legumes
Here are some recipes to try using soaked beans and other legumes to entice you!
Thanks for the help!
Is it safe to cook beans (after soaking with baking soda) according to my various recipes? Should I be cooking my beans separately and then cooking them with my recipe as directed? What’s the best method?
It is best to cook beans separately after soaking, toss the cooking water and then adding the cooked beans to your recipes as directed.
I have a package of 13 pre-mixed beans of both shapes. Do I add both baking soda and lemon juice or just one or should I not add either?
You really should not mix types of beans when soaking. The same recommendation holds for nuts too. Just soak in plain water this time, and try to soak one type of beans at a time using either lemon juice or baking soda (depending on the type) going forward.
I’ve recently read an article on the UC Davis Integrative Medicine website that specifically debunked the bad reputation and touted the benefits of phytic acid in our diets ucdintegrativemedicine.com/2016/08/busting-whole-grain-myth/#gs.HO=P52o
I know many avoid the dreaded side effect of flatulence, but I’ve found it helpful to mostly consume beans with less oligosaccharides (like black beans as opposed to pintos). Also there are specific additions you can add, such as the tasty herb epazote, that may help with digestion. That said there are also nutritional benefits to those not-so-easy-to-digest components. I personally don’t have to worry so much as I now live 10 minutes from Mexico and my gut flora has adjusted to my daily intake of beans. I believe that I’ve read that your body can respond to increased bean consumption by producing the enzyme we for the most part lack.
But honestly, the reason I rarely soak my beans is because I think that they taste better. Dumping all of that beautiful, nutrition rich, purple soaking liquid leached from my heirloom turtle beans always broke my heart. Now I just pick them over, give them a good rinse and simmer with my favorite herbs, spices, and vegetables (and occasional hamhock) and I have a hearty pot of frijoles saborosos that cand be beat.
Phytic acid can be helpful on a SHORT TERM basis for chelation purposes, but over the long term, consuming a lot will give you serious gut issues.
Hi, enjoyed this article, very informative!
I am curious to know if pressure cooking unsoaked beans will the cooking process destroy the lectins without the soaking? Thanks so much!
I have not seen any research to suggest that it does. Best to soak first before cooking even in a pressure cooker.
So all these years eating beans without soaking them, not rinsing after soaking and cooking was wrong, huh… No wonder I have gut issues. At what point can I make bean soup with water? What about cooking beans with a whole potato, then toss the potato? Even over 60 I can learn new things. Thank you
If you soak and then toss the water you can cook the beans with the water and it will be much better than without the soaking. However, it really is best to cook the beans separately, discard the cooking water and then add the beans to the soup pot with the broth and other ingredients. This will give you the best intestinal experience (least gas, bloating, damage to intestinal lining and optimal absorption of nutrients).
hi Sarah, I’ve recently learned acids will toughen beans, so could sprouting them work just as well?
Yes, you can sprout them. But note that not all beans are soaked with an acidic medium. Some are soaked with baking soda instead of whey, ACV or lemon juice.
Thank you for the quick response. Very helpful. I learned so much from you.
My apologies, I was not clear in my question earlier. Aqua faba/bean water is made from cooking the beans. So if the aqua faba is made from cooking sprouted beans, will that bean water be free of anti nutrients and OK to consume?
I would not consume any water that was used to cook legumes because the anti-nutrients have gone from the beans into the cooking water. It is a modern invention and food fad … not something traditional people ever consumed!
Aquafaba (bean water) Is growing in popularity, especially for use in vegan recipes. Would it be ok to consume bean water made with sprouted beans? Doesn’t the sprouting process eliminate the anti nutrients?
No, it would not be a good idea to consumed the water from sprouted bean water. The reason is that the anti-nutrients aren’t deactivated fully until the beans are thoroughly cooked.
The art of cooking is not always carried through time in a complete state. For instance the fermentation of foods was a time honored nessesity for preserving food through the unpreductive months. So when a person in North Carolina says not to make the collard kraft during the bowels the meaning is pretty much lost to most everyone. The arts of times gone by has been lost largely because of the so called age of information! Ironic! But if you do research on Olde time practices, you will find that soaking beans was a given. Everyone already knew that it served 2 purposes. The first is that when a legume goes dormant it produces certain chemicals that a assist the preservation of it to the next planting season, and these chemicals are what cause gastrointestinal distress when not aloud to be washed away. The other is because when a bean, seed or legume, sprouts it is the most nutrient dense of its productive life, and only in this state of sprouting does it have the quality when eaten raw to transfer its life energy to the person who eats it. So soaking your beans overnight stimulates it’s growth cycle and is therefore more nutrient dense than when it is dorment. Let it go another day and it becomes even more nutritious and becomes a sprout! The reason it cooks faster after soaking is because it is no longer asleep but it is alive! As when a young bean is picked. And so it may be that you like your beans better unsoaked, but you are not letting the true purpose of your food work for you and that is to fortify your body. The fact that you are experiencing gastrointestinal distress when eating beans is an indication that they don’t agree with you for some reason. And it is for that reason that it is not in its nutritionally repairative state.