3 ways to cook dried beans

Countless recipes recommend soaking dried beans overnight, but for most beans, 6–8 hours is enough. If your schedule means they’ll sit much longer than that, it’s often better to skip soaking altogether and simply cook them from dry. Sando says excessively long soaks can even be counterproductive for fresh-crop beans: “With recent-crop beans, you’re actually telling them to start growing—to start sprouting. And I think that is why sometimes they don’t cook when you over-soak.” If you must leave them soaking for an extended period, refrigerate them to prevent fermentation.

For artisan beans, Sando sets his to soak before leaving for his weekly hike with friends on Sundays and starts cooking when he’s back a few hours later. Firkser sets a bowl of soaking beans in the refrigerator before heading to work in the morning, knowing that when she gets home she can quickly drain the soaking water, pop the beans into a pot with fresh water and aromatics, and get them on the table for dinner in no time.

Unlike many guides, we generally don’t recommend the quick-soak method—where you boil beans for a couple of minutes and let them sit in hot water for an hour before cooking. While it might sound tempting, it often isn’t worthwhile. It’s better to simply start cooking. Sando likes to kick-start his cooking with a 10-minute rapid boil for artisan bean crops and recommends 15–20 minutes for more widely available commercial beans. Then lower the heat to a simmer, with the pot partially covered.

Alternatively, an Instant Pot or stovetop pressure cooker can speed things up. But while pressure cookers reduce the need for soaking, they also produce a thinner, less rich broth because water hasn’t had a chance to evaporate. To remedy that, try pressure cooking first, then simmer uncovered to reduce the liquid.

How long do beans take to cook?

Soaking beans can cut cooking time by 25 percent or more, according to McGee, but just how much depends on many factors, including the size and age of your beans and the altitude. Firkser estimates that soaking shaves off 30–40 minutes of cook time for smaller beans like chickpeas or black-eyed peas; for larger beans, a presoak might cut the cook time by half. But don’t forget: soaking beans takes hours, so it’s a trade-off.