It may surprise you to know how simple it is to prepare beans. Here are some quick and easy instructions for preparing beans, or, as we like to say, the “ease of the peas.” Peas in this instance stands for all legumes–dried beans, lentils and peas!

Soak and Simmer

That’s the basic description for what we do to dried beans to rehydrate them and turn them into their miraculous little selves, ready for cooking. Some beans and all peas don’t even need the soaking step. So starting with pea soup as the easiest legume to cook, the peas go right into a pot with broth or a ham bone and water, cook for a couple hours and you have soup.

For most other beans the method is The Texas Two-Step of Soak and Simmer!

Step One: Soaking

Choose the one that fits your timing the best

  1. Basic Soaking: Place beans into a bowl and cover by two inches with fresh water. Let the beans stand at room temperature for minimum four hours.
  2. Quick Soak: Bring beans to a rolling boil for ten minutes. Cover, turn off heat and allow to soak for two hours.
  3. Overnight Soak: Place beans in large bowl covered by two inches of water. We recommend keeping the bowl at room temperature for an hour or two and then refrigerate soak from 12 to 18 hours until ready to cook, or the beans may stay at room temperature for up to 12 hours before proceeding with simmering.

Note: For all soaking methods, avoid “hard water.” Use bottled water, if your tap water is considered hard.

Step Two: Simmering of Beans in Water

The simmering, or precooking stage will take from a half hour for softer beans like the navy bean or cranberry bean; firmer beans like the black bean, red kidney or garbanzo bean will require 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Then, drain and proceed with your recipe.

To check beans for doneness gently push a bean against the side of the pot with the back of your spoon. If the beans start to give, they’re ready to add to recipe. Do not cook them so long that they become mushy. If the bean is still hard, cook a bit longer. Make sure the water stays at a slow boil.
Peas and lentils are super easy. They do not require presoaking to cook right, just put them right into your soup pot and let them cook along with the other ingredients. Lentils are done in about 30 to 45 minutes, peas take about 1-1/2 to 2 hours simmering over low heat.

Beans cook best with the soak and simmer method. Beans vary in cooking times, but presoaking guarantees successful recipes. Two of Frontier Soups’ top selling bean soups, Minnesota Heartland 11-Bean Soup and Dakota Territory Beef Barley Bean Soup do not require presoaking, the long, slow cooking time takes care of the soaking time needed.

Note: Water boils at a lower temperature in high altitudes. To compensate, use more water and double the simmering time or use a pressure cooker and increase cooking time by 50%. Be sure to have thoroughly soaked the beans.