How to cook red or white beans without soaking in a pan quickly, tasty and correctly

Beans are a very tasty and healthy product. It contains large amounts of protein, fiber and amino acids. This is almost the only product in the world that can completely replace meat, which is extremely important for vegetarians. It can be served as a main dish or side dish, or added to a salad or soup. But there is one caveat: standard cooking of beans takes a lot of time. Therefore, all legume lovers are concerned with the question: how to optimize the process.

How to cook beans correctly and quickly

The first step in the cooking process is checking the expiration date. The longer the beans sit, the longer they will take to cook. If stored for more than one year, they dry out. It is almost impossible to cook old legumes deliciously.

The second stage is soaking. Paradoxically, this significantly saves cooking time. In addition, soaked beans are softer and healthier due to the release of nutrients into them when they swell. It is optimal to plan a dish with beans in advance and soak the beans the night before.

The process ends, of course, with cooking. Red beans, soaked for 6 to 12 hours, due to their softness, cook in about half an hour. White beans will take 50-60 minutes. A few minutes before removing the beans from the stove, salt them. Ready beans can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 4 days.

Cooking time and calorie content

Both white and red beans can be cooked in a saucepan without soaking in just 1.5 hours. Of course, this is not as fast a process as we would like. But no matter how you speed it up, it still takes some time. However, this is not a particular problem - after all, you can cook meat, sauce or vegetable stew at the same time. The only condition is to keep an eye on the beans during cooking, since the water will evaporate quite quickly, so you need to stir and then add a new portion of water.

The calorie content of the finished product (excluding oil and other additives) is 125 kcal per 100 g. Nutritional value for the same amount:

proteins 8 g;
fats 0.5 g;
carbohydrates 21 g.

Boiled beans are very low in calories. At the same time, it is able to saturate us for several hours in advance. And all thanks to fiber, which red beans are especially rich in. However, white also has its own charms: it contains a lot of useful minerals and vitamins. It turns out that this is, without exaggeration, a tasty and healthy dish. By the way, it is very rich in proteins, so from time to time it can be used as an alternative to meat for fasting days.

Beans in a slow cooker

The real lucky ones are the owners of a multicooker. To cook both white and red beans using this method, you do not need additional preparations. Just fill the beans with water in a ratio of 1 to 10, set the device to the appropriate mode ("Cooking" or "Stewing" is best) and set a 40-minute timer. Then open the device and check if it is ready. Leave the beans in the slow cooker for another 20 minutes if necessary. Salting the beans, unlike all other methods, should be done first.

Determining the readiness of the product

We have already looked at how to properly cook some types of beans. Now let's talk about determining the readiness of the product. To do this, you need to remove one grain from the pan, cut it with a knife or eat it. The finished boiled grain should be whole, soft, but not porridge-like. If it is still a bit hard, difficult to pierce or crackles, then you should continue cooking further and check readiness at intervals of 5-10 minutes.

The finished grains are soft, whole, and not porridge-like.

Beans in the microwave

A microwave oven is a solution for anyone who has limited time. To cook beans in the microwave, rinse the beans under cold running water, place them in a microwave-safe container and cook for 10 minutes using the maximum power setting. After the allotted time, remove the plate, mix the contents thoroughly and place in the microwave for another twenty minutes. Then remove the container and salt the water. Place the beans back into the oven for a few minutes. You should not salt the beans ahead of time, as this will increase the duration of the cooking process.

How long to cook red beans without soaking

How long it takes to cook directly depends on the technology chosen. The classic method involves boiling the beans in a saucepan on the stove. However, in a modern kitchen, as a rule, there is a slow cooker and a microwave oven. You can also cook stubborn products in them, saving a lot of precious time.

Simple rules will help you get an excellent result, regardless of the technology you choose:

First you need to carefully sort out the cereals, discard spoiled and heavily wrinkled specimens;
It is best to add salt at the end, when all the ingredients have given their taste and aroma to the broth;
It is useful to add a little olive oil or butter to the water - it will reduce foaming and make the taste softer;
if you add cold water during cooking, the skin of the beans will crack, but if you add hot water, it will remain intact;
the container is selected taking into account the increase in the size of the beans by 2-3 times;
do not stir the beans, as this will help them turn into a puree;
when cooking soup, it would be more correct to bring the beans to half-cooked, since they will reach a state of full readiness on their own during the process of boiling the potatoes and other ingredients;
different varieties of beans are cooked separately, combining at the cook’s request in the finished dish.

Note ! You will have to remain in the kitchen for the entire scheduled time. If the water boils away and the product burns, all that remains is to throw it away.

How to quickly cook beans in a saucepan without soaking?

If you pour dry beans into a pan and fill them with water, they will become soft no sooner than after 3 hours. No one wants to stand at the stove for that long. Therefore, experienced chefs use the observation that when the temperature changes, the beans cook much faster. Based on this, there are several popular quick recipes. Each of them is suitable for those times when it was not possible to soak the beans in advance.

The fastest way to cook in a saucepan consists of several stages:

rinse them and fill them with water so that the water layer is 1 cm higher than them;
bring to a boil, simmer for 15 minutes and drain in a colander or sieve. You can add 1 teaspoon of soda to this first broth at the very beginning. This technique will reduce the total cooking time, but you will have to constantly monitor the intensity of boiling the beans;
pour in cold water and bring to a boil again, cook for 15 minutes, drain again in a colander;
Fill 2/3 of the pan with cold water and cook for another 40 minutes.

The advantage of this technology is that the excess starch will be removed with the drained water, and the final, third broth will be transparent.

Note ! As it boils, add water little by little, trying to keep the volume of the broth constant.

Microwave without soaking

A fairly quick method is popular because it can be used to prepare the product in a total of half an hour. The procedure for any model of microwave oven will be as follows:

Beans are poured into a glass container and filled with water to 2/3 of the volume of the container;
set the maximum power and timer for 7-10 minutes;
add a little salt, switch the power to medium and set the timer for 15-20 minutes;
the resulting preparation can be served immediately as a side dish or you can continue cooking the soup in the traditional way.

For this recipe, some people prefer to use ceramic dishes. There is only one drawback of this solution: from the outside, due to the opaque walls of the container, you may not notice in time that the water has boiled away and the beans have burnt.

In a slow cooker

To put it in a bowl, use the following proportion: 1 part beans to 2.5 parts water. For cooking, select the “soup” or “stew” mode. Recommended time – 1.5 hours. If you set the timer for 2 hours, you will end up with puree. In 1 hour the beans will be half cooked.

In a slow cooker you can immediately cook red or white beans with meat. Dry grains are quite suitable for this purpose, if you take beef or turkey as a basis. The recipe is very simple:

fry the pieces of meat in a frying pan until slightly browned;
put meat and beans in a bowl, add a little tomato juice, chopped onion and grated carrots;
add water until all ingredients are covered;
Add salt and pepper to taste;
Set the “quenching” mode and the timer for 1.5 hours.

As a result, the meat will become tender and soft, the beans will remain intact, and the vegetables and broth will turn into a flavorful sauce.

Beans for soups

Bean soup is a suitable alternative to boring first courses. It is best to cook red beans for borscht for 40 minutes in a pressure cooker, but you should soak the beans in the evening. If you decide to cook white bean soup, take note of one secret. You can add a few tablespoons of vegetable oil or a couple of seaweed leaves to the water. The broth will make the soup more flavorful and rich, and you will save time on cooking. This soup perfectly diversifies the daily menu.

What to do if the beans are bitter

Sometimes cooked beans have a bitter taste.
Why is this happening? There are several reasons why beans may taste bitter. For example, growing technology, processing or storage rules may be violated. In addition, some varieties can be bitter, this is their feature. There are some nuances in preparing the product, thanks to which it ceases to taste bitter, while maintaining its beneficial properties:

Before cooking the beans, soak them for 8-10 hours (overnight is possible).
If the beans are bitter, be sure to replace the water with new water when soaking (at least 3 times).
Change the water 45-50 minutes after boiling. After boiling again, drain it again and replace it with fresh one. Then cook the product until done.
To stop it from being bitter, add more cooking water than usual.
If the beans still taste bitter after cooking for some reason, let them cool, place them in plastic and put them in the freezer. Once defrosted they will be less bitter.
The remaining slight bitter taste can be muted by adding vinegar, spices or sauces to the dish.

If for some reason the beans continue to taste bitter, it is better to throw them away. Such a product is spoiled and will not benefit the body.

What are the benefits of beans for the human body?

Regular consumption of legumes can promote recovery from a number of ailments:

reduce the risk of tartar formation;
helps cure tuberculosis faster;
removes various harmful substances from the body, as it has a mild diuretic property;
acts on the gastric mucosa during gastritis with low acidity;
helps wounds and ulcers heal faster;
affects the skin of the face in the composition of various masks for women of Balzac age.

I suggest making delicious dumplings with beans.

These are the subtleties of preparing this nutritious and valuable participant in the daily diet. Subscribe to my blog and recommend material from its pages to your subscribers on social networks - the excursion into the world of healthy and tasty products is not over yet!

How to determine readiness

To be sure it's ready, use one of two methods. The first, classic method is called the “three beans” method. Fish out three beans from the pan and try each one. If all three are soft, then the grains are ready. If at least one bean is a little hard, then the beans are boiled further until tender. Check in the same way after 10-15 minutes. This is how the chefs of European restaurants define it.

You can find out readiness in another way. Take out a couple of pieces, place on a clean plate and mash with a fork or your fingers. They should be soft when pressed. If it crunches a little, do not remove from heat. After 10 minutes, check readiness again. Place the finished beans in a colander to drain excess liquid.

Subtleties

There is a fairly common myth that salt gives beans body and toughness, so you need to add it at the end. In fact, salt has no effect on the consistency of the beans, unless, of course, you are going to pour handfuls of them into the pan. Herbs and spices can also be added at any time.

If a recipe calls for adding acidic ingredients such as lemon juice, wine, vinegar or tomatoes, do so after the beans are cooked. Otherwise, the beans may not turn out as tender as you would like. Cooked beans can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. It is recommended to use flat, shallow containers for this.

Do you have your own secrets for cooking beans? Share them in the comments.

Beans are a valuable and nutritious product that is quite capable of replacing meat. The culture contains a huge amount of protein, so beans are used in many dietary programs and are included in the diet of athletes and active people.

Beans have been known to us for quite a long time. However, it was the ancient Romans who not only prepared the product, but also used it for cosmetic purposes. The product was finely ground and used as powder and white. Even Cleopatra herself made healing and rejuvenating masks from beans.

Today, with the help of boiled, tasty and fiber-rich gift of nature, people can fight extra pounds. However, it is important to understand that the product must be eaten well-cooked and cannot be eaten raw. And all because it contains toxic components that are destroyed precisely during heat treatment.

Georgian salad “Mkhali”

This recipe is another way to quickly cook red beans without soaking. The spicy Georgian salad in its appearance reminds us more of the usual pate, but in taste there is nothing to compare it with. Amazing spicy notes harmoniously intertwine with boiled beans and fried onions. This delicacy will not leave anyone indifferent.

Compound:

½ kg red beans;
½ tbsp. walnuts;
1 onion;
1 tbsp. l. vegetable oil;
4 cloves of garlic;
1 tbsp. l. apple cider vinegar;
greenery;
spices - to taste.

Preparation:

First, let's cook the beans: add water to the beans and bring to a boil.
Drain the boiling water, add fresh water to the pan and bring the beans to a boil again.
After all these manipulations, change the water again and cook the beans for an hour and a half.
In the meantime, let's prepare other ingredients. Peel and finely chop the onion.
Heat a frying pan with vegetable oil and fry the onion until golden brown.
Once the beans are soft, turn off the heat and remove the pan from the stove.
Pour the broth into a separate bowl and cool the beans.
Mash the cooled beans with an immersion blender or pass through a meat grinder several times.
Peel and finely chop the walnuts. Add them to the pasta.
Then add the cooled fried onions to the beans.
Add apple cider vinegar, a finely chopped bunch of herbs, spices and seasonings, and garlic there.
Mix all the ingredients thoroughly, adding a little broth from the mug if necessary.
Place the salad in a serving plate and garnish with the remaining herbs on top. Enjoy your meal!

Preparing beans for cooking

First, choose a bean variety. It is better to give preference to the classic version. White beans are considered universal. The second type is red - more suitable for stuffing. The motley variety is best used for making soup or stew.
What product looks like? It should not be covered with a white coating. The latter can indicate that it was incorrectly stored in a room with high humidity. And if there are black spots, then the product has been infected by bugs.
It is better to store the bean in a glass jar in a dark place.
Sort through and wash the beans well. Be sure to get rid of the spoiled one.

Useful tips

Experienced housewives always have several culinary secrets in their arsenal. To properly prepare a red bean dish, consider the following points:

Soak the beans in a large container, as the fruits absorb liquid and increase in size 2-3 times. Also, their volume increases during cooking (2 times).
During stewing, the color of the product may change to brownish-brown. To avoid this, do not cover the pan with a lid.
In summer, soaked fruits should be kept in the refrigerator.
Make sure the beans are fully cooked. Undercooked ones contain a substance harmful to the body - phytohemmaglutin.
If you want to maintain its shape, salt the water at the beginning of cooking. If you need loose beans - at the end of cooking.
Stirring the beans helps them cook. Do this if you are making pate or puree soup.

If you are trying to eat healthy, red beans will become an integral part of your diet. It is saturated with vegetable protein, amino acids, vitamins B, C and PP. The peculiarity of the product is that after cooking it does not lose its beneficial properties. If you know how to cook red beans, then any dish made from legumes will be within your power.