From Storage to Stovetop: BLACK BEANS

Today Jodi goes over a few different options you may have for black beans in your food storage. If you store canned beans you probably don’t have a hard time with rotating them or knowing how to use them in your everyday cooking. However, for long term storage canned beans are not an ideal solution. They have a short shelf life so are more appropriate for keeping in your 3 month supply as opposed to being your entire supply of beans for a year. Even though we are specifically covering black beans here most of this would apply to pinto beans and navy beans as well.

Bean Conversions

1 can of beans = 1 1/2 cups of cooked beans
1/2 cup of dried beans = 1 1/2 cups of cooked beans
1 cup of instant beans = 1 1/2 cups of cooked beans
1 can of beans = 1/2 cup of dried beans or 1 cup of instant beans

How to Cook Dried Beans

Method 1: Crockpot
Ingredients:
9 cups of water
3 cups of dry black beans (rinsed)
1 onion halved (can use freeze-dried onion equivalent)
6-8 cloves of garlic or minced garlic
2 Tablespoons of salt
Optional:
1 jalapeno pepper diced (I used freeze-dried green chilies)

Directions:
Put all the ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on high for 8 hours. Eat!

Method 2: Instant Pot or Electric Pressure Cooker
Add 5 cups of water in pressure cooker
Add spices ( 1 T. of cumin, 2 tsp. of minced garlic, 2 T. of dehydrated onions, 2 T of dry cilantro)
Add 2 cups of dry black beans

Cook on high pressure. Set pressure cooker for 30 minutes. After the pressure cooker beeps, do quick pressure release… and ENJOY how EASY THAT WAS! Also check out Julie’s delicious Brazilian Black Bean Recipe that also uses a pressure cooker.