White beans are one of the most common types of legumes in our latitudes. It has a pleasant, refined taste, is very satisfying and healthy. Due to the fact that beans contain a large amount of protein, beneficial elements and vitamins, they can easily replace meat in the diet. This is especially true on fasting days and for people who have given up eating meat products.
To prepare white beans, you need to spend a lot of time, but the result is worth it, because many delicious and very healthy dishes are prepared from them. Due to the high fiber content and the almost complete absence of fat, bean dishes are considered dietary and help not only to lose weight, but also to effectively cleanse the body.
Canned White Beans
If you don’t have time to cook beans, you shouldn’t give up dishes made from these healthy beans. Canned beans contain slightly less nutrients, and you can prepare dishes from them very simply and quickly. Salads, side dishes, main dishes, all this is easy to prepare by simply opening the jar.
The main thing is to approach the choice of canned food responsibly; they should contain a minimum of ingredients; the ideal composition would be beans, water, salt and sugar, without additional preservatives and flavorings. The presence of acetic acid as a preservative is allowed. It is best to purchase beans in glass containers so that you can evaluate the appearance of the beans; they should be approximately the same size, uniform structure and color.
Otherwise, its difference from dry beans is small, however, natural products are always better than any, even the highest quality canned food.
Preparing the beans
It is very important to properly prepare the beans for cooking. This will help reduce cooking time and get the most out of your food.
- Sort the beans, remove large dirt, damaged and dried beans. The surface of good beans is smooth and even, the beans are firm and dense to the touch.
- Pour water over the beans and leave for up to 10 hours, preferably overnight, this is how long it takes for the beans to soften and all the harmful substances to go into the water. It is advisable to change the liquid every 3 hours, or add a little soda to it. For 500 ml of liquid, take one quarter of a small spoon of soda.
- Before cooking, be sure to drain the water in which the beans were soaked; it is not suitable for consumption. This will help avoid such an unpleasant moment in eating beans as increased gas formation. Also, to neutralize this effect, you need to add a little fresh mint and thyme to the water in which the beans are cooked.
Cooking methods
To prepare all white bean dishes, you must first boil them and do it correctly. Cook it in a saucepan on the stove, in the microwave and in a slow cooker.
On the stove
This is the most familiar method, available to everyone, its disadvantage is that you need to constantly monitor so that the liquid does not completely boil away and the beans do not burn. Procedure:
- Pour cold water over the pre-soaked beans;
- Do not cover the pan with a lid and put on fire;
- bring to a boil, drain and add fresh water;
- bring to a boil again, reduce heat to low and cook for 40-60 minutes;
- you can add a little vegetable oil to the pan;
- After half an hour, check the beans for softness, do this every 10 minutes so as not to overcook the beans;
- salt the water at the end of cooking.
During the cooking process, add water as needed to prevent the beans from burning.
If the beans are not pre-soaked, they will cook in about two hours.
Microwave
The fastest way to cook beans:
- soak the beans in water;
- drain the water and place in a special microwave-safe bowl;
- fill with cold water and turn on full power for 10 minutes;
- reduce power to medium and cook for another 12-15 minutes;
- Remove the beans from the microwave and rinse under running water.
In a slow cooker
A very convenient and reliable way to cook beans, which does not require constant monitoring and presence in the kitchen. Cooking beans in a slow cooker is very simple:
- Place pre-soaked beans in a multicooker bowl and add cold water in a ratio of 3 cups of water to 1 cup of dry beans;
- set the timer for 1 hour;
- cook in the “Stewing” or “Cooking” mode;
- The finished beans are soft and can be easily pierced with a knife.
Beans that are not pre-soaked will take twice as long to cook.
White bean dishes
You can cook any dish from white beans. This is an excellent side dish and an independent dish, an addition to salads, soups and main meat dishes. Beans go well not only with meat, but also with vegetables, mushrooms, and fish. The dishes are aromatic, filling and very tasty.
Garnish
Beans are an excellent side dish for meat and fish dishes; you only need a little of it, because beans are very filling. This side dish is perfect for people leading an active lifestyle who need to quickly replenish their energy during the day.
Soups
Bean soup is prepared with or without meat broth. It will be complemented by carrots, onions, garlic, peppers and herbs. Regular liquid soups and puree soups are prepared from beans.
Salads
To prepare salads, canned beans are often used; they are combined with vegetables, smoked and boiled meat, cheese, and herbs. You can prepare both regular and warm salad.
Snacks
A wide variety of appetizers and main dishes are prepared from beans - pate, cutlets, pancakes, casseroles, fillings for pies and pies.
There are a large number of different recipes that can be used to prepare delicious white bean dishes for every taste.
To learn how to properly and profitably prepare various white bean dishes, you need to remember a few tricks.
- White beans should be salted at the end of cooking.
- Ready beans can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days; you can cook them in advance and add them to different dishes.
- During the soaking process, the beans increase in volume; this must be taken into account when selecting dishes.
- Be sure to cook the beans until fully cooked; they should crush easily when pressed.
- If you soak beans for more than 12 hours, fermentation may begin.
- Soak the beans in a cool place.
- Do not cover the pan with a lid while cooking beans.
- Cook the beans over low heat, constantly monitoring the liquid level and adding water if necessary.
- White beans have a delicate taste and do not like a lot of spices; just salt, pepper, a little nutmeg, garlic and herbs are enough.
It is very tasty and nutritious, and dishes made from it are very popular during Lent. It is not surprising, because due to its rich composition it can easily replace meat for a person. And if you don’t know how to cook beans, then we will tell you.
How to cook beans: preparing beans
The boiled product is suitable as a side dish for fish and meat dishes. But it can also become a separate dish, combined with fresh, boiled or stewed vegetables. Raw beans are not suitable for food, as they contain toxic substances that are destroyed during heat treatment.
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All legumes must be soaked before cooking. This will allow them to cook faster and not cause bloating later. It takes six to ten hours for beans to sit in water, so soaking them overnight is ideal. But do not keep it longer, especially in warm weather, as the product may ferment. It is also good to change the liquid every three to four hours, and the beans themselves should be completely covered with water. Before cooking, the liquid must be replaced with fresh one.
If you didn’t soak the beans in advance, don’t give up your favorite dish and don’t despair. You can do this: put a saucepan with beans and water on the fire, bring to a boil and simmer for three minutes. Remove from heat and leave for an hour: during this time the product will steam and become soft.
How to cook beans: how much and how to cook beans
A lot depends on the type and size of the beans themselves and the preparation. If you did not soak the beans in water in advance, the cooking time is from two to four hours. Small grains will cook much faster than large ones, white ones - faster than red ones. While white beans do not need to be soaked at all, red beans must be soaked in water.
Cook the product over low heat, constantly monitor the liquid level. If necessary, add water, just not cold, but boiling water.
How do you know if the beans are cooked? In the West, the best restaurants use the so-called system of three. It involves the following: three beans are taken out of the pan and tasted. If all of them are soft, the product is ready, if one of them is hard, then you need to cook more.
Some secrets on how to cook beans:
- If after boiling the beans, drain the water and add cold water, it will taste better.
- Do not stir the product while cooking.
- Do not add salt while cooking beans; do not add salt to the dish after cooking.
- Cook legumes only in an open container, without a lid.
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Everyone knows that a product such as white beans must be subject to long-term heat treatment, not only in order to acquire softness and a pleasant taste, but also to ensure that substances toxic to the human body are digested from it (there is no other way).
Cooked beans provide the body with significant amounts of fiber and protein, vitamins and minerals. Cooking beans is easy and doesn't take much time. Plus, cooked beans can be stored in the refrigerator for 5 days, or they can be frozen in the freezer and always have on hand instead of buying canned ones. Let's consider all the ways and methods of preparing white beans: with and without soaking, as well as using all modern technology.
Before cooking, scatter white beans on a table or flat plate and sort through, removing all damaged beans. Rinse the selected grains under cold water, placing them in a colander or sieve.
Beans can be cooked with or without soaking. Depending on the chosen cooking method, the cooking time also depends.
Typically, beans are cooked with pre-soaking. There are two main ways to soak beans. The first is to simply pour cold water over the beans and leave for several hours.
With the second soaking method, you first need to bring the beans to a boil and simmer for a couple of minutes. Then remove from heat and cover with a lid and let stand for two hours.
Regardless of the soaking method chosen, before cooking, you need to drain the liquid in which the beans were soaked and rinse them.
How to cook white beans with soaking
According to the old fashioned way, housewives who decide to prepare a dish with the addition of white beans first soak them in cold water. And this action is not done in vain, because such beans:
- Increases in size (approximately 2-3 times);
- Reduces the time of the cooking process itself;
- Gets rid of excess starch found on the surface of the beans (after all, the beans are washed up to 3-4 times in 8 hours);
- The product will not become overcooked in the future;
- A soft bean structure appears;
- The beans will be well absorbed without causing bloating (complex sugars - oligosaccharides - also disappear along with the water).
If previously a saucepan was considered almost the only vessel for cooking, today it is possible to use various types of kitchen equipment to cook white beans.
How long to cook white beans with soaking
Depending on the chosen cooking technology, the cooking time for beans varies slightly and ranges from 7 minutes to 2.5 hours. 
Before soaking beans in neutral cold water for 6–8 hours, they are sorted and washed. The beans are filled with water at the rate of one glass of beans to 3 glasses of water.
It is necessary to change the water every three hours to avoid souring by filling the beans with new liquid. If this is not possible, then the beans need to be put in the refrigerator or placed in another cool place so that they do not ferment.
Before cooking, drain the beans in a colander and rinse under running water.
A saucepan with beans, filled with clean water, is placed on a quiet fire and brought to a boil, after which the boiled water will have to be completely drained again by pouring in new cold water. In this case, the cooking process does not stop.
To prevent the beans from burning to the bottom of the container, it is recommended to grease the surface with a few tablespoons of vegetable oil and then return the beans to their place and pour in water. Additionally, this allows you to increase the cooking temperature above 100 degrees. The beans will generally cook for one hour.
Beans can be salted 10 minutes before they are ready at the rate of 1 teaspoon per 1 cup of beans.
In a slow cooker
As you know, a measuring cup is attached to the multicooker. And it is important to use it fully, because it will help to correctly calculate the necessary proportions.
When preparing the product in a slow cooker, immediately add salt and pepper to the pre-washed beans (to taste or at the rate of 1 teaspoon per bowl of beans) and mix gently.
Pour water over the beans so that the latter covers them a centimeter from above. In a slow cooker, the beans will “cook” in stewing mode for an hour.
But you shouldn’t put it on plates right away - it should taste soft. If this does not happen, you will have to cook the product for an additional 10 minutes.
In a steamer
The swollen beans are placed in a special steamer bowl filled with filtered water.
The thermal mode is set to 80 degrees (in this case, evaporation will be slow, and the steam will only heat the water). Cook white beans in a double boiler for at least 2.5 hours.
In this case, it is important to monitor the water level in the bowl (if necessary, add it) and timely draining of the resulting water in the pan.
In the microwave
It is worth noting that beans will cook much faster in the microwave compared to other methods. To prepare it you will need glassware, some water and setting the maximum setting. As a result, white beans will be ready for consumption in literally 7 to 10 minutes.
How and for how long to cook white beans without soaking
Modern cooks are fairly busy people. Therefore, bean dishes are most often prepared without first soaking the bean grains in water. And this despite the total cooking time of 4 hours.
That is why today you can find several effective methods for preparing white beans, which do not involve a long, labor-intensive soaking process.
1 way. The beans, sorted and washed under running water, are placed in a deep and large saucepan. Clean water also flows here. It should cover the grains 3–5 cm above. Place the container on medium heat, bring to a boil and actually cook for 15 minutes. 
Afterwards, drain the water completely and fill the pan with almost ice-cold water, letting it boil again. And the third time you will have to drain the boiled water and cover the beans with cold water. Now the beans will fully cook for half an hour. And by the way, it will cook faster due to “shock” temperature therapy.
Method 2. This method of cooking beans involves adding lemon juice or a small amount of soda to cold water. True, this method can only be used by experienced cooks, so as not to inadvertently spoil the bean product. The final cooking time should be expected after two full hours.
3 way. An original way is to add sheets of dry seaweed to the water where the beans are cooked. It turns out that the maximum cooking time will be only 40 minutes.
4 way. You can boil white beans like this. First, it is recommended to boil the beans for 5 minutes and then, covering the pan with a lid and placing a towel on it, simply leave them to “steam” for about 30 minutes. The grains will absorb water and become quite suitable for consumption. Only after steaming is it important to rinse the beans again to remove any starch remaining on the skin.
In any case, regardless of the cooking method, you cannot add salt, add seasonings with a salty or sour taste, stir or cover the beans with a lid during the cooking process. Because it can lose its structure, turn into puree, or, conversely, remain hard or darken.
What can you cook with white beans?
There are virtually no restrictions on using beans in cooking. But more often, boiled beans are used in the preparation of soups, vegetable stews and side dishes for fish.
Read
For those who do not know how to cook red beans with soaking, and what to cook deliciously from beans, we suggest reading this material.
So, it is better to soak red beans in the evening, as they should stand for at least 12 hours. Soaking is necessary not only to make the beans cook faster, but also to reduce the amount of harmful substances. Yes, yes, you are correct, beans contain substances harmful to humans - antinutrients. Beans need antinutrients to protect them from bacteria and fungi, so dry beans can be stored for a long time without spoiling. Antinutrients decompose when exposed to a humid environment, which is why soaking is necessary.
Antinutrients:
- phytic acid removes important elements from the body such as magnesium, copper, potassium and zinc. When soaked, it decreases by 75 percent.
- Lectin is a protein that sticks to the intestinal wall and becomes damaged over time, subsequently reducing protection against toxins. Lectin is completely decomposed when beans are soaked.
- oligosaccharides - our body is not able to digest these substances. Because of them, colic appears. Soaking will also save you from oligosaccharides.
Beans with fresh onions
Boiled beans should be seasoned with sunflower oil, pepper, sprinkled with basil and finely chopped onions. Everything is fast and tasty.
Beans with fried onions
The onion needs to be finely chopped and fried in sunflower oil until golden brown. Then add beans, pepper, and add dry oregano.
Beans with carrots
Required ingredients:
- boiled beans - 1 cup;
- onion - 1 head;
- carrots - 2 large;
- parsley - 1 bunch;
- garlic - 2-3 cloves;
- sunflower oil - 3-4 tablespoons;
- Georgian seasoning - hops-suneli;
- pepper.
- finely dice the onion;
- fry in sunflower oil until golden brown;
- add beans, simmer for a few minutes;
- grate the carrots on a coarse grater;
- add and simmer for another 3-4 minutes;
- squeeze the garlic, add;
- sprinkle with finely chopped parsley, khmeli-suneli, pepper, mix well, and remove from heat.
Bean soup
What do you need?
- beans - 1 cup;
- pasta or horns - 100 g;
- onion - 1 small head;
- dried basil - 2 teaspoons.
- Pour boiling water over the prepared beans, add pasta and cook until tender;
- cut the onion into small cubes and fry in oil;
- add to the finished soup:
- salt and pepper the soup. Also add dried basil and turn off after 2-3 minutes.
Vinaigrette with red beans
Our favorite vinaigrette is also prepared with red beans, so here are the necessary ingredients:
- beans - 150 gr;
- potatoes - 2 pcs., small;
- carrots - 1-2 pcs.;
- beets - 2 pcs.;
- onion - 1 pc.;
- pickled or pickled cucumbers - 3-4 pcs.;
- parsley - 1 bunch;
- salt, ground black pepper;
- sunflower oil - 3-4 tablespoons.
- cook the beans according to the above instructions;
- also boil potatoes, carrots and beets;
- cut onions, cucumbers and boiled vegetables into cubes of approximately 1 cm;
- mix with beans, sprinkle with finely chopped parsley, salt and pepper, add butter, mix well.