How to Cook Navy Beans: 12 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow (2024)

FAQs

How long does it take to cook navy beans from scratch? ›

Place soaked beans in a large pot; cover with fresh water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently until beans are tender but firm. Most beans will cook in 45 minutes to 2 hours depending on the variety. Periodically, try a taste test or mash a bean against the side of the pot with a fork or spoon.

You don't have to soak your dried beans overnight.

And the texture of the beans will also be it their best, with fewer split-open and burst ones. But like we said, you don't have to commit this hard. If you're the impatient, bean-hungry type, you can cook your beans from dry without any soaking at all.

Navy: These small white beans have a nutty flavor, and cook more quickly than other white beans. They are the traditional choice for Boston baked beans. Like red kidney beans, they can be easier to digest if you soak and rinse before cooking.

Modern cooking websites often say it doesn't matter. In a way, they're both right. Soaking beans can help improve the texture of the final product once the beans are cooked and reduce the gas produced when the food is being digested. But it isn't necessary to soak them.

If the water level drops below the beans, add more water so the beans are covered at all times. The beans are done cooking when they're all tender; you can test this as they by smooshing a bean or two against the side of the pot with a fork — it should collapse easily, but not be mushy.

Dried beans typically have a moisture content of around 16%. However, as they age, moisture evaporates, giving pectin time to age and harden the skin. These beans can often take much longer to soften while soaking and cooking, up to twice the time!

Place the beans in a large pot and cover with 2 inches of water. Bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Skim any foam off the top, then add 2 teaspoon sea salt and desired aromatics.

Bottom Line. If beans make you uncomfortably gassy, sprinkle a little baking soda into their soaking water. It will reduce the volume of gas produced by the legumes, plus, they will cook quicker. If you're even shorter on time, you may want to try some of our favorite recipes to make with a can of black beans.

Those aromatics in the pot will revolutionize the beans' final flavor. The aromatics I tend to use are onions, carrots, garlic, and celery, and then heartier, woodsy herbs, like rosemary, sage, and thyme, which marry beautifully with the earthy-sweet flavor of beans.

What happens if you soak navy beans too long? ›

Beans should not be soaked for longer than 12 hours.

If you soak the beans for longer than 12 hours, you run the risk of the beans losing both their characteristic flavor and texture. At that point, you'll be dealing with a gritty, tasteless bean that does no one any favors at dinnertime.

Navy beans are a rich source of folate, magnesium, potassium and other nutrients that help in weight loss, trigger metabolism and regulate blood sugars. Both onions and garlic contain good amounts of antioxidants that help in fighting inflammation, reduce triglycerides, LDL cholesterol and improve heart function.

Navy and Great Northern beans are similar in most ways. They have similar flavor profiles, nutritional values, cook times, and cost. The only slight differences are their shape and size. Navy beans are circular, small white beans, while great northern white beans are a bit bigger and more oval-shaped.

Bring the pot to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer. 5. Simmer and season. Simmer your navy beans for between 45 and 90 minutes, checking every 15 minutes or so until they're at your desired tenderness.

Not draining and rinsing them can add viscosity, liquid, and/or flavor to a dish, she says, which isn't always something she wants for a recipe. But Gellman is a bit of an outlier. Most pros answer with, “It depends.” Dana Angelo White, MS, RDN says it has everything to do with what she's making.

The idea behind soaking dried beans is that it makes the beans cook more quickly and evenly. It's also been posited that soaking beans breaks down some of their complex sugars, making them easier to digest. Because every stomach is different, we didn't test for digestibility.

Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and a very gentle simmer. You should barely see the water moving. Leave the lid off for firm beans meant for cold salads and pasta dishes. Cover the pot with the lid slightly ajar for creamier beans for soups, casseroles, and burritos.

Bring cold water to a boil in a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over high heat. Add beans and salt, and return to a simmer; cover. Bake beans in the preheated oven until tender, about 1 hour and 10 minutes, checking after 30 minutes to ensure beans are still covered with water. If necessary, add just enough water to cover.

Just take your favorite beans (pinto, black eyed peas, chickpeas, lima beans) and cover them with your favorite broth or stock or even water seasoned with salt, spices, herbs and other aromatics like onion and garlic, and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours.

Before cooking, all dried beans need to be rehydrated by soaking. The 10- to 12-hour overnight soak is the easy and always effective method, but you can quick-soak beans by bringing them to the boil for one minute, then covering the pan and letting them sit for one hour.

Is it possible to soak navy beans too long? ›

It is possible to soak beans for too long before cooking. Beans should soak for 8 to 10 hours overnight. If they are soaked for longer than 12 hours, they can lose their familiar flavor and become overly mushy.

Although these two beans are very similar to one another, they are each a different variety. The main difference between the two is that white Navy beans are smaller than white Great Northern beans. However, they have similar culinary uses and can easily be substituted for one another.

Rinse the beans and then place them in a pot with three cups of water for each cup of dried beans. Bring to a boil and boil for two to three minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, cover and let stand for one hour. Drain the water, add fresh water and cook.