Yes, You Should Rinse and Drain Canned Beans for Your Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Yes, You Should Rinse and Drain Canned Beans for Your Recipes? ›

But if you're someone who needs to watch your sodium intake, it certainly can't hurt to drain and rinse canned beans before using them. Doing so can reduce the sodium by 40%. If you don't want to rinse, consider at least draining them first. Draining alone will “reduce the sodium by a third,” says Reinagel.

Do You Need To Rinse Canned Beans? According to The Bean Institute, you can reduce up to 41 percent of the sodium in canned beans by rinsing them. "It's fine to add the bean liquid to many recipes, but if you want to reduce the amount of sodium, it's best to drain and rinse canned beans," the website states.

Unless the recipe tells you to keep the canned beans in their liquid, you should drain your can and give the beans a good rinse before using. This will improve the flavor and texture of your finished dish. Open your cans of beans using a can opener. There may be sharp edges from opening the can.

But there are still plenty of nutrients left in canned beans after rinsing and draining, including a good amount of fiber. You can make up for small losses of nutrients like potassium and folate by tossing beans on a leafy green salad or adding an extra vegetable to your dish.

Draining and rinsing canned beans can reduce their sodium content by more than 40%. But taking just a few extra minutes is key to getting the most benefit. First, drain beans in a colander for two minutes. Then rinse the beans under cool running water for 10 seconds.

The liquid in good canned beans is just the water and salt the beans were cooked in… filled with delicious bean flavor. And this liquid is a great thickener for not only the specific dish you're making at the moment, but for any dish that could use some thickening, some salt, and some bean flavor.

It's useful. All that starchy liquid will act as a natural thickener for soups, stews, and saucy dishes, making them instantly creamier. It's fast. Skip the draining and rinsing as well as extra thickening agents for a more streamlined experience.

It impacts the flavor of your food: "[Rinsing] gives the bean a cleaner mouthfeel and prevents the gel-like coating from altering the flavors of the surrounding ingredients." This is why you might want to rinse canned beans even if you are making a dish that calls for additional liquid, as tempting as it might be to ...

One popular theory as to why beans cause gas is the soapy liquid you find in canned beans. "When legumes, for example red lentils, are boiled in water, the liquid they are cooking in becomes higher in oligosaccharides.

To cut down on the gassy properties, you can add a little baking soda to your recipe. The baking soda helps break down some of the beans' natural gas-making sugars.

What is the healthiest bean? ›

Officially called aquafaba, the liquid included in cans of beans is typically starchy and salty, though those qualities differ based on the brand of beans. Feel free to dip a spoon or finger in to taste it before using. “It has a viscous body from the fibers of the beans.

Navy and white beans are the most fiber-rich, but all beans are fiber-packed. Any of these is a good choice for your shopping cart: black, garbanzo, kidney, lima, or pinto beans. They make great soups and chilis, and are a flavorful addition to salads.

If you don't want to rinse, consider at least draining them first. Draining alone will “reduce the sodium by a third,” says Reinagel. Bottom line: If you're watching your sodium intake for your health, it won't hurt to drain and rinse your can of beans before using them.

A 2020 experiment published by Cambridge University Press found that rinsing canned vegetables was an effective method for reducing BPA, and could lower exposure to the chemical by nearly three times. 5 Rinsing may help reduce other additives as well, such as sodium or sugar.

However, since canned beans typically come in a super-salty liquid, you'll likely want to drain and rinse your beans before eating them, which will eliminate an average of 41% of the can's sodium content. The reason that beans are safe to eat straight from the can is pretty simple: They're already cooked.

Rinsing beans can improve the flavor and texture of the final dish and can help cut down on how much gas they produce. So, for your culinary success and intestinal comfort, give those canned beans a rinse unless your recipe specifically says not to.

The starchy leftover liquid from canned beans or simmered dried beans can also be used as a substitute for any stock or broth or added to thicken soups, stews and sauces. Freeze extra liquid for later use.

Canned kidney beans are PRE-COOKED and ready to eat out of the can or add to a prepared dish. Raw or undercooked kidney beans do indeed contain a toxin that will make you sick (but won't kill you) but undercooking is only an issue if you prepare the beans from dry.

The 3 Factors That Lead to Foam

The source of the foam that forms, whether as you rinse canned beans or cook dried ones, is threefold: starch, protein, and saponins.