Are Dried Beans Worth the Effort?

Any questions on how to cook dried beans? Drop ‘em here and we might do a future video on it!

I only have a very strong opinion that dried beans make a hell of a difference in hummus. The creaminess is unmatched. Canned don’t stand a chance.

That eye mask is positively entomological. And props to you for the integrity to shout out Ethan! His experiment videos like this set the standard for sure.

I love dried beans! My tip is to freeze them. Cook a lot of them once in a while, use in some recipe and then freeze the rest. After heating up (like in a soup or sauce) they taste just as fine as before freezing. It's cheaper and time-saving.

So awesome of you to credit Ethan Chlebowski as your inspiration. Even tho he is not Vegan, I absolutely adore his very educational videos. I am team dried bean however I do stock canned beans in my pantry for those times I may not have cooked dried (and frozen) beans at the ready.

In Brazil we rarely use can beans. We use a pressure cooker to make the process faster. After that, we cook the beans in another pan with garlic and maybe onions. Some people also add other spices, like bay leaf. It's delicious. The combination of rice and beans is one of the most classical ones for us to eat at lunch.

I am not vegan, but have added multiple ingredients to my pantry because of your inspiration. I am now the proud owner of Chili Crisp, Gochujang, and many others I had never heard of before. I also find myself having more meatless meals. I enjoy your videos immensely, and your parents are hilarious! Thanks, Nisha!

Awesome video! I definitely have some thoughts regarding beans because I’ve been processing my own beans in the Instant pot (and with Nisha’s Vegan Instant Pot cook book) for about eight years now. 1- definitely cheaper, than canned beans! A 1 pound bag can give you enough servings for a week. So if you process three types of beans, and you will have three weeks or so of a variety of beans to use that cost you roughly 5 dollars if you get the generic and a little more if you get a higher brand. 2- if you can spare the time, prep a pound in the instant pot, after soaking, except for black beans, and put them in your freezer for later use. Either freeze them in small containers for serving size grabs with the juice or drain them except for black beans, and lay them out on a baking sheet and put into freezer. Watch so that they don’t get freezer burnt and pull out when almost completely frozen so that you can break them up and put them in a silicone bag and back into the freezer for later use. The reason why I say not black beans is because when I do it, the broth is so good that I want to have that accessible for use or for just sipping while I use the black beans. 3- definitely get a well-known brand of beans versus generic if you can. When I process my beans, I start with a bowl of dried beans and I go through them and take out the ones I feel are may be old or really broken or really shriveled, and not very appetizing. Those go into my compost. The better the company the fewer the bad beans. I want to thank Nisha for all of the videos and the cookbook that she has put out! These are all wonderful resources. And the main thing is just have fun processing and using your beans. Adding things like chili powder and kosher salt to your instant pot helps to give the beans a little added character. Love this video and I had to giggle because your blindfold reminded me of the bras that the two boys used in the movie Weird Science! Anywho thanks again! Yeah beans!!

I'm generally going to pick the cheap option over the organic one, but I've noticed a significant difference in flavor and texture of organic dried beans vs other. The smaller organic chickpeas are much yummier to me than the Goya or other brands. Similarly Hanover has the best canned chickpeas IMO!

For me, the amount of garbage is also a factor. When I eat a lot of beans in a week, all those cans just really annoy me and then I prefer dried ones

We grow our own beans and we usually preserve them by drying, so mostly cook from dried, but also like to put fresh beans in the freezer and those are great for a bean soup. We make whole pouches with the beans, carrots, parsley root, kohlrabi, celery and fresh herbs, and then we just throw the whole frozen bag into cold water to cook for a soup, we just add aromatics and either potato or small pasta. Very practical!

I soak beans overnight, and then cook them in an instant pot for 10-15 mins depending on the bean. It’s so easy. Thanks for the informative video!

Hi Nisha! When you do refried beans, you want to add a bit more oil after you mash them as that's the part where you refry them. First fry with original oil, then you mash and add a bit more oil fry the add liquid for desired consistency. - love from Mexico

I really like that you gave credit to another channel who has leveraged this format to great effect. Your take was fantastic as always. And of course the bra blindfold or whatever you called it was a funny touch. ❤

Rancho Gordo needs to sponsor you ASAP (I legit thought they were until you clarified this), and I'd love to see more videos in this format. Been loving your previous taste test style videos too. Understanding how a dish changes based on a single component makes me a much better cook :) So, thank you for that!

I'm sure they will still come out cheaper but I think you should add the cost of energy to cook the dried chickpeas to make a fairer comparison.

I really appreciate you talking about the differences, how noticeable they were (or weren't), and trying a variety of different kinds of recipes. As someone who definitely doesn't always have the time for dried (or the extra funds for specialty beans) it's great to have an idea or when and where it really matters so that I can make informed choices to get the most out of my food and budget!

I got an instant pot entirely because of your channel and book! It has made a huge difference to me when cooking dried beans, I have always preferred them as when I do them myself I don’t have the ‘gas’ issues I get with canned beans but cooking them on the stove meant the house stank and I had to constantly keep an eye on them. Doing them in the instant pot has been revolutionary, not to mention the fact that your Chana masala recipe in it is hands down my families favourite 😋

There was something so refreshing about this video. I laughed way more than I usually do, like when your quesadilla fell off your plate and you almost swore. Also the number or creative names for your blindfolds made my day. The video is still quality with these natural elements mixed in.

Rancho Gordo beans are 100% worth the price. Not only are they still cheaper than almost any other food you get, but because they are so fresh, you do NOT need to soak them overnight. I give them a ten minute hard boil, and then simmer for usually 1-2 hours. Rarely do I need to cook them longer. They are so delicious! I love to use their pinquito beans to make refried beans.