Money-Saving Tip- Cook Your Own Beans!

Looking for ways to save money on organic food?  One suggestion I have for you is to cook your own beans, rather than buying them in a can.  I did some geeking out on the price and calculated that buying beans in a can costs 4x as much as cooking them yourself!

Follow the instructions below to cook any kind of beans- navy, black, pinto, etc.  It's simple and mostly hands-off!

How To Cook Dried Beans

The night before, place 3 cups beans (any kind) in a large bowl.

Cover with about 8 cups of water.  Let them soak overnight.

The next morning, drain the beans, place in a large stock pot and cover with about 6 cups fresh water.  Cover with a lid.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cook until tender, about 3-4 hours.

After cooking, drain the beans and let them sit out until they are completely cool and somewhat dry (this will keep them from sticking together when frozen).

Place in a gallon size ziploc bag and freeze. 

If they do stick together in the freezer, you can drop the bag on the floor and they will break up.  That way you can take out exactly the amount you need.

To substitute for a 15 oz. can of beans, use 1 1/2 cups of your home-cooked beans.

Now here is the cost breakdown:
I cooked up 1 lb 4 oz black beans. 
Organic dried black beans at The Co-op are $1.79 per lb. 
Therefore 1 lb 4 oz of beans cost $2.24 and yielded 7 cups of beans, which is the equivalent of over 4 cans of beans.
Figuring a can of organic black beans costs around $2, and our homemade equivalent costs 48 cents, that means home-cooked beans cost 1/4 the price of canned!