Can You Freeze Cooked Beans? Easy Step-by-Step Guide to Cooking and Freezing Dried Beans
Have you ever wondered, “can you freeze beans?” With this simple guide to cooking and freezing dried beans you will save money, control ingredients, and keep your kitchen stocked with a delicious, nutritious staple. Learn the secrets of successful meal prepping and freezer-proofing your beans so you can enjoy homemade meals with beans whenever you’d like. Includes information on soaking, different methods of cooking, and tips for success.
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We use beans a lot in our family real food menus – in soups, on salads, and for delicious dips like no tahini needed hummus and dried tomato and white bean dip.
And while canned beans are super convenient, dry beans that have been cooked and frozen for long term storage are a healthy, cheap substitute that can be used no matter what the season, making them one of the truly versatile ingredients in any whole food pantry.
I’ve got the easy steps for you below to freezing cooked beans, but first let’s answer some questions you may be thinking about – do you soak first, is it okay to freeze dry beans, and does it really save money?
To soak or not to soak?
I used to use only canned beans – they still seemed pretty cheap to me and I would never remember to soak dry beans when I did buy them. (Um, but take a look below and you’ll see it’s significantly cheaper to buy dry beans!)
Which is why it was a revelation when I read somewhere that you didn’t have to soak them. Yes…I really did just write that – will the bean police track me down? (Apparently they did in the comments, lol.)
There are two reasons people advocate soaking beans:
1. Reduces the amount of time it takes for the beans to cook. I did some experimenting to see the cooking difference between soaked and unsoaked beans:
- First I just threw some dry beans in a pot with water and they cooked in about 1 hour and 15 min.
- Then I soaked some beans before cooking and they were done in about an hour.
The unsoaked beans didn’t take that much longer – just about 15 minutes. I have read that some have reported more time savings, but my test just didn’t prove much to me. (Texture has also been mentioned – again, not a big enough deal for me as we don’t notice it.)
2. To reduce phytates, lectins, or sugars/complex starches (oligosaccharides) that cause digestion issues. There are many differing views on this and in the end you have to do what is best for you and your family.
- This article addresses lectins, specifically saying that “cooking beans to the point where they are considered edible is more than sufficient to destroy virtually all lectin activity.”
- This Harvard report talks about “anti-nutrients” like phytates (even though there are nutritional benefits to them as well), mentioning that cooking as well as soaking and sprouting is one way to decrease them, but “Because of the potential health benefits of phytic acid, if your diet contains a variety of plant-based and lean animal foods, you don’t have to worry about how much you are eating. Only those already at risk for nutrient deficiencies of the minerals mentioned or those who eat only plant foods such as vegans may need to consider reducing phytic acid in the diet.”
- Digestion: Cooking the beans removes some of the starches that cause intestinal discomfort so I always drain the beans before using them. We don’t ingest the initial cooking water which we’ve found can cause the bloating and gas people associate with beans. We learned this the hard way by following a recipe that called for adding uncooked dried beans along with all the ingredients and then just cooking and eating. (I’ve seen this in many slow cooker and Instant Pot recipes – be wary of those!)
I’ve also wondered if the time spent freezing acts like further soaking since we haven’t noticed any difference between soaked overnight and not in frozen beans. (However, if I plan to use beans the same day, I will often do a quick soak and always drain the initial water before proceeding with the recipe.)
Bottom Line: I advise NOT to ingest the initial water, whether it’s from soaking or cooking, in order to avoid digestion issues and to lessen the amount of phytotoxins, lectins, or whatever.
Okay, so with the “I didn’t remember to soak them” excuse out of the way, how could I have the convenience of beans in a ready-to-use form like cans without actually having to pressure-can all our beans? (I like simple, and that’s not simple to me, though I do get the shelf stable convenience of it.)
Since I freeze so much of our garden produce, I decided to experiment with freezing cooked dried beans. Would they turn out mushy or keep their shape to easily use in all recipes, including salads like my favorite chopped salad?
Can You Freeze Beans?
I tested a few containers of cooked the beans, putting the drained beans in different sized freezer containers (usually trying to equal a store bought can for recipes), along with fresh, cold water before freezing.
And it worked!
The beans were fresh and easy to use in whatever recipe I was making. I did need to remember to defrost them, but there are ways to hurry that along, unlike the cooking process (see more on thawing options below).
Are dry beans really cheaper than canned?
Okay, I found a way to have dried beans conveniently ready when I needed them, but was I really saving money?
I calculated the savings after making enough containers to equal eighteen standard size 15oz. cans of beans (about one and a half cups of beans) and found (updated to reflect current prices):
- The store brand beans were are between .90 cents to $1.18 a can, making the 18 frozen “cans” worth $18.00 (when using $1 per can, an amount between the going cost).
- 2.22 pounds of Great Northern beans at .93/pound is $2.06 and 2.56 pounds of Garbanzo beans at .83/pound is $2.12.
- This made my total cost $4.18, or about .23 per can. So my savings was $13.82 which is actually MORE than when I first published this comparison in 2018 (then it was just over $7). It’s good to know there are still ways to save on groceries!
Note: I shopped at a store that has bins of bulk foods (WinCo where I live) to get dry beans at under $1 per pound. If you buy a pound bag at a typical grocery store, it will be about $2 per pound (just another reason to take the time to bag your own things sometimes!).
That’s a pretty significant savings. And it took only about 10 minutes of hands-on time, making it a great return for the money, right?
However, I’ve found that saving money is only part of the equation.
I also like the fact that I can control the ingredients (organic beans, no salt, or add seasonings if I like) and there is a wider variety of dried beans available than canned.
Many canned beans add calcium chloride to firm the beans and calcium disodium EDTA to retain color. Any time I can make our food cleaner (in addition to cheaper) with not too much time on my part is a win-win.
How to Cook and Freeze Dry Beans: Step-by-Step
Step 1: Cook beans. Put the amount of dried beans you want in a stock pot (soaked or not, your choice). Cover with water using a ratio of 1 cup of beans to 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower heat to keep beans at a simmer for about 1 hour. Do a taste test to see if they are done to your liking, they should be soft enough to eat, but relatively firm – don’t let them get too soft or they will fall apart.
Step 2: Drain beans. Drain beans in a colander and rinse well with cold water (this cools them faster).
Note: Interested in cooking your beans in an Instant Pot or slow cooker? Check out the FAQs section after the recipe card!
TIP: Bean-to-water ratio example: If you’re cooking 2 cups of beans, which is about 1 pound of beans, you’ll need 6 cups of water (1 pound will equal about 4-5 cans of beans).
Step 3: Portion into containers. Divide the rinsed beans into freezer containers, leaving 1.5 to 2-inch head space.
Step 4: Add water. Fill with cold, fresh water to just above the beans. There should still be 1.5 to 2-inch space between beans/water and top of container to allow for expansion in the freezer.
Step 5: Freeze. Seal and label the containers with the date and type of bean. A piece of masking tape and a permanent marker have work perfectly for me for many years. Place in the freezer to store 3-6 months.
Defrost before using in any recipe that calls for canned beans (1.5 cups = one 15oz. can)
What containers to use + glass breakage
When I first published this guide in 2009, all the photos showed frozen beans in square plastic freezer containers – the kind sold as that with blue lids. With our knowledge of microplastics leaching into our food, I no longer store anything like this long term in plastic, especially if the food is still warm when added to the container, like these beans.
I mainly use glass jars, like I show in these updated photos. I use mason canning jars with storage lids and sometimes reusing jars from store bought foods. Whenever I share this I’m always asked about breakage.
Interestingly, I’ve never had pint size and smaller jars crack but I do occasionally get quart jars (that I use for tomato sauce and broths mainly) that crack in the freezer. Maybe 1 a year on average? (Some years 2 and others 0.) It’s definitely worth it to me (I simply thaw a cracked jar a bowl and pull out the pieces if needed – there are usually no shards, just one big crack).
And that’s been my experience with beans, too – I DO NOT recommend using quart size mason jars, only pint size or half-pints. Even using wide mouth and leaving a 2-inch headspace, all the quart jars I’ve tried have cracked with beans – all of them. Which is NOT my experience with broth and tomato sauce. I think it’s because beans expand out as well as up? Not sure – just a theory.
Here are links to some of the containers I recommend for freezing beans:
- Wide mouth pint mason canning jars with plastic storage lids. You can use the 2-piece metal lids and bands, they just tend to rust and aren’t as easy to use or remove when frozen.
- 16-ounce jars with screw-top lids. These would be good for beans as they’d equal the 15-oz jars after leaving space for expansion.
- Set of 6 flatter glass freezer containers, 3 round and 3 rectangle.
- Set of 8 glass freezer containers, 4 square and 4 rectangle.
What about the plastic lids? Yes, these all have plastic lids (except for the 2-piece canning lids) but I just make sure to not fill them full enough that the food touches the lid – and we need to leave at least 2-inches for expansion when freezing anyway. I do recommend either screw-on lids or the side-locking lid style as they seem to last longer than the push-type plastic lids.
What about bamboo lids? I’ve found the bamboo/wood lids are good for some things but those lids tend to pop off ALL THE TIME. Especially if you fill with warm food. So I wouldn’t trust them in long-term freezer storage.
Storage & Thawing
Cooked beans will keep in the freezer 3-6 months before their flavor and texture begin to deteriorate (though I’ve not found 7 month frozen beans to be that different from month 4…).
To Thaw: It’s best to thaw your container of beans overnight in the refrigerator as slow thawing seems to help maintain their shape. You can also thaw for several hours at room temperature or for about an hour in a pan of warm water. If you freeze in glass containers you can also microwave for 4 minutes or until the ice melts after removing the lid.
I hope you love this guide to freezing dried beans – if you make it, be sure to leave a recipe rating so I know how you liked it!
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Guide to Cooking and Freezing Dried Beans
Equipment
- Large Stockpot
- 16-ounce or 8-ounce freezer containers (glass containers preferred)
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried beans, any kind*
- 6 cups water
Instructions
- Put the amount of dried beans you want in a stock pot (soaked or not, your choice). Cover with water using a ratio of 1 cup of beans to 3 cups of water. (So for 1 pound of beans you'd need 6 cups of water).
- Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower heat to keep beans at a simmer for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Do a taste test to see if they are done to your liking, they should be soft enough to eat, but relatively firm – don't let them get too soft or they will fall apart after freezing.
- Drain beans in a colander and rinse well with cold water (this cools them faster).
- Divide into freezer containers, leaving 1½ to 2-inches of head space to allow for freezer expansion.
- Fill with cold, fresh water to just above the beans. There should still be a 1½-2-inch space between beans/water and the top of container.
- Seal and label with the date and type of bean (a piece of masking tape and a permanent marker work fine).
- Place in the freezer and store for 6-8 months.
- Defrost before using in any recipe that calls for canned beans (about 1½ cups = a 15oz. can).
Notes
Nutrition
Recipes to Use Your Frozen Dried Beans
- Chipotle Spice Rubbed Grilled Chicken Salad with Guacamole, Corn & Black Beans
- Spiced Lemon Skillet Chicken with Kale & Beans
- Harvest Vegetable Ham Bone Soup (Crockpot, Instant Pot, or Stovetop)
- Slow Cooker Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup (or Instant Pot!)
- Sausage-Bean Soup with Spinach & Tomatoes
- Homemade Hummus Made With Sesame Seeds (aka, Homemade Tahini)
- White Bean-Dried Tomato Dip
FAQs
I did a test and found that the water helped protect the top beans from splitting and freezer burn. I also think it helps keep them soft with a better texture, especially since canned beans have liquid and that’s the type of product I was after.
I’ve had some commenters tell me that their beans are okay without the water – experiment to see what you like best.
Yes! Here’s a link to a recipe that lists the different times needed to cook 1 pound of a variety of beans.
Yes! You can cook up to 2 pounds at a time in a 5-quart or larger slow cooker. Simply cover the beans with water by 2-inches and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours. Begin checking the beans after 5 hours and then every 30 minutes until they are cooked to your liking – tender but still a bit firm for freezing.
Yes – soak in a covered jar overnight in a dark place, then rinse and drain 2-3 times a day until you see tiny signs of germination, no need to fully sprout them, about 2-3 days. Then cook and freeze them.
Here’s a great tip from a reader: Always taste several beans (2-4) from different parts of the pot because beans do not cook evenly.
Yes, of course! Just use the broth as you would the water. (Hopefully you soaked your beans before cooking in the broth so you can use it without digestive issues…)
This guide was originally published in the first year of the site, 2009 and has been updated in 2018, 2022, and 2025.
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