Slow-Cooker Beans Recipe (2024)

Cannellini beans contain the same toxin as red kidney beans but at lower levels. They also should not be cooked in a slow cooker without first boiling them hard. I found out the hard way.

for a flavorful broth, saute some onions, garlic, and ginger with s&p until translucent. then bloom cumin, a bay leaf, red pepper flakes, thyme, and rosemary. add a bit of tomato paste and cook until brick red. after that, add veg/ chicken broth, s&p and the beans and simmer until soft. midway add chopped carrots if you like. finish with fresh lemon juice, chopped parsley, and a drizzle of olive oil.

You can do this in a low oven too, about 300 or 325 for three or four hours. This low and slow method was something I learned from Vivian Howard’s awesome cookbook. She uses Lima beans but I’ve used all sorts, Great Northern is my favorite. Makes a perfect pot of beans every time.

The note at the end about kidney beans should be a note at the beginning, and it's not just kidney beans--many other kinds of beans REQUIRE boiling in order to avoid SEVERE illness. As another reader said, I found this out the hard way. I almost ended up in the ER. Recipes for beans should make this crystal clear, but they often do not.

I'm making it now with Rancho Gordo Rebosero beans, an onion, celery, carrots, garlic, tomato paste, a can of Rotel tomatoes, and some andouille sausage. I love recipes like this where you can just use what you have on hand. Excited to see how it turns out! It already smells great.

Cook them in chicken stock. It makes a huge difference in flavor.

i don't think i can post links here in the comments, but both Serious Eats (Kenji Lopez-Alt) and Epicurious (Katherine Sacks) have done side-by-side experiments and report that salted beans come out wonderfully tender and creamy. look up "Should I Salt My Bean-Cooking Water?" and "How to Cook Beans: The Epicurious Myth-Busting Guide" if you'd like to read through their results for yourself!i always salt my beans thoroughly while soaking (and cook them in the soak water).

You can cook a bag of dried pinto beans in the Instant Pot to perfect tenderness in 45 minutes.

I too do the 325 oven method, that I learned from the Marie Simmons Fast & Fresh Vegetarian cookbook... i add two sprigs of fresh herbs (whatever I have), 1 bay leaf.... I like to saute some country ham (i know, that part is not in the Marie simmons book), then saute half an onion (sliced or chopped) in the fat, add that to the drained beans that were soaked overnight...three cloves of garlic, crushed... cook for two hours... works with any bean, and I just started ordering rancho gordo..

Great recipe. This makes a great slate for a bean soup.Add a split bulb of fennel and a couple of cloves of garlic. Then a sprinkling of dill or fresh thyme when the cooking is done.

Just echoing Jen: studies have been done showing that salt doesn't affect hardness, though very old beans may have issues softening, and very large beans should pre-soaked. My husband and I eat at least a pound of beans a week, and I always salt my water from the beginning (of any soaking, if I am soaking the beans, or from the beginning of cooking if not) for better flavor. Happy cooking!

Just read Kenji's article this morning! I always salt soaking and cooking water. Per Kenji's testing, it also prevents beans from bursting out of their skins.

Note that if you live at high altitude, dried beans take longer to cook. Do not add canned peppers or tomatoes that contain calcium chloride or anything to "retain firmness," or your beans will also retain firmness. You can add them after your beans soften. I presoak or boil all beans except lentils. Since moving back to 7000 feet, I'm reminded of why.

As to salt, Samin Nosrat declares that the brining and cooking water should 'taste' like the sea'. This is the key to delicious beans.

Replying to Kris Bennett's question... The instruction to soak and boil applies to red kidney beans only, in order to destroy the harmful toxin. You would not boil them until cooked. Rather, you would boil them long enough to destroy the toxin. Google it.

I am shocked they tell you to add salt from the start. In my experience, this is a huge no-no and keeps beans from becoming tender.

Our church for many years served a homemade baked beans called Fazool Beans at the monthly fish fry. Canned great northern beans, undrained, with sauteed onions, carrots, celery, bell peppers, tomato paste, tomato sauce and seasoned with paprika, and mint which works wonderfully in this dish.

I like to cook beans, preferably pre-soaked, in my Instant Pot. It’s quicker and more efficient than my old slow cookers, and it heats up my kitchen even less — which is important, because I have no central AC. I also like my IP for soups, stews, and chilis, and for cooking whole grains.

should they be cooked at simmer the whole 6 hours?

I gave the cannellini beans a hard boil and left themto cook on the low setting for about eight hours. They’re too mushy — does starting off with a hard boil mean it will take less time in the slow cooker? I added a carrot, fennel, shallots, fresh rosemary, garlic, salt, and peppercorns. Cooked in half chicken stock. The taste is superb.

Reading the comments, it's become apparent that (1) it's always necessary to soak and boil dried beans, not just kidney beans, and (2) 10-12 hours is way too much time for cook beans, even in a slow cooker. Why not give us a recipe that accounts for the need to soak and boil, and a realistic cooking time? I'm not very likely to use this recipe after reading these comments.

Useful information about red kidney beans, and the time to cook in a slow cooker.

What canned beans are safe to use in a slow cooker?

Eight to ten hours on low is an *insanely* overlong time to cook beans, even in a (s)low cooker. Mine - mixed beans from Uncle Bob's - were done after about five hours, and even then, they were a bit soft. I'd start checking after four hours, and no way keep them longer than five.

Thanks to the editors and everyone else who posted about the toxins in beans. I didn't know of the dangers until I read this recipe.

I cooked Great Northern white beans for the minimum amount of time on low heat. They didn't hold their shape and were mushy. I won't be using this recipe again.

My mom’s baked beans were legend in 1950s to 1970s Los Angeles. When boiling the beans before baking, she would blow gently on a few beans in a spoon. If the skins pulled back immediately, the. beans were done. Mom, I miss you and still make your baked beans.

I used the recipe as an inspiration for a bolita bean soup. They're historic NM beans, and very much like pintos, but more delicious. I put carrots, celery, onions, garlic, carrot tops, celery leaves, oregano, lemon pepper seasoning, Cholula, chile crisp, apple cider vinegar, a couple cubes of Knorr veg boullion, and black pepper in the soup. When it was almost done, I added halved Sungold tomatoes and garnished with cashew cream. YUMMY!

Kidney beans are not the only beans requiring soaking and boiling first. I speak from a very scary experience, following a recipe using yellow beans and following a slow cooker recipe such as this, following the advice not to boil first. I have never been so sick in my life as I was that evening. I think there are too many misleading slow cooker bean recipes such as this, and when I consulted two cooking professional friends, they both said without hesitation, you always need to boil them first.

Every batch of Rancho Gordo beans that have cooked has taken 6 hours or less. Try Rancho Gordo for wonderful heirloom beans. Believe it or not, I’m just a customer.