Cooking Dried Legumes for Gut Friendly Meal Prep
Beans are infamous for causing flatulence and bloating, even in the healthiest guts. Try this process for cooking dried legumes for meal prep. It makes them easier on the digestive system so everyone can enjoy the nutritional benefits without clearing the room.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Soaking: 10 hours
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 11 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 6 cups 1x
- Category: Legumes
- Method: cooktop + pressure
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried legal SCD legumes 16-oz bag (lentils, split peas – stovetop only, lima beans, Navy beans, red kidney beans, black beans)
- 8 cups water for soaking
- 12 cups of water for boiling
- 2 cups additional water for simmering
- 1 Tablespoon salt for cooking, optional; see note*
Instructions
- Prepare the Legumes. Wash the beans or legumes under water in a colander or mesh strainer, then pick them over to remove pebbles.
- Soak Legumes. Place them in a medium to large stock pot and cover them with 8 cups of cold water. Soak for 10 – 12 hours at room temperature to remove undigestible sugars. Don’t oversoak—more is not better. Once the enzyme inhibitors are sufficiently deactivated, oversoaking can cause changes in the legumes’ molecular structure, making them harder to digest.
- 3A) Stovetop Rapid Boil. Discard soaking water by pouring contents through a strainer. Rinse the legumes thoroughly under running water. Place legumes back into the stock pot and cover with 10 – 12 cups of water. Place on medium/high heat and boil uncovered for 10 – 20 minutes – see chart in the recipe post for the specific legume time of 1st cook rapid boil. Skim and discard the foam on the surface while boiling. Boil for longer if foam continues to form. Do not reduce the time on the rapid boil.
3B) Instant Pot Rapid Boil Saute. Discard the soaking water by pouring its contents through a strainer. Rinse the legumes thoroughly under running water. Place the legumes into the inner pot of the pressure cooker and fill with 10 – 12 cups of water. Do not go past the halfway mark inside the Instant Pot. Place on the saute setting and boil uncovered for 15 minutes. Skim and discard the foam on the surface. Boil for longer if foam continues to form. Do not reduce the time on the rapid boil. - 4A) Stovetop Simmer. Reduce heat and add 2 more cups of water to the pot. Simmer on low heat with the lid partway tilted for 15 – 75 minutes, depending on the time noted on the chart in the recipe post for the specific bean.
4B) Instant Pot Pressure Cook. Hit cancel to stop the rapid boil, lock the pressure cooker lid, and set the valve to high-pressure mode. Pressure cook for 7 – 25 minutes, depending on the chart direction for the specific legume. After pressure cooking, turn off the cooker and wait 10 minutes to allow the steam to release naturally. Carefully remove the lid, allowing the steam to escape. - Add legumes to recipes. The legumes are ready to be seasoned and eaten or added to recipes. Add the beans during the last 15 – 30 minutes of the recipe so they will take on the dish’s flavors. Adjust the salt if your beans are salt-free.
- Store Legumes. If you made extra for meal prep, cool legumes and measure 1.5 cups into lidded containers or freezer storage bags. Place in containers and refrigerate or freeze within an hour to avoid food contamination. This quantity will substitute for one 14 -15-oz can, which is perfect for recipes. Remove the container from the freezer the night before or defrost it on the day of by soaking it in hot water. Another freezer option is to lay cooked beans flat on a baking tray with sides and place them flat in the freezer. Then, after a few hours, take the tray out and scoop the beans into a lidded freezer container or zip-lock bag. This process makes the beans “loose,” like frozen peas/sweetcorn, rather than stuck together in a big chunk. Beans are fresh for four days in the refrigerator or three months in the freezer.
Notes
* According to the BTVC bean recipe in the Gourmet section – do not add salt before boiling, or the beans will not become tender. Adding salt while cooking may make the skin tough and, consequently, harder to digest. Add salt after cooking.
Nutritional information is based on Navy beans.
Beans should collapse under gentle pressure between the finger and thumb.
Instant Pot – If the beans are too firm after pressure cooking, saute for a few more minutes and add water as necessary.
Instant pot: Cooking without a lid and skimming the foam during the first cook on the pressure cooker reduces the frothing, which is helpful in the 2nd cook using the pressure lid.
Cooked, drained, and pureed Navy beans make a good thickener for gravy, soup, and sauces or an extender for baked goods that use expensive nut flours.
