You Don’t Need to Soak Dried Beans—In Fact, You Should Skip It

My family is from the South—specifically Alabama. Growing up, beans were a regular part of our meals, almost every day. My grandmother, who didn’t own a microwave until her 80s, made everything from scratch. She never used canned beans; she’d buy them dried, pick through them, soak them for hours, and then stew them. That’s the way I was taught to cook beans. So when I started cooking for myself, I assumed that preparing dried beans was just too time-consuming. I didn’t have the luxury of hours to soak beans and then cook them for even longer. But then I learned something incredible: You can skip the soaking process altogether—and actually, you should. Not only does it cut down on cooking time, but it also results in beans with better flavor.

Why Soak Beans in the First Place?

Soaking dried beans helps reduce the cooking time because it breaks down the tough starches and fibers inside them. This is helpful if you can remember to soak the beans overnight and let them sit in water while you sleep. But there are a couple of downsides to this method:

1. You might forget to soak your beans.
2. The beans end up soaking in plain water, which means they absorb no additional flavor.

Why You Should Skip Soaking Dried Beans

If you forgot to soak your beans overnight, don’t worry—just skip that step! Instead of soaking them in bland water, cook your beans in a rich, flavorful broth for a bit longer, and you’ll have perfectly cooked beans with far better flavor.

Take these Mexican-Style Pinto Beans as an example. Sure, you could soak them overnight in plain water and cook them with spices and aromatics for 3 hours. But you could also skip the 8 to 12-hour soak, cook them for 4 hours with all those seasonings, and ensure every drop of liquid the beans soak up is bursting with flavor, making them way tastier.

How to Cook Dried Beans Without Soaking First

Use this method for any recipe that calls for dried beans. Simply take your favorite beans (pinto, black-eyed peas, chickpeas, lima beans) and cover them with broth, stock, or even water seasoned with salt, spices, herbs, and aromatics like garlic and onion. Then cook on low for 3 to 4 hours. The time it takes to cook the beans in a flavorful liquid is nothing compared to waiting 12 hours for them to soak.