Frugal Friday - Easy Crockpot Beans From Scratch

We love eating beans!  They are nutritious, delicious and cheap.  But that is only true if you cook your own beans.  The store bought canned  beans are expensive and not nearly as nutritious or delicious.  I'm pretty baffled about why more people do not cook their own beans because it's easy but it intimidates the best of cooks.

If you have a crockpot you are golden!  It's possible to cook beans easily without a crockpot but with one is the easiest way I have found.  I make at least two pots a week and we always have beans available to eat in the fridge.  So easy to make burritos, beans on toast, beans and rice or a quick pot of chili if they are ready to go.  My all time favorite way to eat them is folded in a corn tortilla with some rice and cheese and fried until the tortilla is crispy.  

Here's my easy, fast and cheap way to make a great pot of beans.

1.  The night before measure out the amount of beans (any type)  you want to cook.  I cook three cups at a time.  Sort the beans by picking out any stones or deformed beans.  Most bags of beans today are very clean without stones but if you are picking up commodity beans it may be a different story.

Sorting Beans

2.  Rinse the beans in a colander and put in a large bowl.  Cover beans with water, making sure you have twice the amount of water to beans because they will swell up.  I like to add a splash of apple cider vinegar in there.  Soaking your beans overnight helps them to become easier to digest (less gas for you), more nutritious and faster to cook.  If you forget this step you can still cook them.

Soaking beans with a splash of ACV

3.  The next morning, I drain off the water and place the beans in the crockpot.  I cover with fresh water and add my spices.  I typically use 1 1/2 tbsp of salt, 1 tbsp pepper, 1 tbsp chili powder or cumin, onion and garlic (fresh or powder).  .  We do like it spicy so make sure you season according to your taste.  I set my crockpot on high and let it rip along all day.

In the crockpot with onions, garlic, salt, pepper and chili powder.

By dinner time I know I will have beans ready.  This pot will last us 3-4 days but if not eaten I will freeze the leftovers or feed to the chickens.  Tonight we will have these beans on toast with some fried eggs, cheddar cheese and hot sauce.  

Beans are ready to eat or use in recipes.

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A lovely pot of pintos and black beans ready for the week.  Whole foods cooked straight from my food storage.