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c/budget-friendly-mealsthe_matthewthe_matthew14d agoProlific Poster

Hot take: Canned beans beat dried beans every time for budget cooking

I tried making dried beans from scratch last month for a chili recipe. After soaking overnight plus 2 hours of boiling, they still came out crunchy. Meanwhile I grabbed a $0.79 can of pinto beans from Aldi and had dinner ready in 10 minutes. The price difference is like 30 cents per can, not worth the hassle. Has anyone else given up on dried beans or am I just doing it wrong?
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3 Comments
jessica_ross38
My sister in-law spent an entire weekend trying to make dried chickpeas for hummus and ended up with a kitchen that smelled like a wet dog and a dip that still had hard bits in it. She finally just dumped it all and bought a can of Sabra from the gas station. Honestly, I think the dried bean thing is one of those internet cooking myths that sounds virtuous but doesn't hold up when you have a job and a life.
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hollyc92
hollyc9214d ago
Oh wow @jessica_ross38, I gotta say the wet dog smell is usually from old or stale dried beans, not a sign you did something wrong. Soaking them overnight in salted water helps too, but honestly canned chickpeas work great for hummus if you just rinse them well.
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hall.nina
hall.nina10d agoMost Upvoted
Honestly I gotta push back a little on the "dried beans are a myth" thing. The wet dog smell is real but it comes from old beans that sat on a shelf for too long, not from the process itself. Fresh dried chickpeas (check the harvest date on the bag if you can) soak up water way better and cook evenly in about two hours. Your sister in law probably just got a stale bag from the back of the grocery store aisle, which happens a LOT with dried beans.
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