Beans in soup

nata100

I want to make vegetable soup with beans in my slow cooker. I was wondering if you soak the beans before of if it doesn't matter because they are going to be cooking in a slow cooker.

Lizzym911

i never do

girlnamedlee

I would, just in case. I make chili in the slow cooker once & did the quick soak listed on the back of the bag. The beans stayed gritty & hard no matter what I did. It was a waste.

cmriverside

No, a crockpot cooker will do its thing with the beans and will work fine, but the vegetables will be overcooked if you cook them for several hours in a crockpot, won't they? I always add the vegetables in the last hour.

To cook dry beans, all you do is simmer them for two hours, which is exactly what the crockpot is doing. I do it all the time.

Espressocycle

One of my slow cookers doesn't get hot enough to cook beans at all. The other one does, but everything is mush by then. I cook my beans in a pressure cooker. Actually, I never use my slow cooker anymore - what takes two hours on the stove and 8 hours in the slow cooker takes 30 minutes in the pressure cooker.

Angie__1MR

I did this the other day...pre-soaked my beans, and they turned out to be mush.

lax75

It helps if you don't put any salt in at the beginning - my bean cookbooks both say that the salt will slow down the beans' cooking process, for some reason.

Onesnap

If it is cooking for 8 hours on low you do not need to soak first.

If you do soak overnight that is for soup cooked on the stovetop not slow cooker.

Soaking beans first means mushy crockpot meal.

Molly_Maguire

I soak them overnight, just to shorten the cooking time. Never had a problem with them being mushy.

StinkyWinkies

I don't soak beans when using my crock-pot, only stove top (then not always, depends) However, as others' have written, I wouldn't add other veggies until the beans are done...I've found beans freeze well, so I make up a full pot then freeze in 2-3 serving containers then use as needed.

Drussander

I always soak mine overnight. Especially the 15 bean type stuff. I think it cooks much better when you soak them. Your lentils and peas will mush regardless, but the kidneys, black, blackeyed, etc. will be fine.

Espressocycle

Oh, also, make sure your beans are fresh. When I buy beans at my local supermarket, they never cook. It's probably because they have been sitting on the shelf for years because that supermarket is patronized mainly by people who fill their carts with chips. When I buy the same brand of the same bean at a store with a lot of Latino shoppers, the beans cook up fine, because the store turns over so many bags of beans they are often out of the ones I want.

nata100

Thanks everyone for your advice. I still don't know what I'm gonna do.... lolllll

lisabinco

Oh, also, make sure your beans are fresh. When I buy beans at my local supermarket, they never cook. It's probably because they have been sitting on the shelf for years because that supermarket is patronized mainly by people who fill their carts with chips. When I buy the same brand of the same bean at a store with a lot of Latino shoppers, the beans cook up fine, because the store turns over so many bags of beans they are often out of the ones I want.

Hmmm, this is a good tip. I was wondering why one bag of beans I purchased at the little local supermarket took forever to cook properly (and even after many hours there were still some crunchies in there); whereas most times the beans cook just fine. So I will look around for a market with a bigger clientele, assuming faster turn-over of product. Thanks!

SouthernArt77

I cook beans in the crockpot all the time (have a batch of black beans going right now), and I always soak them overnight first. The pintos or black beans I've cooked have never been mushy - even after cooking 10+ hours. Great northern beans are another story, but I really don't mind them that way. Lentils will turn to mush as well - I never soak those. I guess it depends on what kind of beans you're cooking!