Dried Bean Help

I prefer my beans cooked on the stove, rather than in a slow cooker. Soak overnight, discard the soaking water (to reduce gas), then cook with fresh water (different beans have different cooking times). Never add salt or acid (tomatoes, vinegar, etc.) until the end. They make beans tough.

Lentils & split peas need no soaking.

If you really hate dry beans, it's cheaper in the long run to keep buying canned (maybe generic?) and trim your budget elsewhere.

I always make my beans from dry. The most important step is soaking them overnight. Not just a few hours and I don't do the "Quick Soak" method, either. I soak them for at least 8 hours and try for about 10. Then, I rinse them and put them in my crock pot and cook on low. Length of time depends on the bean type. Great Northerns and Kidneys take about 7 hours, whereas Black and Pintos take about 5.

Don't give up just yet! Here's a wonderful website to help you:

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Vegetables/driedbeantip.htm

I like making Falafels from dried Chick Peas. I make a mean Spanish rice with dried pigeon peas. I make decent Black Bean Burgers from dried Black beans. I'm just saying that it can be done just:

1. Soak beans for 8 hours, I prefer 24 hours
2. Boil Beans until they are really soft (it sounds like your beans are a bit undercooked). Do not shy away from taste testing them.

living in New Mexico, pinto beans are pretty much a staple. If your beans are "crunchy" then you're not cooking them long enough. You should soak them overnight and I cook mine for about 10 hrs on low in the crock pot. You also need to make sure you have enough liquid in there. I pretty much make beans every weekend for the following week. I soak them all day on Friday while I'm at work and cook them overnight in the crock pot.

I make charro beans...so I throw in my beans along with chopped tomatoes, onion, garlic and bell pepper and usually some cilantro as well. For add'l flavor I often cook with chicken stock...if not and I'm just using water I usually throw in a pigs foot for flavor.

If you're just throwing some beans in some water and cooking them, they're going to be pretty bland...at minimum you're going to need add a good amount of salt.

Wow, these are all great ideas! My addition is that a pressure cooker is magic for cooking beans,and they are not expensive. I refused to bother with chickpeas for about 10 years after some disastrous efforts of trying to cook them years ago, but tried them recently in the pressure cooker and am now willing to add them into my regular rotation.

You can make a big batch of beans and freeze what you won't be using right away. It takes a time or two to get over the fear of blowing up the kitchen, but be calm and trust it. And hide in the next room until you hear the lid lock.

I make dried beans in my electronic pressure cooker. I just wash the beans fairly well and then put them in the pressure cooker at a 3 to 1 ratio of water to beans by volume and some salt. 30 minutes at high pressure and they are good to go. If I want them firm I do a quick pressure release after the 30 minutes is up. If I want them softer I let the high pressure cycle finish naturally, which takes another 30 minutes. No need to pre-soak the beans with this method.

another vote for the pressure cooker, but you don't need one. Just follow the procedures everyone has already posted, soak, no salt til almost done. Use herbs/garlic/veggies to flavor them.

The reason canned beans seem to taste better is the added salt. I dont' like the texture of canned beans, they are mealy and soggy compared to properly cooked ones you make yourself.

I cook a lot of beans from dried. I've done it in a crock pot a couple times but prefer stovetop. I'll soak them overnight if I remember/have time but I often cook without soaking and they turn out fine.
If I'm cooking them plain to use in a recipe I just put the beans in a pot with enough water to cover the beans by an inch or so, bring to a boil with bay leaf, S&P, garlic, add dried peppers or flakes for spicy beans. Simmer with lid ajar for a couple hours until at the preferred texture, stir occasionally and make sure there is always enough water to cover. Drain when done.
If I make a pot of beans to eat as a meal I sautee onion, peppers and garlic. Add spices and a bit of smoked meat if I have it. I simmer that for 2-3 hours and use less water because I don't want to drain off all that flavorful broth. Take the lid off about 30 minutes before the beans are done so I can cook off some of the liquid if needed.
I have once or twice tried to make beans that never softened up and cooked well, I think they were just too old.
Lentils are easier and faster than beans, so stick with that for a bit if the beans are giving you problems.

I make lots of dried beans. Overnight soak in salt water (salt helps water enter the membrane of the bean, saw it on America's Test Kitchen). Then you just have to cook as long as it takes. Be sure to use fresh beans as stale ones either take forever to cook or don't cook at all. Good luck! I always add a lot of garlic and onion no matter what kind of dish I'm making, beans do need some help

I agree with the poster who cooked with chicken stock instead of water. That right there will make a world of difference.