Beans and grains are a necessary and nutritious part of our diet. We've created a guide to soaking and cooking times for most of the beans and grains sold at Commonsense. You can find the printed version in store - stick it to your fridge for easy reference!
It is generally important to soak beans for a period of time to help remove the natural complex sugars that are indigestible to humans (and can cause flatulence!). For this reason you should also never cook the beans in the water they have been soaking in.
Grains don’t generally require soaking prior to cooking but doing so starts the sprouting process, helping to break down the starch and protein into compounds that are easier to digest, thereby providing more nutritional value. Grains may be cooked in the water they have been soaking in as it is rich in nutrients.
COOKING BEANS
Generally all beans, except for black-eyed beans, split peas and lentils, need to be soaked overnight in plenty of water before cooking. However, this process can be sped up by bringing beans to the boil for 2-3 mins then taking off the heat and leaving for 2-3 hours.
| 1 cup of dried... | water (cups) |
cooking time |
yield (cups) |
|
| Adzuki beans | 3.5 | 45-60m | 3 | |
| Black-eyed beans | 3 | 1-1.5h | 2 | |
|
Broad beans (fava beans) |
4 | 1-1.5h | 2 | |
|
Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) |
|
4 4 4 4 |
1-1.5h 2h 2h 2h |
2 2 2 2 |
|
Kidney beans (including |
3 | 1-1.5h | 2 | |
|
|
- whole - split |
3 3 |
45-60m 20-30m |
2.25 2.25 |
| Lima beans | - large - baby |
2 2 |
1.5-2h 1-1.5h |
2 1.75 |
| Mung beans | 3 | 45-60m | 2 | |
| Dried peas |
- whole - split |
3.5 4 |
1-1.5h 45-60m |
2.25 2.25 |
Soya beans (24 hour soak required) |
- whole - flakes |
4 2 |
3-4h 15m |
2 2 |
| Soup mix | 4 | 1-2h | 3 |
COOKING GRAINS
Most grains don’t need prior soaking, however large whole grains (such as Kamut, Rye and Spelt/Dinkel) can be soaked overnight to reduce cooking time. If you intend to use this method then reduce cooking time by approximately half.
| 1 cup of... | Water (cups) |
Cooking time (hours/minutes) |
Yield |
|
| Amaranth | whole | 2.5 | 20-25m | 2.5 |
| Barley | whole pearled flakes |
3 2.5 3 |
1.45h 45-60m 45-60m |
3.5 3.5 3.5 |
| Buckwheat | groats/kasha semolina flakes |
3 3 2.5 |
20-25m 5-10m 20m |
3 3 2.5 |
| Corn | cornmeal polenta |
3-4 5 |
15m 35-40m |
3.25 3 |
| Kamut | berries flakes |
3 3 |
1-1.5h 2h |
3 3 |
| Millet | hulled flakes |
2.5 3 |
30m 15m |
4 4 |
| Oats | whole rolled |
3.5 2 |
45-60m 5-10m |
3 1.75 |
| Quinoa | whole flakes |
2 2 |
15m 5-10m |
3 3 |
| Rice |
brown |
2.5 2 3.5 |
25-45m 15-20m 45-60m |
3 3 3 |
| Rye |
whole |
3.5 3 |
2h 30m |
2.5 2.5 2.5 |
| Spelt/Dinkel | whole flakes |
3 3 |
1.5-2h 20m |
3 |
| Wheat *steep in boiling water |
whole bulghur* couscous* semolina flakes |
3 2 1 2.5 3 |
1.5h 15-20m 5m 3m 20m |
2.5 2.5 2 2.5 3 |
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