Canned beans to dried beans, my $4 dinner got even cheaper

Tbh I used to just grab cans at the store, but last month I tried a bag of dried pintos and it's like 3 bucks for 4 meals instead of 4 bucks for 2. Now I soak them overnight in my thermos and they cook up fine in my slow cooker. Anyone else make the switch and got tips for keeping them from getting mushy?

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jessica8411mo ago

Soaking overnight in a thermos is smart, but the mushy thing usually comes down to two things: old beans and cooking them too long with too much heat. How old was the bag you bought? Beans that have been sitting on the shelf for a year or more will never soften right no matter what you do, and if they're fresh they can go from firm to mush in like 30 minutes in a slow cooker on high. Try cooking on low and start checking them at the 3 hour mark instead of just walking away. Also skip the salt until the end, salt early can keep the skins tough but a lot of people add acid like tomatoes or vinegar too soon and that's what really turns them to paste.

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