Crock Pot Beans

We like to use beans in soups, chili, tacos, and as a side.  Canned beans aren't the worst way to spend your grocery money, but here is a way to stretch your pennies a little further.  You can cook dry beans in your crock pot at home to save a little cash.

I've had really bad luck soaking and cooking beans on the stove, so when I found out that I could cook them in the crock pot I was pretty excited.

First, rinse the beans and put them in your crock pot.  I used a 2 lb bag of beans.

Add water to cover the beans.  You will need at least 2-3 times as much water as beans.

Now set your crock pot to low and let them cook for 10-12 hours.  Seriously, it is that easy!  I checked on mine every few hours to make sure they had enough water and I did have to add a few more cups of water around hour 6.

Here they are, all finished!  I put mine into containers and froze them for making soup later.  2 pounds of dry beans yielded about 6 pounds of cooked beans.

At my local grocery store, canned beans are $0.75 for a 15.5oz can, and dry beans are $1.69/lb.  So you can save about $0.20 per can by cooking the beans yourself.  It is a simple way to stretch your grocery budget a little further.

Stay tuned for one of my favorite recipes using beans - a delicious soup!