Soaking and sprouting beans can improve their nutritional value, so it is worth the time and effort to do so. However, the technique can vary based on the season. An overnight soak might be sufficient in warmer months to encourage beans to sprout, but it might take a two-step process and a few days longer in the cooler months.
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Table of Contents
Why Sprout Beans?
We go to the trouble to soak and sprout beans to make them easier to digest, but there is another reason too. Beans, like grains, contain anti-nutrients that can make it difficult for the human digestive system to absorb the nutrients that the beans contain.
Soaking and sprouting the beans deactivates these anti-nutrients so we can absorb the nutrients, making beans a usable source of food.
Soaking and sprouting beans have been a long-standing practice of traditional cultures. Unfortunately, with the onset of canned beans, we lost these practices. You can bring these traditional techniques back to your kitchen by purchasing dry beans and taking the extra step to soak and sprout them. Once you have done this, you can cook the beans any way you like.
In addition to beans, you can also soak oatmeal to help make it more digestible.
Ingredients
Find the full printable recipe with measurements below.
To make sprouted beans, you will need only two simple ingredients.
- Beans: You can sprout most beans, including chickpeas, black beans, pinto beans, and mung beans, so choose your favorite.
- Water: Just enough to cover the beans while they are soaking.
How to Sprout Beans
The first step in this process involves soaking the beans, and then, depending on the results, you can continue by moving on to sprouting!
Step 1 – Place the beans in a bowl and cover them with enough water to cover the beans. Soak the beans in filtered water overnight.
Step 2 – In the warmer months, the beans should begin to show sprouts within 12 hours. If not, place the beans in a colander and place the colander over a bowl.
Step 3 – Moisten your beans with filtered water twice a day to keep them moist. If your beans are fresh, they should begin to sprout within 24 hours.
Step 4 – Once your beans sprout, you can continue cooking them.
How to Sprout Beans in the Warmer Months
If you purchased dry beans in the summer, they should be very fresh. A soak overnight should result in a quick sprout. But if the beans didn’t sprout, they may not be fresh.
You can take the next step to try to get your beans to sprout by spreading them out in a colander and keeping them moist with a spray of water twice a day.
If your beans still do not sprout after the second day, they are definitely not fresh! Chances are that your beans are never going to sprout. And worse, the longer you try to sprout them in the warm summer months, the more chance you run into mold forming or just having them spoil and smell bad!
How to Sprout Beans in the Cooler Months
Now in winter, the technique for sprouting beans changes up a bit. Even if your beans are fresh, an overnight soak during the cooler months may not result in them sprouting. But not to worry!
Spread your beans out in a colander and keep them moist with a spray of water twice a day. Within four days, your beans should sprout.
Since your kitchen is cooler in the winter months, you won’t run into a problem with mold forming on your beans or having them develop that “off” smell if they take a few days to sprout.
If your beans still haven’t sprouted after four days, they are not fresh!
Recipe Tips
- Soak your sprouted beans a second time before cooking. After the beans have sprouted, soak them overnight in a salty brine. Be sure to rinse them well before cooking. The salty brine will impart a nice flavor but will not prevent the beans from softening, as is the case if you salt the water in which the beans are cooked.
- Dried beans in the grocery store will only sprout if they are fresh. The longer beans sit in your pantry or grocery store shelf, the more they lose some of their freshness. This means they may not sprout and, when cooked, may take longer to soften, or they might not soften at all.
- The weather affects the outcome of sprouting your beans. Be sure to check for tips for sprouting in different weather conditions above or in the recipe card.
FAQs
The most important thing to ask when it comes to soaking and sprouting beans is: Are your dried beans fresh? This usually means less than one year old. If your beans are older than one year, you might have challenges sprouting them, but another factor might play a role as well—the season in which you are trying to sprout them.
If you are hoping to sprout your beans, but they won’t budge, you can try and cook them anyway, but chances are they will never soften because the beans are not fresh. It’s unfortunate, but you are probably going to have to discard them.
When you shop for dried beans, make sure you buy them from a reputable source with a good turnover. But don’t worry. It’s not hard to find fresh beans. Most grocery stores have good turnover, plus the bags the beans are sold in will usually have an expiration date. Pay attention to that.
Buying beans in the bulk section of your supermarket is a little trickier. I generally don’t risk it. But if you like to buy beans in large quantities, which is the most economical way to do it, be sure to check the big box stores. Where I live in central Texas, it’s not uncommon to find 25-pound bags of pinto beans for under $20!
You can sprout any beans as long as you plan to cook them after they sprout.
Teaching Children How to Soak and Sprout Beans
Update: My sweet friend Jamie O’Hara helped me create The Modern Pioneer Cookbook Curriculum, which includes extensive lesson plans for grades K-12 to complement my bestselling book, The Modern Pioneer Cookbook. The 250+ page curriculum is free to download, and you can use it with your children, grandchildren, or other students to teach them how to make traditional food recipes and gain lifelong skills in the kitchen. It’s never too early to start on your traditional foods journey!
Jamie has been writing about her experience using the curriculum with her own children, and you can read her latest installment about soaking and sprouting beans in their home kitchen. It’s a lot of fun to discover how her children learned how beans grow and how sprouting beans and grains can bring out more nutrition and make them easier to digest. On this experience page, you’ll also find additional free and fun activities you can download to use as part of the curriculum.
- Learn More and Download the free Modern Pioneer Cookbook Curriculum
- Read About Jamie’s Curriculum Experience with Soaking and Sprouting
More Bean Recipes
How to Cook Dried Beans – The Right Way!
Make this nutritious and convenient food a staple in your traditional foods pantry.
Best Bean Soup with Ham Recipe
Enjoy this easy, nutritious, and delicious soup using pantry staples.
How to Make the Best Instant Pot Pinto Beans
Get the printable recipe with options for using soaked and unsoaked beans
Order YOUR COPY Now!
The Modern Pioneer Cookbook
Seasonal ingredients, traditional techniques, and nourishing recipes. Over 85 traditional, from-scratch recipes! Discover for yourself how you can use simple ingredients and traditional techniques to cook the modern pioneer way.
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How to Soak and Sprout Beans
Equipment
- Colander or large strainer
Ingredients
- 2 cups Beans any variety
- 1 Filtered water sufficient to cover beans
Instructions
- Place the beans in a bowl.
- Pour water over the beans sufficiently to cover them.
- Allow the beans to soak in filtered water overnight.
- In the warmer months, the beans should begin to show sprouts within 12 hours. If not, place the beans in a colander and place the colander over a bowl. Moisten beans with filtered water twice per day to keep them moist. If fresh, the beans should sprout within 24 hours. If the beans are not fresh, they may not sprout. Leaving them in the colander longer may result in molding or spoiling due to a warmer kitchen in warmer months. You can try to cook the beans, but they may not soften because they are not fresh.
- In the cooler months, you can leave the beans in the colander and continue to moisten them with filtered water twice daily. They should sprout within four days. If not, they are not fresh. As stated above, you can try to cook them, but they may not soften because they are not fresh.
- Once the beans have sprouted, they are ready to cook.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Favorite Equipment and Beans
- 3 Piece Colander Set – Stainless Steel Mesh Strainer Net Baskets with Handles & Resting Base
- Pyrex Glass Mixing Bowl Set (3-Piece)
- Bob’s Red Mill:
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I enjoy your videos very much. Thank you for the information and your time. Your sweet smile brightens the day. I was watching the video just made in April 2020, about beans, and heard about sprouting beans, so I looked up this one. Again, Thanks!
Thank you so much for the kind words! Glad you’re here!! Love, Mary