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Affordable, adaptable, jam-packed with nutrition, and with a shelf life of 2 to 5 years, beans are a pantry staple of nearly every Allrecipes editor and Allstar.
Ham and beans, bean salad, beans and greens, and Boston baked beans might be among the first bean recipes you think of when we mention these legumes, but that’s just scratching the surface. From hummus to refried beans to chana masala, we adore taking our stock of beans on a “trip” around the world each week.
Since we rely on beans so much, we figured it was about time to pay more attention to the beans we invest in and ingest. So, after polling professional chefs about other pantry stars like canned tomatoes, vanilla extract, and olive oil, we called up a few of our favorite experts to discuss the best dried and canned beans money can buy.
Our Panel of Bean-Rating Chefs
- Erin Clarke, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based recipe developer and the author of “Well Plated Every Day”
- Andres Kaifer, executive chef and co-owner of Customshop in Charlotte, North Carolina
- Aislinn McAllister, specialty foods manager and dry goods buyer at Zingerman’s Delicatessen in Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Carlos Nevarez, executive chef at El Puro in Charlotte, North, Carolina
Qualities of the Best Bean Brand
When you peek at the canned food or bulk food aisles, you’ll be presented with dozens of options in the bean section alone. Whether you’re stocking up on chickpeas or cannellini beans, the chefs we spoke to recommend seeking out the following features.
For dried beans:
- Freshness. Just because you can safely enjoy dry beans up to 2 years after you buy them doesn’t mean that you should. If you can find information about the harvest date of your beans, that can be a boon. “When shopping for dried beans, freshness matters a great deal! The beans we source for our restaurant are always from the current year’s harvest. That freshness translates to quicker cooking and more flavorful beans,” says Michigan-based Aislinn McAllister.
- Uniform size. To ensure even cooking, Erin Clarke, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based recipe developer seeks out dried beans that have a fairly consistent size throughout the batch.
- Quality seeds and responsible farming practices. Admittedly, this intel can be opaque for many beans. But if you can do some background research on the brand and it seems to share your values about food, that’s a good sign. McAllister confirms that “you really can taste the difference” when you start with high-quality seeds that have been grown and harvested in a thoughtful, sustainable way.
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For canned beans:
- Sturdy yet creamy and tender texture. “They shouldn’t look like a uniform bean blob when you open the can,” Clarke verifies. “No one wants mushy beans!” You’ll only know once you open the can, but try to stay loyal to canned bean brands that sell beans that hold their shape, yet aren’t overly firm or dry.
- Not too much aquafaba. On the flip side, you don’t want them to be overloaded with liquid, adds Chef Andres Kaifer of Charlotte, North Carolina. “For canned beans, many times, they contain a significant amount of liquid in them that is a bit thick and slimy,” he says. The technical term for this bean water is aquafaba. If you’d like to add the beans and juices to your recipe, a water-logged can can quickly make a recipe “too liquidy,” Kaifer believes.
While aquafaba is safe to consume when it’s foamy (that’s just some of the starches and proteins from the beans that have infused the water), drain and rinse the beans before using if you’re worried about the water and salt content of your bean recipe. Just don’t drain that aquafaba down the sink. Do so into a bowl, as it’s a stellar vegan ingredient and rocks in recipes like Aquafaba Mayonnaise, Vegan Chocolate Mousse, Aquafaba Whipped Cream, and Vegan Meringues.
- Few or no additives. Some canned beans contain calcium chloride, which is a GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) preservative. Although it has the FDA’s stamp of approval, Charlotte-based Chef Carlos Nevarez prefers to steer clear since it can result in overly salty-tasting beans. Check the ingredient label of your canned beans to ensure it aligns with your own preferences.
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The Best Bean Brand, According to Chefs
Since the markets are so different for each, we decided to split this debate into two categories: dried beans and canned beans. The chefs helped us select winners in each.
The Best Dried Beans
Nevarez and Kaifer agree that they are a bit biased since they were born and raised on them, but their go-to and top recommendation for dried beans is Goya.
“As a Puerto Rican raised in Miami, Goya is my brand of choice,” says Nevarez. “Growing up, I always found Goya products in my mom's cabinets.”
Goya is a leader within the entire food market in terms of production and use of solar power, and the brand is proud to celebrate Latino culture. Many of its beans are certified organic, and Goya boasts the most diverse array of beans on the market, offering more than 45 varieties of beans.
The runner-up in the dried bean category is a brand any of our fellow bean nerds will know: Rancho Gordo. McAllister is fond of the heirloom beans it grows and sells and confirms that they’re worth the investment.
“These beans are harder to grow and have a lower yield, which is why you'll pay more than beans you find in your supermarket, but you really can taste the difference! There is so much flavor and texture,” McAllister explains.
From the King City Pink Beans to Santa Maria Pinquito Beans to the Rio Zape beans that started the business, Rancho Gordo prides itself on crop diversity, supporting small farmers, and that the beans are never sprayed with preventative pesticides. Rancho Gordo fans are so fond of exploring the wide world of flavors, textures, and colors the brand offers that there’s a waitlist for the Rancho Gordo Bean Club (which offers quarterly shipments).
The Best Canned Beans
Kaifer says that Goya is also a winner in the canned category because you’re getting “primarily beans and not excess liquid” and beans that taste great, at that.
Other very worthy canned bean brands include Eden Organic, which is Clarke’s top choice. “They hold their shape and aren’t too mushy. Mushy is my biggest complaint related to canned beans,” she admits. Eden’s black, navy, pinto, cannellini, and garbanzo beans are her go-to when she’s adding them directly to salads or fresh dishes, rather than simmering them into a baked bean recipe or a soup or chili.
Eden Foods partners with local farmers and tracks the environmental impact of each of its products—including beans—throughout the supply chain. Its aim is efficiency and limiting food waste.
If you’re watching your food budget, Clarke says the canned bean market has your back. “Canned beans are an excellent place to take advantage of the savings you can get with a store brand,” she says, noting that she’s particularly fond of canned beans from Whole Foods 365 and Target’s Good & Gather.
Chef-Approved Tips on How to Cook Better Beans
We couldn’t let the chefs go before asking them how to make our best pot of beans. Turns out, there are two commandments when it comes to beans; one for dry and one for canned.
- Thou shalt soak dry beans. Although this step is optional, the four chefs we spoke to agree that soaking dried beans in salt water is definitely worth it if you have the time. “Soaking helps reduce cooking time and allows the beans to absorb more flavor from the cooking liquid, and the salt helps the beans retain their shape and keep their skins from falling apart while cooking,” McAllister tells us. Rinse the beans and check for any field debris, then take one of two paths:
- Fast: In a pot, boil the beans in water in a 1-2 ratio. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and the beans, then turn off the heat and top the pot with its lid. Soak the beans for at least one hour, then drain and discard the water, and proceed with your recipe.
- Slow: In a large bowl, soak the beans in twice their volume of cold water and 1 tablespoon of salt. Allow them to rest overnight, or at least four hours. Drain and discard the water, and proceed with your recipe.
- Thou shalt drain and rinse canned beans. This “reduces sodium, improves texture, and minimizes any potential tinny canned taste,” Clarke says. As we mentioned, be sure to save that aquafaba if you’d like a free and versatile vegan egg substitute.
Allrecipes/Diana Chistruga
Speaking of versatility, Nevarez swears that “beans have a multitude of uses beyond being a simple side dish; they can be used in soups or puréed for sauces. However, their most popular applications in my home and restaurant include being mixed into rice dishes like congri [black beans and rice], arroz con gandules [rice, pigeon peas, and pork], and gallo pinto [white rice, black beans, bell peppers, and onion].”
Clarke is so keen on “turning a can of chickpeas into dinner,” that she dedicated an entire section in her first cookbook to the opportunity. “Smash them for a faux ‘tuna’ salad, add them to a stir-fry, use them to bulk up a grain salad and take it from side to main, or sauté them with onion and fresh spinach, then combine canned chickpeas with marinara sauce and pasta for a quick dinner,” she suggests.
If you’d prefer to follow a formula rather than a recipe, take a cue from Rodger Bowser, the chef at McAllister’s Michigan deli.
Chef Rodger is renowned for his 4-Ingredient Magic Meal Formula: pasta, sauce, greens, and protein.
With a can of beans or soaked dry beans, you can quickly “end up with a semi-homemade family meal that’s perfect for busy weeknights, yet still vibrant and full of flavor,” McAllister says. “Best of all, the possibilities are endless, since you can change out the four components to your liking.”
Here are a few tempting ideas to get you started:
- Pasta Fazool
- Southwestern Sweet Potato and Black Bean Pasta Salad
- Creamy Butter Bean Pasta
- Stanley Tucci’s Pasta with Cannellini Beans and Kale Recipe
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