A Recipe for Cheesy Bean Pie and Tips for Cooking the Perfect Dry Beans

by Janice on May 7th, 2012

I recently attended the Beans for a Better Life conference in Austin, TX, and when I returned, I was determined to try my hand at cooking dry beans. I typically rely on canned dry beans, so I was looking forward to the cooking challenge. Would I be able to produce the same smooth and tender consistency you get from canned beans? Lynne Bigwood from the Northarvest Bean Growers Association, assured me that if I followed a few simple steps, my beans would rival those from a can. So off I went to the grocery store for  a pound of dry pinto beans. Read on for Lynne’s fool-proof cooking method and a recipe for Cheesy Bean Pie.

This pie, made with rice, beans, cheese, and lots of other comforting ingredients hit the spot this weekend. To spice it up, you can add cumin and chili powder.

Cheesy Bean Pie

Makes 8 Servings

I found this recipe in The Bean Cookbook by the Northarvest Bean Growers Association and adapted it a bit by using melted butter instead of margarine in the crust and leaving the parsley out since I didn’t have any on hand. The original recipe also called for a 1/4 cup layer of sliced black olives, but I left them out because my hubby isn’t an olive fan. Feel free to add the olives if your family likes them!

For the Rice Shell:

  • 2½ cups cooked rice (I used leftover brown rice)
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 tablespoon melted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly oil or coat a 10-inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Place the rice, egg, parsley and butter in a large bowl and stir until well combined. Press the rice mixture firmly into the pie plate and up the sides to form a “shell.”

For the Filling:

  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 small onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice (1/2 cup)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 cups cooked pinto or kidney beans, divided (I used the beans I cooked from scratch, but canned beans would work too)
  • 1½ cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese, divided
  • 3/4 cup leftover spiral ham or lower sodium deli ham, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional 1 minute. Set aside.

2. Layer as follows in the rice shell: 1 cup beans, 3/4 cup of the cheese, all the ham, all the onion and garlic, the remaining 1 cup beans, and the remaining 3/4 cup cheese.

For the Custard:

  • 3 large eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 cup light sour cream
  • 1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Place the eggs, sour cream, milk, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and whisk until well combined. Pour evenly over the layered pie.

2. Bake until the custard mixture is set and the top is golden brown, about 35  minutes.

Nutrition Information per Serving: 280 calories, 11g fat (5g saturated, 0.3g omega-3), 550mg sodium, 28g carbohydrate, 5g fiber, 17g protein, 10% vitamin A, 25% calcium, 10% iron

Print Recipe

Okay, now back to my bean challenge. Here are the steps I followed to achieve perfect cooked dry beans:

> Wash the beans and pick out any small stones.

> In a large pot, heat 10 cups of bottled or filtered water to boiling. Add the dry beans and boil 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover and let stand 4 hours or overnight … but no more than 16 hours. I soaked mine for 12 hours.

>  When the beans are done soaking, drain off the soak water. Rinse both the beans and the pot with fresh water. Cover the beans with bottled or filtered water (add a teaspoon of salt if desired) and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer until tender, 10 minutes minimum. (The typical cook time is 15 to 45 minutes;my pinto beans were tender in 30).

* The reason for using bottled or filtered water is that many public water supplies contain minerals, including calcium, which prevent beans from getting tender. If you know for sure that you have “soft” water, feel free to use tap water.

A one-pound bag of pinto beans yields over 6 cups after soaking and simmering.

To cook beans in a pressure cooker, we turned to our good friend and fellow dietitian, Jill Nussinow (AKA The Veggie Queen) for advice. Here’s what she had to say: “I do a quick, or overnight, soak. I drain and then add at least ½ cup water for each dry cup of beans that were rehydrated. Bring to high pressure for 4 to 6 minutes. Let the pressure come down naturally. How long the beans take to cook depends upon the variety and how old the beans are.”

Has anyone had good luck cooking dry beans?  Or challenges? We hope these tips help make your next batch of beans tender and delicious!

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10 Comments | Filed Under Beans, Dinner, Eggs, Grains, PressureCooker, Vegetables, Vegetarian 

10 Responses to “A Recipe for Cheesy Bean Pie and Tips for Cooking the Perfect Dry Beans”

  1. nancy@skinnykitchen.com on May 7th, 2012

    Mmm…This rice and bean dish looks really yummy. Thanks for sharing the terrific tips for cooking dry beans!

  2. Sarah on May 7th, 2012

    I am so glad you are doing dried beans! It’s on my list of things to figured out how to use. I have a couple of questions – is it true that kidney beans (or any others?) have an enzyme that causes extreme gastric distress if not cooked properly? Also, if you want to use tap water that you know is hard (our well water is), could you add vinegar or something to “soften” it? I hope to cook some big batches and freeze them in vacuum packs so that I can quit buying canned beans (mostly because they are full of salt!)

  3. Sarah D on May 7th, 2012

    I have had good success with cooking dry beans in the crock pot. I use the method from crockpot365 blog and then freeze in 2 cup batches.

  4. Liz on May 7th, 2012

    Good to know. We’ll check out the recipe on Crockpot365 :)

  5. Janice on May 7th, 2012

    Hi Sarah, it is true that kidney beans contain a toxin that is only a problem if you do not cook them enough. That’s why after a soak, dry beans should be cooked for a minimum of 10 minutes. Listen to our podcast from last week and you will hear Lynne Bigwood, a dry bean expert from Northarvest Bean Growers, explain this!

    We have not heard of ‘softening’ water by using vinegar so cannot recommend this in place of using the bottled water. Also, as Lynne told us, adding an acid to the cooking water will prevent the beans from getting tender, so don’t do it! Let us know how your beans turn out, and if you do buy canned beans, don’t forget to drain and rinse them to remove 40% of the sodium.

  6. Susanne Skubik Intriligator on May 8th, 2012

    Loads of tips on how to reduce gas-producing chemicals in beans, as you cook them, on ehow.com. Also, you can add healthful nutrients (and reduce gas) by adding the seaweed kombu to cooking water. See ehow.

  7. Sandra Elsen on May 9th, 2012

    Thanks for the tips! hope to master the dry beans soon. can i freeze them if i make a whole ton of beans at once? i have had success with freezing canned beans in the past. By the way- the recipe looks AMAZING. yum!

  8. Kati Mora, MS, RD, Kellogg's FiberPlus(R) Wellness Advocate on May 9th, 2012

    I love beans and how fiberlicious they are! And this looks like a wonderful way to put them to good use. Yum!

  9. robin on May 9th, 2012

    Love it!

  10. Janice on May 10th, 2012

    Hi Sandra: I did freeze about 2 cups of leftover pinto beans in a plastic container, covered with water, since I was told that retains their quality. I’ll let you know when I defrost them how well they survived the deep freeze!

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