I'm a big fan of canned beans—they're convenient, affordable, and, most importantly, delicious. At least once a week, I use canned beans and legumes like chickpeas, black beans, pinto beans, and white beans in chilis, stews, salads, and more. And though I'm not always one to follow recipes to a T, when the instructions call for draining and rinsing canned beans, I dutifully dump them into a colander, run cold water over them, and drain them.
It turns out there are several good reasons that recipes call for rinsing canned beans. One commonly known reason is that rinsing can remove up to 41% of the sodium (i.e. salt), according to The Bean Institute, a website managed by the Bean Growers Association of North Dakota and Minnesota.
To learn more about why you should take those "drain and rinse" orders seriously—plus when you might want to skip rinsing—I spoke to Richard LaMarita, chef-instructor of Plant-Based Culinary Arts at the Institute of Culinary Education. Here's what I learned.
3 Reasons to Rinse Canned Beans
"Rinsing does three things besides reducing salt content," says LaMarita. Here are three reasons why rinsing canned beans makes sense:
1. It impacts the flavor of your food: "[Rinsing] gives the bean a cleaner mouthfeel and prevents the gel-like coating from altering the flavors of the surrounding ingredients." This is why you might want to rinse canned beans even if you are making a dish that calls for additional liquid, as tempting as it might be to use the liquid from the can.
2. Get consistent dishes every time: LaMarita says another good reason to drain and rinse beans is so you can consistently replicate dishes. "If you rinse your beans thoroughly, you will have a consistently flavored product, but if you do not rinse them, different amounts of salt will remain in the dish each time you cook it, and it will be hard to cook consistently," he says. So if you want your chickpea curry or black bean tacos to taste the same every time you make them, go ahead and give those beans a rinse.
3. It may mean you'll be less gassy: "The reason the juice has a gel-like texture is that it is full of soluble fiber," says LaMarita. "A significant and sudden increase in fiber consumption can cause bloating and gas. The fiber in the beans might do that anyway, but rinsing the beans helps." LaMarita adds that for people who normally have a high-fiber diet, the difference between using unrinsed and rinsed beans might not be that noticeable and that symptoms generally go down over time, but if you are cooking for people who don't eat a lot of fiber, they may feel bloated afterward.
"The liquid is viscous, and tastes pretty good," says LaMarita. "It is also perfectly healthful to consume, so from a flavor perspective there is nothing wrong with not rinsing."
Indeed, unrinsed canned beans can be great from a culinary standpoint in dishes like this white bean soup, where the liquid adds a "starchy richness," as the recipe developer Sheela Prakash notes.
Draining but not rinsing canned chickpeas can also make for very creamy homemade hummus. Still, LaMarita comes down on the side of rinsing most of the time. "It depends on how much fiber you want to ingest, and who you are cooking for," he notes.
What If You're Using No-Salt-Added Canned Beans?
If your biggest concern with canned beans is the sodium, you can certainly use no-salt-added or low-sodium canned beans, but LaMarita still recommends rinsing in most cases for the same culinary and gas-reducing reasons you'd rinse canned beans with salt.
Regardless of the amount of salt added to the canned beans, LaMarita says, "You still have to taste them and ask—is it the correct amount [of salt] to create a balanced dish?" and adjust for salt accordingly.
The Takeaway
Even if you are not concerned about sodium, in most cases it's a good idea to rinse canned beans. Rinsing beans can improve the flavor and texture of the final dish and can help cut down on how much gas they produce. So, for your culinary success and intestinal comfort, give those canned beans a rinse unless your recipe specifically says not to.
Do You Need To Rinse Canned Beans? According to The Bean Institute, you can reduce up to 41 percent of the sodium in canned beans by rinsing them. "It's fine to add the bean liquid to many recipes, but if you want to reduce the amount of sodium, it's best to drain and rinse canned beans," the website states.
But there are still plenty of nutrients left in canned beans after rinsing and draining, including a good amount of fiber. You can make up for small losses of nutrients like potassium and folate by tossing beans on a leafy green salad or adding an extra vegetable to your dish.
Do you have to soak beans? No. Soaking them reduces cooking time somewhat (this can be especially important with beans that have been sitting in your pantry for a year or longer), but cooking without soaking may result in better flavor (interesting article on this topic here).
Officially called aquafaba, the liquid included in cans of beans is typically starchy and salty, though those qualities differ based on the brand of beans. Feel free to dip a spoon or finger in to taste it before using. “It has a viscous body from the fibers of the beans.
"If you rinse your beans thoroughly, you will have a consistently flavored product, but if you do not rinse them, different amounts of salt will remain in the dish each time you cook it, and it will be hard to cook consistently," he says.
Draining alone will “reduce the sodium by a third,” says Reinagel. Bottom line: If you're watching your sodium intake for your health, it won't hurt to drain and rinse your can of beans before using them. Or better yet, buy low-sodium or no-salt-added varieties.
Canned kidney beans are PRE-COOKED and ready to eat out of the can or add to a prepared dish. Raw or undercooked kidney beans do indeed contain a toxin that will make you sick (but won't kill you) but undercooking is only an issue if you prepare the beans from dry.
One can of canned beans can contain up to 25% of the recommended daily intake of salt (570 mg). Canned beans are safe to eat and provide many health benefits. Nevertheless, there is a low risk that canned foods may be a source of excess salt, nitrates, nitrites, and heavy metals that may pose human health risks.
First, drain beans in a colander for two minutes.Then rinse the beans under cool running water for 10 seconds.Let drain for another two minutes. The reduced-sodium beans are ready to use in any favorite recipe.
The practices of both draining and draining/rinsing canned beans can effectively reduce the amount of sodium from that contained in the product as purchased. All brands and all varieties of canned beans tested demonstrated reductions in sodium content per serving after draining and draining and rinsing.
Soaking beans in the refrigerator overnight will reduce the time they have to cook drastically. And the texture of the beans will also be it their best, with fewer split-open and burst ones. But like we said, you don't have to commit this hard.
How do you stop beans from giving you gas? Soak dried beans for at least eight hours or overnight before cooking to reduce the number of indigestible sugars which cause gas. Rinse canned beans thoroughly and consider adding foods naturally high in digestive enzymes in your cooking to aid digestion.
So the starchy liquid that lives in the can? That's your bean broth. Use that broth to thicken soups, help dips hang together—all the ways you'd use the broth with beans you cooked yourself. So stop throwing it away!
Fun Fact: Discarding the soaking water and rinsing beans can help make cooked beans more digestible. Some people choose to save the soaking liquid because some nutrients are leeched from the beans into the liquid during soaking. We prefer to drain our soaking liquid but you can decide what works best for you.
But if you have excess bean broth, use it to cook more beans or lentils, thicken soups, season and drink like bone broth or add to quick breads and doughs. When I have it, I use rich, unsalted black bean broth in place of water for my sourdough discard chocolate cake—yum! Bean broth also freezes well.
The reason that beans are safe to eat straight from the can is pretty simple: They're already cooked. Per Epicurious, beans are blanched before being canned with water, salt, and other additives, and then sealed and cooked under steam pressure at a high temperature before landing at your local grocery store.
Canned beans are already cooked. They cost a little more than dried beans, but are still a great buy because they are fast and convenient. Just remember to rinse them first to wash away some of the sodium (salt) or buy canned beans with no added salt.
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Introduction: My name is Roderick King, I am a cute, splendid, excited, perfect, gentle, funny, vivacious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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