Slow Cooker Cuban Black Beans Recipe – Vegan in the Freezer (2024)

FAQs

Can you cook black beans in slow cooker danger? ›

But research now suggests that one tough ingredient shouldn't be cooked in the slow cooker at all — beans. All beans contain a compound called “phytohaemagglutinin,” also called PHA, or kidney bean lectin.

Freezing your extra canned beans should be fine. In fact, I often make a big batch of chili (using canned beans), and then freeze some of it with no change in quality. Simply store your extra beans in a heavy plastic container or plastic freezer bag and use within 6 months.

Beans freeze beautifully, too, in their cooking liquid. These deli quart containers are great for this purpose.

Since most slow cookers do not reach the boiling point (212°F), beans prepared in them without soaking and cooking them first will carry the toxic lectin. (And no need to worry about canned beans; they've already been prepared properly.)

Cooking dried beans in a slow cooker is incredibly convenient. Just throw them in with a bit of a broth and several hours later you'll be rewarded with some creamy and tender legumes. But if you try this method with red kidney beans, you risk giving yourself a severe case of food poisoning.

Dried beans typically have a moisture content of around 16%. However, as they age, moisture evaporates, giving pectin time to age and harden the skin. These beans can often take much longer to soften while soaking and cooking, up to twice the time!

During freezing, an expansion occurs with the formation of ice crystals causing cell wall rupture. Therefore, the texture of frozen fruits and vegetables is usually softer after thawing when compared to unfrozen product.

Freezing food doesn't kill nutrients.

But, over time, fresh produce loses much of its nutrients. This happens simply because they are slowly expiring, it's natural. However, there's a way to retain their nutrients for another time: freezing.

Spoiled beans may have a sour smell, off taste, or visible mold. The texture may become slimy, and there might be discoloration.

Simply drain and rinse your beans, place them inside a freezer bag or a reusable, freezer-safe container and fill with water so the beans are fully covered. Then, seal the bag or container, label it with the date and stick them in freezer for up to six months. When you're ready to use them, simply thaw and drain!

Can I freeze cooked beans after 4 days? ›

Store unused dry beans in a resealable plastic bag or tightly covered, non-metal container for up to one year. Store cooked beans in a covered container that is not made from metal in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Blanching green beans before freezing helps them to retain that beautiful green color and crisp texture when you go to enjoy them. Skipping this step might result in your beans having a mushy texture once defrosted.

Get cooking: Turn your slow cooker on, and cook your beans on low for 6 to 7 hours or on high for 3 ½ to 4 hours. Check on the beans an hour or so before the end of the suggested cooking time to gauge how they are progressing. You want the beans to be firm but soft, and definitely not mushy!

Cornstarch, potato starch, and chickpea flour are a couple of pantry-friendly ways to thicken soups, stews, and sauces in the slow cooker. Just a tablespoon or two of any — added towards the end of cooking — will thicken sauces especially well.

Canned beans are packed in a solution of water, salt, and starch. That solution can leave a glossy film on the beans, interfering with not only mouthfeel (slimy beans are a little off-putting), but also the ability of the beans to cling to other ingredients in the dish and absorb those flavors.

Place soaked beans in crock pot. Add any seasonings: salt and pepper, garlic, jalapenos, onions (to taste). Cover with water by about 2 inches. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 6 hours.

Boiling the beans eliminates the majority of the lectins, and slow cookers just don't get hot enough to make raw beans safe for consumption.

There's a clear winner here: to cook the non-soaked beans, all you have to do is add water and go. They softened up in less than an hour and a half—a mere 20 minutes longer than the soaked beans' 1 hour cook time. And it meant that I didn't have to worry about remembering to soak them the night before.

Then add in the canned black beans and bring to a simmer.

I prefer to use all the contents of the can including the liquid the beans are in because it actually has lots of flavor!