How to Cook Dry Beans in a Crock Pot

Cooking dry beans taste so much better than buying canned beans. They are inexpensive and easy to make. You can easily season with simple spices to create delicious beans that the whole family will love.

We love making brown beans for an easy main dish recipe. Make sure to check out these other bean recipes – Slow Cooker Black Beans and Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice.

Why We Love This Recipe

Once the cooler weather hits, I love making a large pot of Crock Pot Brown Beans. They are hearty and made with delicious flavor. They are the perfect meal to make for Meatless Monday.

If you are looking for a way to stretch your grocery budget, make a pot of beans for a delicious meal idea.  

Ingredients

• Dried Beans – Change the bean to white bean, black beans, great northern beans or red kidney beans
• Water – You can also use chicken broth
• Minced Garlic – Learn How to Mince Garlic Cloves

Scroll to the bottom for the full recipe in the recipe card.

Seasoning Variations

Feel free to change the flavor of the beans, these are some delicious additions.

• Diced Tomatoes
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Diced Ham
• Dried Thyme
• Cumin
• Celery
• Bay Leaf

How to Cook Dry Beans in a Crock Pot

Step 1 – Rinse the dry beans in a colander and pick over the beans to remove any debris or broken beans. 

Step 2 – Place the beans in the crock pot and cover them with cold water and cover them by several inches. Allow the beans to soak overnight. 

Step 3 – The next morning, drain off the water from the beans and return the beans back to the crock pot. 

Step 4 – Add the water or broth to the crock pot with the seasonings (minced garlic, onion powder, salt and pepper). Make sure that the liquid covers the beans by 2 inches over the top of them. Cook the beans in the crock pot on high for 3-4 hours until the beans are tender. 

• Step 5 – Once the beans are tender, drain off any excess liquid and then the beans are ready to serve and enjoy! 

Expert Tips

• Soaking Beans – I prefer to soak the beans as they cook with a better texture and soaking them reduces the gas produced by the beans during digestion. 
• Preparing Beans – Before soaking beans, we recommend removing any debris or damaged beans.
• Cooking Beans – If you prefer to pre-soak your beans, we recommend draining the water from the beans. We like to cook the beans in clean water.

Serving Suggestions

Crock Pot Pinto Beans can easily be served with many side dish recipes. We love to serve with Easy Pan Fried Potatoes Recipe and Aunt Jemima Cornbread Recipe for a delicious meal idea.

You may also see Easy Crockpot Refried Beans Recipe if you prefer to use these dried beans to make refried beans.

Frequently Asked Questions