Crockpot Beans – Never Buy Canned Beans Again

So much time and money can be saved simply by planning ahead and making the time to keep your freezer stocked with things you would normally buy or make last minute. I need to be more intentional about this so I’ll be sharing my journey with you here on Freezer Friday. I’d love to share your projects too! You can send photos and/or recipes to simplesavingsavvy@gmail.com.
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Canned beans can be expensive, compared to dry beans. I now cringe when I see the prices and then I smile because I know I will never pay that price again.

About a year ago I started buying dry beans (kidney, pinto, black, etc),  cooking them in big batches and freezing them for later use.  They’re great for adding to casseroles, chili, taco salad, soup, you name it.  Beans make great fillers. Be creative.

Use your slow cooker and this chore becomes almost effortless. Simply pick your beans and rinse thoroughly. Place in the crock pot (no more than 1lb for a smaller crock pot and 2lbs for a larger one) and add water to about one inch under the rim. Add any seasonings at this point (including half an onion for flavor and meat pieces if desired).

I turn my crock pot on high for the first couple of hours and then turn it down to low until the beans are tender. Allow to cool and then place in ziploc freezer bags.

Stack the bags of beans and place flat in the freezer. Once frozen, you can stand them up like books on a bookshelf to save space.

I usually fill my bags with the equivalent of approx. 1.5 cans of beans. Two pounds of cooked beans ($2-$2.50) yields four freezer bags which equals six cans of beans. Most of the time you can find beans for around $0.58 per can. Using this figure, the crockpot/freeze method will save you as much as $1.48.

Sometimes you find the larger bags of dry beans for less $ per pound. In this case, your savings would increase.

Another benefit to making your own beans is being able to control what is added to the beans for healthful benefits as well as flavor.

Tagged as: Freezer Friday