Today’s markets have gone into offering dried and canned legumes in a big way, and varieties once uncommon—cranberry beans, field peas, and the French flageolets, for example—are relatively easy to find. The challenge for the vegetarian cook is coming up with enough ways to cook and serve these often bright and colorful legumes. Fortunately, legumes are easy on the pocketbook, so cooks can feel comfortable in their explorations and can more readily add beans to their diet.

And if you want to increase your bean intake, you can be proactive: try bean or pea soups; toss beans and peas into salads; mash them for a sandwich filling; try them as an omelet filling; or explore the numerous world cuisines that rely on beans as a kitchen staple.

Dried Versus Canned

Any way you look at it, eating beans, whether dried or out of the can, is an inexpensive way to enjoy a meal—of course, opting for dried beans costs only pennies per serving, since a one-pound bag of dried beans, or about 2 cups, equals about 6 cups of cooked beans.

But in the bean world, bean-eaters often join in the debate about using canned versus dried beans. Obviously, canned beans are faster to use, but many brands are packed with extra sodium, making these canned beans less desirable.

To avoid excess sodium, you should buy beans that say “no salt added” or drain and thoroughly rinse the canned beans before using them. On the other hand, devotees of dried beans insist that these have a fuller, richer bean flavor.

Easy Prep Steps

If you prefer to use dried beans, remember that readying them requires planning ahead: dried beans should soak for at least four hours, but preferably overnight. Some sources suggest that lengthy soaking results in a creamier cooked bean. You could also boil them for about an hour in their rinse water, then drain them and cook them in plenty of water to cover. Finally, you could cook them in a pressure cooker, but definitely follow manufacturer’s directions.

Many people have problems with beans causing gas and bloating, and thus, they avoid eating them. But you can try several measures to sidestep that problem: introduce beans into your diet slowly; cook them with a pinch of baking soda; and don’t cook beans in their soaking water.

Note that the FDA warns that eating undercooked beans—particularly red kidney beans—can result in some unpleasant symptoms, including nausea and vomiting. Undercooked beans contain a substance called “lectin,” a compound that, among other things, interferes with cellular metabolism. The symptoms pass quickly, but can be totally avoided by boiling the beans you eat.