Cook dried pulses instead of buying cans
A 500g bag of dried beans or lentils costs a fraction of the equivalent in tins, drops the packaging, and a single soak-and-simmer fills your freezer with portions.
The humble tin of beans is one of the easiest swaps in the kitchen, because the dried version does the same job for a fraction of the cost and packaging. A tin is mostly water and a steel can — you’re paying to transport liquid and metal around the country, then recycling (or binning) the can within minutes of opening it.
Dried pulses skip all of that. You add the water at home, when you want it, and a single cheap bag stretches to five or six tins’ worth once it’s soaked and simmered. They store for years in a jar without a fridge, take up barely any space, and — bought loose from a refill shop — come with no packaging at all. Cook a big pot once a month and your freezer does the job the tin used to, minus the price tag.
The honest trade-off is time and forethought: you need to remember to soak, and the simmer ties up a hob for an hour or so. The fix is to cook in bulk and freeze in tin-sized portions, so the effort happens once and the convenience lasts for weeks. Lentils and split peas dodge the soaking step entirely, making them the perfect place to start before you graduate to chickpeas and kidney beans.
How to do it
- Buy dried pulses in a bag or, better still, refill them loose — chickpeas, kidney beans, black beans, lentils and split peas all keep for ages in a jar.
- Soak the beans overnight in plenty of cold water (lentils and split peas don't need soaking — skip ahead for those).
- Drain, cover with fresh water, bring to the boil, then simmer until tender — roughly 45–90 minutes depending on the bean and its age.
- Add salt only near the end; salting too early can keep beans tough.
- Cook a big batch at once, then cool and freeze in portion-sized tubs or bags with a splash of their cooking liquid.
- Defrost a portion whenever a recipe calls for 'one tin', no opening or rinsing required.
Pro tips & pitfalls
- A pressure cooker turns 90 minutes into about 20–30 and needs no soaking — worth it if you cook pulses often.
- Save the chickpea cooking water (aquafaba); whisked up, it whips like egg white for vegan meringues and mayonnaise.
- One 500g bag of dried beans roughly equals five or six tins once cooked, so scale your batch and freezer space to match.
What it's good for
Good for the planet
- Beats plastic No steel cans (often plastic-lined) and, if you refill the bag, no packaging at all — just a refillable jar.
- Cuts CO₂ You're not shipping water-heavy tins across the country; dried beans are light, compact and store for years without a fridge.
Good for you
- Saves money Dried pulses cost roughly a quarter to a third of the tinned equivalent — a 500g bag at €1–2 replaces five or six tins.
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