Oven Beans

Name: Oven Beans
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 2 h 45 min
Total time: 2 h 50 min
Yield: About 7 cups
Ingredients: 1 pound dried beans, such as black, white, red, pink or pinto, picked over for stones; Salt; 4 large garlic cloves, trimmed and peeled (optional); 5 dried chiles, such as morita, pasilla or guajillo, rinsed (optional)

By Genevieve Ko

Updated Jan. 9, 2025

Oven Beans — Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Hadas Smirnoff.

Total Time: 2 hour 50 minutes
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes, plus 1½ hours’ soaking
Rating: 4(201)
Notes: Read community notes

The best way to cook dried beans? In the oven. The even heat keeps the water at a steady bare simmer, which results in beans that are tender all the way through — no hard spots or broken mushy bits — with almost no effort. Because the heat is dry, it also concentrates the inherent flavor of the beans and anything else thrown into the pot. You can simply simmer soaked beans in salted water or you can add aromatic ingredients, such as the garlic and dried chiles. Onion is also nice, and bacon and other cured pork products bring richness.

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Ingredients

Yield:About 7 cups

1pound dried beans, such as black, white, red, pink or pinto, picked over for stones
Salt
4large garlic cloves, trimmed and peeled (optional)
5dried chiles, such as morita, pasilla or guajillo, rinsed (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Cover the beans with cold water by 2 inches in an ovenproof pot. Soak in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 hours. Or, to quick soak, bring to a boil, turn off the heat and soak for 1 hour.
Step 2
Heat the oven to 325 degrees.
Step 3
Drain the beans, rinse and return to the pot. Add enough cold water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, then stir in 2 teaspoons salt and, if using, the garlic and chiles. Cover and transfer to the oven.
Step 4
Bake until the beans are tender all the way through, 45 to 70 minutes. (Red kidney and white cannellini beans should simmer and cook for at least 30 minutes until tender to be safe to eat.) The timing depends on the size of the beans and how long they soaked. If you used the chiles, pick them out and discard them. If you used the garlic, smush them into the soaking broth to flavor it. Taste the beans and season with more salt if needed. Use immediately or transfer to airtight containers and refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 6 months.

Ratings

4 out of 5

201 user ratings

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Cooking Notes

Steve1 year ago

For years I've been cooking beans in the slow cooker. I don't even soak them - put the dried beans in the cooker in the morning with salt, bay leaf, aromatics (onion, celery, carrot) and some kombu (dried kelp) and by dinnertime they're ready to use in whatever recipe you want. Is there a difference between that and in the oven? The slow cooker seems to make more sense - you're not heating the whole oven, and the slow cooker uses much less electricity.

Persimmon1 year ago

My very easy method is to put the beans with some water, salt, maybe a bay lead, in the slow cooker, set on Low, and let it simmer all night. In the morning, perfect beans!

Mary1 year ago

Are you saying to simmer kidney and cannellini beans for 30 minutes on the stovetop before putting in the oven, or simmer at least 30 minutes in the oven?

Leah3 weeks ago

The description beneath the photo says, "Because the heat is dry, it also concentrates the inherent flavor of the beans and anything else thrown into the pot." Can someone explain in what way the heat is drier than if cooked on the stovetop? Thanks!

Pam3 weeks ago

I think the age of the beans is really important and may be what gives the very different results for people. Do use a bulk food store that turns over a lot of beans, or order from a place like Rancho Gordo. Also, soaking ahead of time does really help, and for a long time.

Gerard_Atl3 weeks ago

I've always cooked dried beans, after soaking overnight, in the oven. Key point here, Only salt them, after they are done (unless they are black beans, they're the exception). Salt can make the skins of Pinto, Red, or any white bean, tough. once the oven cycle is done, you can salt them. I cook them with a slab of onion, fresh herbs (generally thyme, parsley, and oregano) and 11 whole peppercorns and 3 whole allspice.

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