Do you love beans, but they don't--er--love you? Find out how to de-gas beans easily to benefit not only your digestion, but also your friendships!
So yes, today I'm sharing with you all a very important post--how to de-gas beans. And this is about more than just stopping bad smells--this is about health.
Of course good gut health is key to your body getting the nutrition you need. If you don't digest your food well, then you can't use the nutrients from it. Probiotics are key to having good gut health, but so is getting rid of things like candida, heavy metals, and taking care to improve liver health so your body can function optimally.
However, preparing your foods the right way to encourage proper digestion is also important--and that including things like knowing how to soak grains, how to soak nuts, and this post on how to de-gas beans.
Beans, beans, the magical fruit....
It's a funny little ditty, but a not so funny reality.
Some people try to just eat fewer beans, and some avoid them completely, while others buy things like Bean-o and dump it on their food while eating.
Well, here is a better, and I must say, more effective (and much less expensive) solution to your bean-eating problems.
Digestion and Beans
Having good digestion is key to having good health, whether you or a loved one has chronic health conditions or not.
We have been, for the past number of years, working on our whole family's digestion by learning more about digestive enzymes, probiotics, fermentation of foods and soaking beans, nuts and seeds, and even soaking grains.
It's all part of the walk towards better health.
There are so many great things about beans, that it is a good idea to try to add more of them to your diet. However, most people find that when they add too many of them to their diet that they can't digest them well.
Benefits of Beans
Just in case you wondered why adding more beans to your diet is a good thing to consider, here are some great reasons.
Beans are nutrition powerhouses.
Beans are very high in fiber, protein and complex carbohydrates.
Beans are cheap, cheap cheap.
Even the price of heirloom organic beans pales in comparison to that of meat. Now, I am not saying that you shouldn't eat meat, but beans sure can help you stretch your food budget.
And who doesn't need a bit of stretch these days?
Beans have a super-long shelf life.
In these days of concern about inflationary food prices with folks storing up food for leaner days ahead, beans are a logical choice. They may take longer to cook as they age, but they do not spoil.
Why Do Beans Cause Gas?
Beans cause gas because the have sugars in them, called oligosaccharides, that the body can't break down completely. Oligosaccharides are larger molecules than other sugars but the human body doesn't have enzymes to break them down in the small intestine.
The oligosaccharides travel to the large intestines undigested and they are then digested there, which causes intestinal gas. For the same reason, if other foods end up in the large intestine without being digested, they can cause gas as well.
To prevent gas when you are eating beans, you can eat beans as they are and take some of the enzyme that digests oligosaccharides with your meals. The enzyme is derived from the fungus Aspergillus niger and is sold under the name of Beano as well as under other names.
If you don't want to spend a huge amount on Beano, you need these tips on how to de-gas beans.
Beans, Digestion, and Our Family
In our house this was a huge problem. I used to be vegan, and my husband basically was as well. He will not eat egg dishes (anything where you can really tell that there is egg in it like this Dairy-free Quiche, or this Sweet Potato Frittata--those are just a total no go with him). He also didn't like meat much, and it really made me feel pretty queasy to prepare meat.
Add to that our son's life-threatening allergies to dairy and eggs, and a VERY tight budget, and you end up with a diet heavily fortified with beans.
We used to eat beans literally at almost every meal.
This Sesame-free Hummus was a real fave, and ground beef in any recipe would quickly be replaced with beans.
One of our favorite snacks was Roasted Chickpeas, and my Bean Fudge was often found on our table as a healthy dessert.
Gradually we have moved away from our "leaning vegan days", though we still don't have a kitchen laden with eggs and dairy. However, even though we have been moving lower carb and aren't eating as many beans these days, we do still love them, meaning that knowing how to de-gas beans is still something that is crucial for us.
Time Saving Tips for Beans
1. Cook beans in bulk
One easy way to save time cooking beans is to cook some ahead and store for future use. Read my tips on How to Store Cooked Beans.
2. Cook for two meals at once
It is a bit of extra work to cook beans rather than just opening up a bunch of cans, but
Make up a super-duper large batch of beans and store them for future use.
3. Some beans do not need to be pre-soaked
These varieties are, of course, great for busy days (or days when you just plum forgot to plan for dinner!)
Bean varieties that do not need soaking:
lentils - red, green, French (they take a bit more cooking time)
black-eyed peas
mung
split peas (green or yellow)
soldier
and also snow cap.
I've tried all of the above except for snow cap and soldier. Hmmm..gotta get working on that!
Instructions
- Soak (over night) or for at least 8 hours. Just cover the beans in filtered water, covering them with at least enough water so you can touch the beans with your middle finger's tip and have the water cover your second knuckle. If you are planning to have beans for dinner, you can always start soaking them in the morning when you wake up and then cook them starting 8 hours later.
- Alternatively, speed soak in a pressure cooker (you can soak beans in only 2 minutes (yes, that's right, I said 2 minutes!!) in one of these amazing kitchen tools. You just cover the beans with filtered water (as instructed above) and cook on high for 2 minutes.
- Drain and rinse the beans
- Cook beans with any of the following:ajwain or epazote (See my post on Ajwain and Epazote).gingercuminfennelasafoetida (an Indian spice that is a good substitute for onion or garlic). There aren't any real measurements that I could find for any of the other seasonings besides ajwain and epazote, but we typically cook 6 cups of dried beans at a time and use 1 teaspoon fennel and 1 teaspoon ginger powder and our beans are pretty "tootless" 🙂For ajwain, you use 1/2 teaspoon for every 2 cups of cooked beans (or 2/3 cup dried)For epazote, use 1 tablespoon for every 1 cup dried beans.For the spices, generally we use about 1 heaping teaspoon of spices for every 3 cups of dried beans.For best results, boil the beans first, then skim off the scum/foam that builds up on top and then add the spice(s) in the correct proportions.If you do all of the above, you will find that any tooting will for sure be down to a minimum. And there just may be no toots at all.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Can You De-gas Canned Beans?
To reduce the effects of gassy components from canned beans, rinse the beans twice before using them in a recipe. It's likely not as effective as de-gassing dried beans, but it should help.
Bean Recipes
Here are some of our favorite bean recipes (surely there will be more in the future!)
- Pizza Hummus
- Fast and Yummy Bean Dip
- Buckwheat Lentil Crackers
- Lentil Recipes - from Breakfast to Dessert
- Indian Lentils
More Digestion-Boosting Tips
I've mentioned a few of these already, but these are some other topics regarding digestion that might be of interest.
Good for you, good for your budget, and good for your family (and friends)--get it? Like maybe you can keep all of your friends and not get disowned--even if you eat a lot of beans.
Do Beans Give You Gas?
Got another de-Gassing tip to share?
Hey Adrienne! Just chanced upon this site today. Very happy to know there are blogs like this..was surprised realizing there are more people like our family..we still have a LOT of bean days 🙂
This degassing trick I learnt was from my grandparents. If soaking didn't happen and the beans still HAD to be cooked, separate the cooked liquid and chuck it in the blender. There will be a lot of froth, remove the froth. Repeat about three or four times and you're ready for a safe bean dish for dinner.
Thank you and welcome!
Cooking my first pot of beans with cumin added. I am excited to see the results! I really like beans and would have cooked beans as an addition to any meal or by themselves except for their gaseous problem. Beans have come under attack lately because they contain a common plant enzyme called lectins and has been called an anti-nutrient. I am not an expert on lectins but it appears that this is possibly a lot of hoopla. For one, the lectins are cooked out when you cook the beans thoroughly. And who wants to eat raw beans anyway?
Hope it goes well for you! I did hear that most / all of the lectins come out of beans when pressure cooking and soaking so that is a good thing-- I don't know why that is, but that has been shown to be the case--more than traditional cooking. And ditto on the raw / undercooked beans. Yuck!
Well that didn't work...in fact it made it worse
Oh no - so you are saying that cooking the beans in cumin made the gas worse?
Never could eat beans until Mrs made a mixed bean salad with apple vinegar. I had about two tablespoons of the salad every day this week and NO GAS! We think the vinegar is the answer after 66 years of avoiding them.
I wonder if the ACV helped w/ your digestion - great to hear either way!
This is so useful, and not much talked about - except by the sufferers - lol!
I love using beans, and have avoided them a bit, but now I can use them all the time! Thanks to you!
You are so welcome! Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment!
Lol thanks WholeNewMom! I am one that tried to avoid the beans altogether otherwise I'd have world war 3 going on in my intestines! ?Can fennel and ginger essential oil be used? If so are the measurements the same?
Thanks!
You are so welcome! I would think so but they are MUCH more potent so I would only use like maybe 1 drop in a very large pot? I'm just not sure.
Adrienne, thanks a lot for the article post.Much thanks again. Fantastic.
Well what fun are beans without the gas?
Beans, beans, magical fruit, the more you eat, the more you toot.
I guess--outside of Bean Fudge, maybe not much :)! Feel free to skip the tips!
I'm just joking around. The little ones did look to have a blast with the fudge though.
I knew you were :). Hope they like it!
Oh ok. Got the wrong impression of your response.
I'm sorry...didn't mean that. Thanks for checking with me and for reading!
Thanks for these helpful tips. I soaked a bag of 15 been soup for 5 hrs and they are on the stove cooking. They have been cooking for 4 hrs on low with a huge ham hock, fresh garlic and onions, green beans, tomatoes and carrots!
You are so welcome!!
Do you soak canned beans to degas them or just dry beans?
There isn't a benefit to soaking canned beans b/c they are cooked already.
After the beans are cooked I just put a long wooden spoon in the pot (just long enough for it to reach the top of the pot) that way the little farts can just climb out.
Best comment ever.
I found the answer to my question about proportions for ajwain and epazote here:
https://wholenewmom.com/recipes/ajwain-and-epazote/
Thanks!
First, I soak my beans overnight then drain and rinse them. Then, I place a small peeled Irish potato in the pot with beans to absorb the gas. Be use to toss the potato after the beans are done. Enjoy the beans without gas!
I use the soaking and rinsing technique but I add an additional step. The soaked and rinsed beans are then placed in a pot of boiling water, the heat is immediately turned of and the beans are allowed to set in the water and cool before a second straining and rinse. Then just cook them as desired. It does seem to reduce the amount of sugars left in them and thus the amount of gas.
In cooking the dry beans with ajwain or Epazota do you use the whole seeds or ground. I'd like to try both but I don't want to buy the wrong type. Thanks
Ajwain is the whole seed. Epazote is a like a dried leaf. I don't grind either of them. You could, but I don't.
What is the ratio of Epazote to beans?
Hi there. That info is in the post - thanks and hope it works for you!
Hi Adrienne. I have the same question. How much of the adwain or epasote should one use to de-gas beans? There is, in fact, nothing included in your above post about how much of the adwain or epazote to use. The term "correct proportions" is not explained: "Cook the beans with ajwain or epazote. I boil the beans first, then skim off the scum/foam that builds up on top and then add the ajwain or epazote in the correct proportions."
Also, the brand of epazote you link to on Amazon is no longer available. Any other source for epazote that you recommend?
Thanks!
Hi there. So sorry for the delay in responding. Your comment got buried under a load of others. The post has been updated and I should have a new link in there for you. Let me know if it doesn't work for you and happy bean cooking!
What is ajwain never heard of it before it's suppose to degas beans
Yes, that is how I use it. Hope it works for you!
What is razored and how do I use it to degas beans are there any other things that will degas beans that's easier to find
One other good thing about beans...they have a long shelf life...and they don't need electricity to keep fresh. If you power goes out and you have a camp stove, you can still eat a nutritious meal. Best to keep your deep freeze closed during a power outage
I can beans, so could I put ajwain in the jars when I can them. I"m trying to make the beans easier to digest. Thank you for the great read. Becky
:)!
We "soak" until they sprout. I don't know if sprouted beans are healthier or if all the phytic acid is gone or even how long to let sprout, but once they show a tail, we cook them and they seem to be digested much easier. I am hoping sprouting makes them even more nutritional powerhouses but l have no proof backing it up. Just less background music (and without the noxious smell). Even hubby does better on them.
I have read in numerous places that it reduces carbs and makes them more digestible. Yea for less background music :).
Thanks so much for the tips on degassing beans. So, do you cook the beans and lentils directly or do you use a pressure cooker? Also, how important is it to skim off the foam before adding ajwain, in the degassing process?
BTW, I am originally from India and ajwain is commonly used in dishes made with garbanzo beans and chickpeas for the same purpose. However, I haven't tried to use it with other beans and lentils and definitely not while cooking them. So, will definitely try this since my son, who is also on the autism spectrum, has lots of gas problems, with any lentils or beans.
You can cook the beans / lentils either way. I hope this works for you! And welcome. I hope to see you around again!