TIL the 'cook dried beans overnight' advice is wasting my money and I'm done doing it

Mia Walker · 2026-09-10T11:55:04.661482+00:00

I used to soak dried beans overnight every single time, like clockwork, because that's what everyone says you have to do. Then back in March I read the package on a bag of pinto beans from the Kroger off Lamar and it hit me that soaking has basically zero to do with saving money, it just saves a little cooking time. So I stopped. Now I dump the beans straight in the pot with water, onion, and a spoon of bacon grease, bring it to a boil, and let them go about 2 hours. The gas bill difference is maybe pennies, but here's the real thing: I'm not wasting a whole night of fridge space on a bowl of soaking beans anymore, and I'm not forgetting about them and having to toss a batch that went sour, which used to happen to me at least once every couple months. A pound of dried pintos at $1.49 makes like 6 cups cooked, and I was throwing out soaked ones way more often than I want to admit. My grandma swore by the overnight soak and I love her but she was cooking on a wood stove where time did not cost anything. Anyone else just skip the soak entirely, or am I gonna get yelled at for this one?

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TIL the 'cook dried beans overnight' advice is wasting my money and I'm done doing it | Budget Friendly Meals - Rigidtalk