Our Favorite Ways to Cook Beans

Two years after the pandemic began, beans are still wildly popular — and they’re surprisingly versatile, as far as flavor and cooking methods. As you know, beans and rice are one of Mark’s favorite foods, one he’s called, “the most important dish on the planet.” For today, we’ve done an informal in-house poll (and beyond) on our favorite beans and how we cook them — and we’ve pulled a collection of bean recipes for members. We’d also love to hear about your favorite beans and how you cook them: Talk to us in the comments.

Honestly, I was not a huge fan of beans before I started interning at an organic bean farm, and now I’m a bean nerd — down to having a preference in variety (Hopi red limas are better than calico limas, in my opinion). I like to brine my beans overnight, then cook them in some kind of bone broth. I’ve been defaulting to a broth made from duck neck bones lately and that’s been lovely. Much like Kerri, I believe the bean broth to be supreme, and starting with a bone broth gives a certain unctuousness that I crave. I also throw in a handful of garlic cloves, bay leaves and a few good glugs of olive oil then gently simmer for as long as it takes until they’re done. Sometimes that takes an hour, sometimes it takes three, but it’s always worth it. — Holly Haines