Can You Freeze Black Beans? How to Save Loads of Money and Time

Have you ever wondered, “Can you freeze black beans?” Yes, freezing black beans is not only possible, it’s actually an amazing idea to save money! And it is not just black beans, but you can freeze ANY beans. I want to teach you how to freeze black beans and pinto beans in this post. If you cook and prep bulk freezer beans, you will save loads of money! 

I love trying to find ways of saving on our groceries just a bit more. Beans are already a great way to save, and so I want to take it to another level with these bulk freezer beans idea! 

Saving money on groceries is a step-by-step process. Over the many years I have been applying the 2% Rule to find ways of cutting our budget each month, I think I have reached a pinnacle, when I just find yet another creative solution. 

For example, I never used to do much with beans. My first step was mixing beans with ground beef in recipes. This meant that I could use 1lb of ground beef, and 1-can of beans and save loads of money (not to mention a littler healthier too). 

I was proud of myself for finding a way to double our protein on the cheap. But then the next step was learning to stop buying canned beans, but work with the dry beans in the 1-3 lb packages at the store. That was yet another level of savings. 

Finally, it was learning to buy beans in 25lb. bags for $25 and work with dry beans in bulk. 

At each level, I really thought I couldn’t get much more frugal, and yet, the ideas keep flowing. 

So one problem I ran into was the fact that I had to be prepared and well planned to be able to use bulk beans. It takes several hours, if not overnight, to even have the ability to use them.  I didn’t like buying beans in cans for the BPA factor, but even pre-prepared beans saved me money, even if it wasn’t from my bulk bean supply. I am a busy mom of 6 who also works at home and so I just sometimes can’t take the time required, but I don’t like the expense of convenience foods. It’s a real struggle! 

So I would buy these packages of frozen beans for those dinner and meal emergencies. 

But that is where the next level comes in… taking my bulk beans and having a “bean of a good time” packaging my own beans. I now only have to do this about every 6 months and I have the convenience of pre-cooked beans that are a bit healthier. 

And the price… well, one can’s worth of beans only cost $0.10 per package! And we use these beans often. 

I also started doing this with chili a few years ago. Making about 12 cups of prepared beans and turning them all into chili. I make the chili just with beans (and of course tomatoes, corn, and onions), then I freeze flat in gallon ziplocks. I then put it in a crockpot as is, or I add beef or chicken at the time of cooking. It has been another wonderful and frugal solution saving tons of money, but also avoiding aluminum cans as much as possible. 

Frozen beans are healthier than aluminum canned beans, but cost a lot more.  And canned beans themselves can get pretty pricey!

That’s why I wanted to freeze black beans – money and health. 

Let me tell you the story of how this happened: 

I do try to have a menu and meal plan, along with the dinner by 10 to plan a healthy meal with enough time to prep it.  But when it comes to beans, I often miss the mark on prepping and so I wanted to have a quick and easy way to grab some fresh beans that are already cooked and throw them into my recipes.

I bought a couple of these Hanover Beans Essentials for $1.28 at Walmart in the freezer section.

They have been very useful and very easy to use.  The amount was perfect for adding to 1-lb. of beef to make 1-lb. of beef stretch to be equivalent to 2-lbs. of beef in recipes (another way we save big by stretching our meats with healthy add-ins!).

Each bag is also equivalent to one can of beans, which is an easy way to convert for recipes and cooking when recipes call for “1 can of beans.”

I just didn’t want to spend $1.28 anymore for my emergency bean needs when I forgot to get the bulk beans we have soaking the night before.

So I decided just to make my own!

How To Freeze Black Beans

Here’s what I did:

•  I filled two 9-quart stock pots half way up with dry beans.  One had black beans and the other had pinto beans.  I then filled them with water to cover the beans and then another inch of water (or until the water reaches the first joint in your index finger when touching the beans.  I soaked them in 9-quart stock pots overnight.
• I also try to dump and rinse at least three times during the soaking process.  This greatly reduces the gas (or flatulence – whatever fits your fancy on the subject!).
• Then I boil the beans for about 1-hour, draining and rinsing at least once again here too.
• I then drain and and rinse in cold water and let them cool on the counter in a big bowl.

• I prepare sandwich ziploc bags for the freezer storage by labeling with the type of bean and the date!

Now to figure out how much to add to each baggie!  So if each store-bought bag is equivalent to one can of beans, I want to keep this same measurement to continue to make it easy to use in recipes and to double my 1lb. of ground beef.

Well, 3/4 cup is one serving and there is a total of 3 servings…… So I will too put in three 3/4 cup scoops of cooked beans into each baggie!

And that’s exactly what I did!

Now I have my own fresh frozen beans for my last minute bean needs!

And now you know how to freeze black beans too! 

Now for the cost, I can buy a 25 lb. bag of beans for $25 at a local bulk foods store.  I barely touched the bulk supply and so I estimate my version to cost .10 (plus the cost of the ziploc!).  That is quite a savings!  They also store well in a freezer because they can be frozen nice and flat, which conserves room in your freezer!

They ended up being the exact consistency as the store-bought versions, which was perfect as I loved using the store-bought ones for convenience sake.

Now let’s talk about an issue that many of us think about when eating beans…… that lovely three-letter word…… gas.

I just want to mention this, I don’t know if the next batch I make will be the same (hoping so with the same process shared above) but these seem to cause less gas.

You see, right after I did this thrifty project, I made a soup with the black beans. Alex said that he felt quite gassy…. he didn’t feel it, I already knew it.  🙂 So he said: “I wonder what we could do to these next time to reduce the gas.”  Well, I said, since this is from the LAST bag of the store-bought ones…. I hope my process (taught to me by my mom and grandma) will have less gas.

Sure enough, next time I used my own freezer beans and the gas was at a minimum! Alex was pleased, but I was even more pleased. 🙂

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