How much do dry beans expand when soaked?

Question

I've got four cups of dry pinto beans. What will be their volume after I let them soak overnight?

score 8 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 17 '11 at 09:17

Typically dry beans expand 2-3 times their original volume when soaked, depending on their age (fresher beans have more moisture left than older ones and expand less). I usually put them in a large pot and cover them with at least 5-6cm of water above.

score 6 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 01 '13 at 17:03

6

It's closer to 3 to 4 times. I actually measured mine, I make 6 pounds at a time and they swelled up (after cooking and draining leftover water) about 3.5 times.

answered Feb 01 '13 at 17:03

Tina

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score 5 · Answer 3 · edited Mar 09 '17 at 17:30

5

Here is an image of a dry pinto bean next to a pinto bean that I soaked for 8 hours. You can see that the soaked bean is about 3.5 times the size of the dry bean. 4 cups of dry beans will turn into ~12 cups of soaked beans.

enter image description here

edited Mar 09 '17 at 17:30

Community

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answered Jun 29 '14 at 00:55

meskarune

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4

score 3 · Answer 4 · answered Feb 17 '13 at 16:03

3

I quick soaked 1 cup of black beans and wound up with almost 5 cups of them.

answered Feb 17 '13 at 16:03

user16846

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score 2 · Answer 5 · answered Dec 22 '15 at 21:13

2

I measured by volume, not weight. 3/4 cup of navy beans came out to just over 1 3/4 cups after cooking. After soaking them overnight, they were just about doubled. After cooking they were roughly 2.5 times the dried volume.

answered Dec 22 '15 at 21:13

Karen

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How much do dry beans expand when soaked?

5 Answers5