Do you want to know how to reheat beans properly?
Beans are a staple food all over the globe to vegetarians and omnivores alike. They’re cheap, high in protein, and low in fat, making them a viable main course or perfect side dish for most meals.
But, like most foods, beans suffer from being a sub-par leftover that is hard to reheat and difficult to consume.
If you don’t know how to reheat beans, going back to the leftovers can be a challenge, but depending on the type of bean you’ve saved, the process doesn’t have to be impossible.
How to Reheat Baked Beans
Baked beans are a sweet and salty side dish commonplace in the southern states.
Baked beans are often just microwaved, becoming a sticky glob of lukewarm mediocrity.
Instead, the oven can be utilized to warm up the beans, while still keeping them separated in their juice.
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, or around 165 Celsius.
2. Place the beans in an oven-safe baking dish. This is a great time to add additional flavors to mix up the side. Crumbled bacon makes a great addition to baked beans, as do diced onions and garlic.
3. Cover the beans and any toppings with aluminum foil and allow to warm up in the oven, checking after 15 minutes, and then every 5 minutes after. Depending on your oven, it should only take between 15-30 minutes.
Reheating Refried Beans
Refried beans are a common dish in Central American cuisine. Because of the paste-like consistency of these beans, the best method to reheat refried beans is on a stovetop.
1. Place cold beans in a pot.
2. Add a splash of water to the beans and stir to loosen the beans up. This stops the cold beans from becoming a dried-out brick.
3. Turn the stove to medium heat, stirring the beans to prevent sticking and burning. The total reheating process should only take about 4-8 minutes depending on your stovetop.
Once your beans are warm, add any additional toppings to increase the bean flavor. White cheeses like pepper jack, white cheddar, or preferably cotija cheese go great with refried beans.
How to Reheat Rice and Beans
For a basic rice and beans dish, the best way to bring your dish back up to temperature is, surprisingly, using a microwave.
1. Place the leftovers onto a microwave-wave plate.
2. Add a small splash of water to the rice and beans and stir. This will prevent the rice from becoming gummy and forming into a solid mass around the beans.
3. Place into a microwave, and microwave for a minute at a time, taking the dish out to stir each time, until the food has reached the desired temperature.
Optionally: place a damp towel over the food to keep moisture locked in. This can help keep the rice and beans from drying out, but you should always be careful when putting any fabric into a microwave.
Some fabrics cannot handle microwave heat, and anything with any metal on it becomes an immediate fire hazard in a microwave.