Beans are one of the most popular products in almost any kitchen! They perfectly fit many dishes especially with meaty or dishes with sausages and they are very easy to cook and bake in particular. That is why we often resort to freezing baked beans to eat them later.
Here you will find everything you need to keep the beans longer and have them the same delicious!
Related: Can You Freeze Tortillas?
Why Beans So Useful?
Baked beans are made of so-called navy beans that are not only good-tasting but also very healthy and useful.
They are rich in fiber and B vitamin (B1 and B9 in particular), and also, this kind of beans is a great source of different minerals like iron and magnesium.
They also help to reduce blood pressure and blood sugar level and normalize them. Even wight loss can go easier when consuming these beans regularly!
Baked Beans Shelf Life and Duration of Storage
When it comes to keeping beans, we may be a bit confused because, let us agree, we don’t freeze beans that often, usually we just cook them and eat at once. Besides, the maintenance duration and conditions for tinned and, for example, domestic-cooked beans differ.
Do baked beans freeze well?
To tell the truth, once you have cooked the beans, they won’t take you too much effort to freeze them and, what is even more important, they don’t need any special manipulations to get them ready them for the meeting with your freezer.
Can baked beans be frozen?
They can. Baked beans can survive in the freezer for a pretty long period of time up to half a year. Of course, if you follow the instructions on how to get them ready them for freezing. That is why this dish is so popular in many families – it doesn’t require too much fuss to keep it eatable.
Tinned cooked legume, however, have shorter lifespan and will manage to stay frozen for two months at most.
How long do baked beans last in the fridge?
When being properly stored, your baked beans will be able to spend about four days refrigerated.
What about the tinned cooked foodstuff, you may ask? Can-packed cooked legumes are also possible to freeze, moreover, their durability period normally extends over the expiring date indicated on the can as it simply shows till when they will be at their highest taste level.
How to Freeze Baked Beans Correctly?
Now that we have figured out the most common and essential points regarding baked beans keeping, ket us proceed to their keeping specifics.
This question bothers many of us as nobody wants to spoil their food, especially if it is so appetizing! Let’s make out the two ways of freezing baked beans that you can cope with.
- Freeze domestically made baked beans
So, if you happened to cook some baked beans by yourself and would like to keep some for later use, follow the next instructions.
Cool the beans down at room temperature as when being frozen hot, they can cause the tank to break or even expand! (Yeah, beans are the dangerous things!).
Find a solid hermetic tank and remove the beans together with the sauce into it. Any ceramic or plastic tank with a cap would be the best choice. And remember to leave some empty space between the beans and the cap top in case for the box to explode.
Now feel free to freeze.
- How to male frozen cooked tinned legumes
You may be surprised, but tinned cooked legume can also be frozen! An unsealed can will stay durable for about two months if you store it in the hermetic container or wrap it tightly with a high-performance foil.
- What to do if there is flesh with the beans?
If you added some bossy, for example, deli meat, to the beans while cooking them, it’s ok. Just cover the meaty pieces with as much sauce as you can before you toss the dish to the freezer.
What Else You Might Want to Know?
Nobody can know everything but the more you know about freezing baked beans the longer your side dish will remain delicious and eatable.
So what else can be useful to know?
Can you freeze leftover baked beans?
Yes, leftovers can be exposed to the frost the same well as the freshly-cooked beans. Let them cool down and then scoop to any hermetic tank you can find. A solid box with the top, ceramic or plastic, would be the best. Ensure that there is enough space between the lid and the beans layer inside!
Like that, your beans leftovers will remain eatable for up to half a year.
Can you freeze tinned cooked legumes?
There is no big deal with freezing tinned cooked beans once the can was unsealed. Just replace the beans to the hermetic box or wrap the can with a frost-resistant foil and freeze.
How long does freezing tin-packed beans take?
After you put the baked beans to freeze, they will get completely frozen in one or two days depending on how much beans you used.
Can you freeze pork and beans?
If you have a mix of flesh or tasty ham and beans you need to freeze, don’t worry, it will be fine. Use the same scheme as for freezing plain beans only ensure that the sauce covers the meaty dish completely to prevent it from drying.
How to Tell If Baked Beans Went Bad?
No matter whether tinned or domestically-cooked, baked beans can turn bad anyway. To notice that something is wrong, pay attention to how they look and smell. If you sense any unpleasant odor or see any traces of mold, discard those beans immediately as they are impossible to save anymore.
And remember that neither heating nor any other methods won’t help to make the beans eatable once they got spoiled.
These simple but effective hints and life hacks will allow you to preserve your favorite side dish and enjoy it longer with the same taste and flavor.
How Do We Defrost Frozen Baked Beans?
Freezing food is a good way to preserve it. But we often face complications when we take it out of the freezer since not all the food defrosts the same way.
Since it is important to know how to unfreeze our meals correctly without harming them, we will provide you with several handy and easy suggestions about thawing frozen baked beans.
- If you have enough time, just remove the food from the freezer to the fridge, and leave your frozen baked beans there overnight. Like this, they will have plenty of time to defrost slowly and properly.
- In case you are in a hurry a bit and you need those frozen baked beans for dinner already, we can offer a quicker method. Once you take the food out of the freezer, immerse the packet or tank with it into the warm water. It will allow defrosting beans in four to eight hours (depending on how much time they spent in the freezer).
- If the recipe doesn’t call for beans to be started with, it’s fine to mix them into the dish right from the freezer. It won’t spoil the food and the frozen baked legumes will thaw, too.
- Another easy method of unfreezing frozen baked beans is to microwave them, but that’s if you’re really short on time! If you choose this one, don’t set the highest regime (this is important!), otherwise, the beans will be icy inside and charred from outside. Also, don’t heat them up in the freezer-safe tank/packet. Replace the food to the microwave-resistant bowl.
And remember that, the longer you leave the frozen baked beans in the freezer, the more they lose their taste and aroma. So if your goal is to have delicious food, we insist that it is important to make use of them asap.
Keep your frozen baked legume in a freezer-safe packet, don’t leave them to frost in the freezer too long, and defrost correctly – and you’ll have appetizing and easy to prepare food on the table in a blink of an eye!
Frequent Mistakes Made When Keeping And Cooking Frozen Baked Beans
Not all of us are experienced grocery keepers, and naturally, even fewer are good at keeping foods delicious and of a proper texture in the freezer. However, everyone would like to enjoy a delicious meal for dinner, so being aware of how to keep the foodstuff safe while in a freezer is a must for everyone.
Moreover, proper cooking and reheating after the freezer are also important for the food being safe to eat.
Frozen baked beans are not an exception. We tend to think that they can’t be harmed since they are already processed but in fact, even this durable food can be not good if thawed or being stocked improperly.
This is why we suggest everyone look through the following important facts, learn what mistakes can be made when keeping frozen baked beans, and figure out how to avoid them to keep the food safe and delicious.
Defrosting them no matter what
We think that, since they were in a freezer, frozen baked beans must be defrosted. Nevertheless, it is not necessary to do all the time! Quite many recipes ask for the legumes being incorporated cold so don’t be afraid to add them to the foods right from the freezer.
Moreover, if we defrost frozen baked beans prior to cooking them, the texture may get mushy and the food will not look much appetizing.
Find substitutions for a microwave!
This kitchen device is indeed very handy when we are short on time, but it is also not so good for the food we defrost this way since, like any moist heat approach, microwave kills vitamins. Instead, try out steaming, sauteing, or stir-frying as an option to prepare frozen baked legumes. These methods are easy and they will keep the meal delicious.
Consider the cooking time
Not all frosted veggies must be cooked the same long time. Smaller pieces, and frozen baked beans, too, will take less time to get ready. Since they are small and already soft, they won’t need much heat to be cooked.
Check the recipe before beginning to see at what stage the frozen baked legumes must be incorporated and for how much time to be cooked.
Maybe, you freeze improperly?
It is not only about frozen baked beans: all food must be sealed hermetically before being placed into the freezer. It will protect the goodies from getting mushy after thawing and reheating, and it will keep them delicious as well.
Ensure you are using proper freezer-safe containers for the food, and double-check they have light lids. Remember: commercial packaging is mostly not freezer-safe and can’t be used for keeping meals frosted!
Divide into portions
We often make the same mistake: freeze the whole batch of foodstuff that will have to be cooked in parts. Since repeated reheating and thawing will ruin the dish, divide it into smaller portions to make the cooking procedure easy.
Many recipes ask for a precise amount of ingredients, so freeze the exact amounts of foodstuffs considering the recipes you’re usually using. Find small containers, it will make it easier to thaw the beans and add them to the meal.
Consider how they’ll thaw
Foodstuff frozen in thin layers will be reheated or thawed faster and simpler. Regarding beans, instead of firm containers, take frost-resistant packets and freeze them flat. Like that, it will take less time to incorporate them into the meal.
Enjoy!
Read next: How Long Does Steak Last In The Fridge?
