Soaking legumes, grains, and nuts is a good habit to get into when you have the time. Soaking legumes (lentils and beans), grains, and nuts in cool or room temperature water removes some of their phytic acid. Phytic acid is proven to hinder our absorption of important nutrients. So by soaking these foods, we increase our nutrient absorption. (With this said, phytic acid is not just a black and white topic like many things are not. Some recent studies have found benefits of it.) One thing is for sure though, soaking these foods is ideal.
From just a taste standpoint, beans, grains, and raw nuts normally taste so much better after soaking. Have you ever eaten a raw almond after it’s soaked? It’s softer, easier to chew, and so much more enjoyable to eat. Have you made almond milk without soaking your almonds and compared it to when you soak your almonds? It’s a big difference! The soaked almonds deliver a creamier, richer, more satisfying almond milk. Your body can tell the difference! Soaking optimizes our digestion of these legumes, grains, and nuts.
Beans also contain a high amount of lectins, so soaking and pressure cooking them makes a big difference in digestion. It still might take a bit for digestion to be smooth sailing even with soaking/pressure cooking as beans are so high in fiber. It depends on how fibrous of a diet you eat, but usually beans will become easier to digest with time.
Do I always soak everything? No. I often times just rinse rice and eat raw nuts without soaking them. I have gotten more faithful with soaking uncooked beans, chickpeas, lentils, quinoa, and almonds for almond milk on the norm though. It does become more routine once you get the hang of it. Plus, you’ll probably want to do it more as your taste buds and body will notice a difference.
A note on pre-cooked canned/boxed beans vs hard uncooked beans. I still buy the boxes/cans for ease sometimes and share them in recipes since I think that is what the majority is buying?? More often than not however, I am cooking my own beans and lentils. It reduces my food coming out of metal cans, they taste SO much better, I digest them way better, and it saves $. Two prepackaged brands that are better for digestion due to how they are prepared: Jovial glass jars and Eden canned beans.
Benefits Of Soaking Legumes, Grains, + Nuts
The Soaking Process:
Legumes:
- For every 1 cup of beans, add 4 cups of water. I honestly don’t measure though. I just fill a big glass bowl with water to make sure the beans always stay submerged. I also squeeze in around 1/4 lemon to the water which I’ve read lowers the lectins. Soak the beans in a large glass bowl overnight or 8-10 hours. Strain and rinse before cooking.
- Pressure Cooking Beans Is Ideal. I cook them in the instant pot. Every type of bean is different and I am still trying to play around with perfect times with each bean. If I ever overcook them, I just turn it into a bean dip or somewhat of a pureed soup. I also recently came across this tip. If you cook them with a small piece of KOMBU seaweed it helps reduce the lectins in addition to soaking them with a bit of lemon juice prior. Since I happened to have Kombu in my fridge, I started adding a small piece to the instant pot as well. (Cannellini Beans – 8 hour soak, rinse, pressure cook for 12 minutes with water just covering the beans – quick release RIGHT AWAY, rinse in a large, wide strainer and let cool) (Black Beans – 8-12 hour soak, rinse, pressure cook for 10 minutes with water an inch above beans. Let naturally self release for 20 minutes, test for desired doneness, and then drain.)
- Lentils – Lentils are softer, so I generally just submerge in water and soak around 2 hours if I think of it ahead of time (I don’t soak red lentils). Strain and rinse before adding to desired cooking recipe. You might like these One Pot Indian Green Lentils. For the times I don’t soak lentils, I still rinse well under water despite what the bag says.
Grains:
- Rinse 1 cup of quinoa, rice, or other grain well. Soak it in a glass bowl with 2 cups of room temp water. I leave uncovered on the counter for 2 hours. After the 2 hours is up, drain and rinse in a mesh strainer.
- To Cook: Add 1.5 cups water and the rinsed quinoa to a small pot and bring to a boil. After boiling, lower the heat super low, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes until the water is absorbed and grain rises. Remove from the heat. Depending on if it needs more steaming or not, I’ll keep it covered or let it sit uncovered for around 10 minutes. Fluff it up with a fork or even a wooden spatula like I do. You may like this Kale Quinoa White Bean Salad.
- During the times I don’t soak grains, I at least rinse them very well regardless of what the package says.
Nuts:
- Different nuts require different soak times depending on their consistency. Short soak nuts (2-3 hours) are macadamia nuts and cashews. Medium soak nuts – walnuts, brazil nuts, pecans (4-6 hours). Long soak nuts (8+ hours) – almonds and hazelnuts. I really only soak almonds on the norm and cashews when I’m making cashew cheese.
- To soak almonds for almond milk or just eating them: The longer the almonds soak, the creamier, more delicious, and nutritious your milk will be. Overnight to 24 hours is great if you have the time. Add almonds to a glass bowl and add filtered water; covering the almonds about 1-2 inches. Drain and rinse after soaking.
PIN IT TO SHARE IT 🤍 Benefits Of Soaking Legumes, Grains, + Nuts:
This post contains affiliate links, which means I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you. I am only featuring items I love. As an amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you so much for your support! See my full disclosure.