Cooking dried beans for dips, spreads, salads etc.

How to prepare them before using

Whenever I cook beans for dips, salads, or other dishes that call for boiled beans, I make a big batch and freeze about half for later use.

Usually, 500 g of dried beans are enough for a bean-based main dish like Greek giant beans baked in the oven that will feed comfortably 6 people.

If, however, you’re planning to use them in a dip, like this red kidney bean dip with za’atar, then you will need half of that amount for the actual dip and the rest you can put in freezer bags for another use.