Best-Tasting Canned Beans
Our experts evaluated canned black beans and chickpeas for nutrition and taste. Here are our top picks.
Chickpeas, black beans, and other legumes are among the most nutritious foods. Even so, Americans eat just one-third cup of beans weekly, on average, according to a 2021 report in Frontiers in Nutrition. What gives?
“The biggest misconceptions are that dried beans are difficult to prepare and that canned beans are unhealthy,” says Lourdes Castro Mortillaro, MS, RDN, director of the NYU Food Lab. “Both could not be further from the truth.”
The Benefits of Beans
Beans are excellent sources of protein and fiber. They also provide important vitamins and minerals like potassium, folate, and iron, as well as anthocyanins, which are plant compounds that have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. (Dark-colored beans, such as black beans and kidney beans, have the most anthocyanins.) Eating a mostly plant-based diet that regularly includes beans can have benefits for your gut health, heart health, and more, according to a 2021 article in the journal Nutrients.
A Fix for the Sodium Problem
“The nutrients found in dried and canned beans are the same, with the exception that canned beans contain more sodium,” says Castro Mortillaro. For the beans we tested, a half-cup had up to 480 mg of sodium, more than 20 percent of the maximum 2,300 mg you should have in a day.
Draining and rinsing beans washes away some of the sodium, and we were curious to see just how much you’d save by taking this step. We sent samples of the beans both as packaged (beans and liquid) and drained and rinsed to a lab to measure their sodium content. The beans were rinsed and gently stirred in a colander for 30 seconds. “On average, sodium levels dropped by 40 to 50 percent,” says Amy Keating, RD, a CR nutritionist who oversaw our tests.
A bonus: The compounds in beans that make some people gassy, oligosaccharides, are water soluble and leach into the canning liquid. So draining and rinsing beans is a fix for that pesky problem, too.
Bean Taste Test
There was variability in the flavor and texture of the beans, and some were better than others (see our Top Picks below). “We found that you do need a little salt to bring out the beans’ nutty, earthy flavors,” Keating says. Our testers tasted the beans after they’d been drained and rinsed. “The best-tasting beans had around 200 to 240 mg of sodium per half-cup,” she says. “Still, that doesn’t mean that other beans aren’t a good choice. We only found one brand that we’d suggest skipping. Beans will pick up the flavor of the foods and spices they’re cooked with, so how the beans taste on their own may be less important in dishes with lots of ingredients.”
These beans are flavorful, with a nutty, buttery vibe. The texture of the beans varied, ranging from firm to tender. They are a good choice for soups and stews, or blended into hummus.
- Sodium 480 mg
- Sodium after rinsing 240 mg
Large and plump with a nutty flavor and creamy interior, these beans would be perfect in a salad, or try them roasted in the oven for a crunchy snack.
- Sodium 340 mg
- Sodium after rinsing 195 mg
Low Sodium $2.60
These are on the small side, but they're a decent choice for those watching their sodium. They're a bit bland, so it's best to pair them with flavorful ingredients like lemon juice, garlic, and herbs.
- Sodium 130 mg
- Sodium after rinsing 60 mg
Mild flavor, with a slightly soft and grainy texture.
- Sodium 10 mg
- Sodium after rinsing 5 mg
These have a beany, nutty flavor. The texture is a bit grainy. Their extra-firm texture would make them a good choice for roasting.
- Sodium 300 mg
- Sodium after rinsing 135 mg
Like the low-sodium version, the chick peas were small and firm. They're more flavorful though, yet still reasonably low in sodium.
- Sodium 380 mg
- Sodium after rinsing 185 mg
These are earthy, with a hint of nuttiness. The cans contained mostly whole beans that had a firm texture and tender interior. We think these beans would be great in chili or a chunky soup because they're not mushy.
- Sodium 410 mg
- Sodium after rinsing 240 mg
These very flavorful beans are slightly soft and creamy. They’d be good in a blended soup or a black-bean purée. Some of the beans in the can were broken.
- Sodium 410 mg
- Sodium after rinsing 215 mg
Although these beans have a mild flavor, they aren’t so low in sodium that they taste bland. Their slightly firm texture makes them good for salads.
- Sodium 135 mg
- Sodium after rinsing 80 mg
These beans are low in sodium because they are packaged with tiny bits of seaweed instead of salt. They're a good choice for those who must keep an eye on sodium intake. Their flavor is mild and the texture is slightly firm.
- Sodium 15 mg
- Sodium after rinsing <5 mg
The can had several broken pieces, but the beans were quite flavorful.
- Sodium 450 mg
- Sodium after rinsing 220 mg
The tough, chewy skins and overly firm texture of these was a turnoff to our testers. And while their sodium level was fine, they tasted mild—which would prompt most to pull out the salt shaker.
- Sodium 130 mg
- Sodium after rinsing 100 mg
Editor’s Note: This article also appeared in the January 2024 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.
