Why dehydrate canned beans? Well, several reasons. They’re great for camping, hiking, and backpacking meals because they hydrate quickly. So you won’t need to spend a lot of time or fuel to cook meals that use them. They are also great for making homemade MREs for the same reason.

We can also use dehydrated canned beans to doctor up those store-bought freeze-dried food pouches.

Canned beans, whether they be black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, white beans, lentils, or others, can all be dehydrated. Whereas, dehydrated home-cooked and dried beans remain hard when you rehydrate them.

Dehydrated canned beans are also shelf-stable and properly stored; they will last many months.

Beans and legumes are excellent sources of dietary fiber, protein, B vitamins, and many other important vitamins and minerals. There is evidence that suggests they can even help reduce blood sugar, boost heart health, and maintain a healthy gut microbiome.

So, let’s get started dehydrating some canned beans.

How to Dehydrate Canned Beans
Supplies Needed for Dehydrating Beans
Step 1. Process for Dehydrating Canned Beans
Step 2. Preparing the Dehydrator for Dehydrating Canned Beans
Step 3. Dehydrating Canned Beans
Step 4. When are the Dehydrated Canned Beans Done
Step 5. Equalizing and Conditioning the Dehydrated Beans
Step 6. Storing the Dehydrated Beans
Hydration
Weights, Measures, and Serving Sizes
Insider Tips

How to Dehydrate Canned Beans

It’s easy to dehydrate canned beans. So, pick up several cans and give it a go. You’ll be surprised how easy this is to do.

All you need to dehydrate canned beans is a good-quality food dehydrator. We use the Nesco food dehydrators. You can check out our food dehydrator guide to learn why we think Nesco offers the best bang for the buck. We believe this is the best food dehydrator for our long-term food storage needs.

Supplies Needed for Dehydrating Beans

Food dehydrator
Removable fruit roll sheet inserts, one for each dehydrator tray
Standard kitchen tools, including cutting boards, chef’s knife, spatula, mixing bowls, etc
Clear canning jars with tight-fitting lids
Wide-mouth canning jar funnel
Food-safe desiccant packets
Several 15-ounce cans of your favorite canned beans

Step 1. Process for Dehydrating Canned Beans

rinsing black beans in a colander — This is step 1 in today’s how to dehydrate canned beans project. We need to rinse these beans to get rid of all that salty and starchy bean liquid.

Open your can of beans and dump the contents into a colander. We’ll need to rinse away all the thick and starchy liquid and salt from the beans so we can dehydrate them.

Step 2. Preparing the Dehydrator for Dehydrating Canned Beans

We are using removable fruit roll sheet inserts on our Nesco FD-61 food dehydrator trays for dehydrating canned beans.

black beans on dehydrator tray — This is one 15-ounce can of black beans on our Nesco FD-61 dehydrator tray. This is all you want per tray, so there is plenty of room for air circulation and even drying.

Evenly spread and layer the beans over the fruit roll sheet inserts. Spread them out for better airflow and faster dehydration. If it’s too crowded prepare another tray.

Nesco fruit roll sheets | best foods to dehydrate for long term storage | dehydrating food for long term storage | dehydrated food recipes for long term storage | dehydrating meals for long term storage | food dehydrator for long term storage | making dehydrated meals for camping | homemade dehydrated meal recipes | make your own dehydrated camping food | homemade dehydrated camping meals | homemade dehydrated backpacking meals — These inexpensive Nesco 13.5-inch fruit roll sheet inserts come in 2 to a pack. You’re going to need one for each dehydrator tray and maybe a few extra. They are perfect for making fruit rolls, drying sauces & soups, and catching drips to make cleanup easy. The no-spill lip allows you to dry liquids and semi-liquids like fruits, sauces, soups, and gelatins. They do stain when drying tomato products, but no worries.

We will use these removable Nesco fruit roll sheet inserts with our Nesco FD-61 for dehydrating canned beans. They have over 3000 customer reviews with an average rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 which is evidence of a great product. Check out other Nesco food dehydrator products here.

lentils on dehydrator trays — These are canned lentils that have been rinsed of all the salty and starchy bean liquid.

The Nesco 13.5-inch round dehydrator tray has close to 119 square inches or .8 square feet of surface area for drying.

One can of rinsed beans will easily fill one Nesco 13.5-inch round dehydrator tray with a fruit roll sheet.

white kidney beans on dehydrator tray — This is one 15-ounce can of white kidney beans that have been rinsed of that thick, salty, and starchy bean liquid. Doesn’t look like much, does it?

Step 3. Dehydrating Canned Beans

The dehydrator temperature control is set to 135 °F / 57 °C — We have set the dehydrator temperature control to 135 °F / 57 °C.

Set the drying temperature to 160 °F / 71 °C for 2 hours, then dial it back to 135 °F / 57 °C to speed up dehydration. Canned beans will dehydrate in approximately 6 to 8 hours, depending upon the ambient temperature and humidity and how crowded the trays are filled. Remember to use drying times as a guide.

Step 4. When are the Dehydrated Canned Beans Done

Start checking for doneness in 6 hours. Canned beans take 6 to 8 hours to dehydrate at 135 °F / 57 °C depending on ambient temperatures and humidity and how crowded you fill your trays.

dehydrated canned black beans on a dehydrator tray — Canned beans take 6 to 8 hours to dehydrate at 135 °F / 57 °C depending on ambient temperatures and humidity and how crowded you fill your trays. They will be crunchy if tasted and will easily break into a powder if crushed between your fingertips when finished dehydrating. You’ll notice that the skin will break or split from the beans shrinking as they dry. This is expected.

They will be crunchy if tasted and will easily break into a powder if crushed between your fingertips when finished dehydrating.

closeup of dehydrated black beans on a dehydrator tray — A closeup view of our fully dehydrated black beans. These are done. You’ll notice that the skin is broken on nearly every bean on this tray.

Drying times will vary depending on your dehydrator. Refer to your dehydrator owner’s manual for recommended temperatures and times for dehydrating specific foods. Remember to use drying times as a guide.

You’ll notice that the skin will break or split from the beans shrinking as they dry. This is expected.

Step 5. Equalizing and Conditioning the Dehydrated Beans

When the dehydrated beans are removed from the dehydrator, any remaining moisture in the dried beans may not be distributed equally because of their size or their location and position in the dehydrator. Equalizing and conditioning is a procedure for freshly dehydrated foods that ensures any residual moisture remaining in any piece is spread or equalized among all the other pieces in the batch. Let the dehydrated beans equalize and condition in the canning jar for 7 to 10 days.

We always recommend letting food items cool completely after they have finished dehydrating and before packing them into an airtight storage container for equalizing and conditioning. Warm food may cause sweating which could provide enough moisture for mold to grow.

equalizing and conditioning dehydrated black beans in a canning jar is step 5 in how to dehydrate canned beans — When the dehydrated canned beans are removed from the dehydrator, any remaining moisture in the dried beans may not be distributed equally because of their size or their location and position in the dehydrator. Equalizing and conditioning is a process for freshly dehydrated foods that ensures any residual moisture remaining in any piece is spread or equalized among all the other pieces in the batch. Let the dehydrated beans equalize and condition in the canning jar for 7 to 10 days.

It does not take long for dehydrated food items to start hydrating from naturally occurring household humidity. Do not leave dehydrated food items exposed to the elements any longer than necessary because of the increased risk of mold growth.

After a short cooling period, pack the dehydrated beans into clean, dry, insect-proof containers with tight-fitting lids. We’ll use pint- and quart-size canning jars for this task. Fill the jars at most 2/3 to 3/4 full, leaving some headspace.

A quality stainless steel or plastic canning funnel makes the messy job of getting dehydrated foods off the dehydrator tray removable inserts and into the canning jars an easy task. Take a minute or two and check them out here on Amazon.

Every day, check the jar for moisture. Roll the jar contents around and note any clumping or sticking. If seen, put the contents back on the dehydrator for several more hours. Since canning jars are clear, it’s easy to see what’s inside.

Step 6. Storing the Dehydrated Beans

In the equalizing and conditioning phase in Step 5, we left some headspace so we could easily inspect the dehydrated beans. Now we are in the storage phase, we can now pack the dried beans into clean, dry, insect-proof containers as tightly as possible without crushing. Note, that dried beans will easily crush into bits.

We continue to use clear canning jars with tight-fitting lids as storage containers. They are transparent, making it easy to see the contents. We’re also adding moisture-absorbing desiccant packets. I don’t use a desiccant packet for moisture control during the equalizing and conditioning phase in Step 5. Doing so might mask moisture issues should the food items not be adequately dried.

long term storage of dehydrated black beans — My preferred means of longer-term storage of dehydrated beans are canning jars with tight-fitting lids. We live in a fairly humid area, so we use a 5-gram desiccant packet for moisture control in this 1-quart canning jar.

We use these inexpensive food-safe desiccant packets which are available from Amazon. These 5-gram packets have over 5000 of mostly 4- and 5-star customer reviews, with an average of 4.7 stars out of 5. Our bag of 60 desiccant packets will last quite a while because they can be recharged and reused multiple times. Other food-safe sizes are available.

Wise Dry desiccant packets | dehydrating food for long term storage | dehydrated food recipes for long term storage | dehydrating meals for long term storage | food dehydrator for long term storage — These food-safe 5-gram desiccant packets will absorb moisture from small enclosed spaces, such as our canning jars. Use one packet for a pint, quart, or half-gallon size canning jar with a tight-fitting lid. They come sealed in a heavy-duty reusable zip-top bag to protect the desiccant packs from moisture before use. The orange indicators will turn dark green when they need to be recharged or replaced. They can be easily recharged either in a microwave or oven.

Do not leave your dehydrated food items exposed and unprotected any longer than necessary for the task at hand. It does not take long for dehydrated food items to naturally start hydrating from ambient household humidity. As such, this will increase the risk of mold growth.

Lastly, attach or include a short note describing the contents and the date the product was dehydrated. The note also informs us where to go in the dehydrator logbook to make another note.

Hydration

Hydrate dried beans using a 1-to-1 ratio of dehydrated beans to water.

We have used both cold water and hot water to hydrate. Plan on 15 to 20 minutes to fully hydrate.

If you’re supplementing a freeze-dried meal like we now do, just add a bit more boiling water to the pouch in the same 1-to-1 ratio.

Weights, Measures, and Serving Sizes

This information is from a recent entry from the notes we keep on most of our food dehydration projects.

One can of rinsed and drained black beans weighed in at 233 grams or 8.2 ounces. Rounding the serving sizes from “about 3.5” per can, according to the food label, to 3 would make for a serving size of 77.66 grams before any dehydration.

After dehydration, the per-serving weight was 22 grams and 1/4 cup by volume.

Insider Tips

Add these dehydrated beans to your favorite freeze-dried food pouches. Be sure to compensate by adding a bit more water as you prepare your meal.

A spice grinder can transform and multi-task your dehydrated ingredients. This one has two removable and easy-to-clean stainless-steel bowls. One for chopping and one for grinding.

Dehydrated beans can also be powdered in a spice grinder to make thickeners or mixed with other dried ingredients to make hummus or vegetable dips. This is the spice grinder we use, it has close to 4,000 Amazon customer reviews, with an average of 4.4 stars out of 5. It comes with 2 grinding bowls, a 2-blade grinder, and a 4-blade chopper. Cleaning out the spice residue when you’re finished is also easy.

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