Bean & Lentil Converter
Quick answer: A 15-oz can of beans holds about 1½ cups cooked — the yield of ½ cup dried; 1 cup of dried beans cooks up to about 3 cups, so it replaces two cans.
Recipes flip between cans, dried cups and cooked cups like they're the same thing — they're not. Convert any amount between all three, and get the soak and simmer times for your bean while you're at it.
Dried to cooked, by bean
| Bean | 1 cup dried makes | Cook time (soaked) |
|---|
| Chickpeas | ~3 cups | 90–120 min |
| Black beans | ~3 cups | 60–90 min |
| Kidney beans | ~3 cups | 60–90 min |
| Pinto beans | ~3 cups | ~90 min |
| Lentils (no soak) | ~2½ cups | 20–30 min |
| Split peas (no soak) | ~2 cups | 45–60 min |
How it works
All the conversions hang off two numbers: dried beans roughly triple when cooked (lentils about 2½×, split peas 2×), and a 15-oz can holds about 1½ cups of drained beans. So a cup of dried chickpeas is two cans' worth, and a recipe's '3 cups cooked' is a cup of dried or two cans — the tool does this arithmetic in any direction. Cooking from dried costs about a third of canned and lets you control salt and texture; the soak and simmer times shown are for a plain stovetop pot, and pressure cookers roughly halve them.
Frequently asked
How many cups of beans are in a can?
A standard 15-oz can holds about 1½ cups of drained cooked beans — the yield of roughly ½ cup dried. So when a recipe wants 3 cups of cooked beans, that's two cans or 1 cup dried.
Do I really need to soak beans?
Soaking (8 hours or overnight) shortens cooking by about half and cooks more evenly. Skipped it? Use the quick soak — boil 2 minutes, rest 1 hour — or just simmer longer. Lentils and split peas never need soaking.
Why won't my beans soften?
Usually old beans — they toughen with age, so buy from stores with turnover. Acid (tomatoes, vinegar) added early also stalls softening; stir it in after the beans are tender. Salt, despite the folklore, is fine from the start.
How much protein is in a cup of beans?
Roughly 15 g per cooked cup for most beans, and about 18 g for lentils — alongside serious fiber. Pair them with grains (rice, tortillas, bread) across the day for a complete amino-acid profile.
Do cooked beans freeze well?
Excellently. Cook a big pot, portion into 1½-cup containers (one 'can' each) with a little cooking liquid, and freeze up to 3 months — cheaper and better-textured than canned.
How do I make beans less gassy?
Soak and discard the water, rinse canned beans well, cook thoroughly, and build up the habit — your gut adapts within a couple of weeks of regular beans. Kombu in the pot helps too.
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