Canned beans vs dried beans cost comparison after 2 months of tracking

I started buying dried beans instead of canned back in September just to save a few bucks. I figured the savings would be small but I tracked it for 2 months straight. I go through about 4 cans of black beans a week for meals. That's $1.29 per can so $5.16 a week. A 2 pound bag of dried black beans at my local Aldi costs $2.49 and makes the same amount as about 6 cans. So I'm saving around $3.50 a week just on beans alone. That's over $180 a year for one ingredient. The only downside is remembering to soak them the night before. Has anyone else switched to dried beans and found big savings on other pantry staples?

2 comments

2 Comments

spencer6641mo ago

Dried beans are one of those things where once you do the math it feels crazy to ever buy canned again. I had the same realization about a year ago and now I keep like 5 different kinds in my pantry at all times. The savings for me got even bigger when I started buying the big 5 pound bags from the Mexican grocery store instead of the little bags at Aldi. Another thing I noticed is that dried beans taste way better too, they have a creamier texture that canned ones just don't match no matter how much you rinse them. The soaking thing is annoying but I got around it by just setting a phone alarm for the night before any time I know I wanna cook them the next day, gets automatic after a while.

ward.piper1mo ago

The 5lb bags from the Mexican grocery are great if you have a big family or cook beans weekly, but for me it's just not practical. My kitchen is small and I don't have the storage space for giant bags, plus I forget to soak them half the time and then I'm stuck with no dinner. Don't you find that you end up tossing old dried beans sometimes since they take so long to cook?