A Rosebud's Real Food guide
How to Cook Dried Adzuki and Great Northern Beans: A Beginner’s Method
A plain soak, drain and simmer method for dried adzuki and great northern beans from Rosebud's Real Food, with seasoning and storage notes.
To cook dried adzuki or great northern beans, sort and rinse them, soak them, drain, then simmer them in fresh water or broth until tender and season at the end; Rosebud’s Real Food prints exactly that soak, drain and simmer method on its own soup blend, and it is the routine we follow here. Neither bean bag carries cooking directions or a cooking time, so you judge doneness by taste and texture, not the clock. Our Rosebud’s Real Food discount code page lists the current code and how to use it.
What comes in the bags
Both beans are sold dried, in bags of the same size:
- Adzuki Beans: 16 oz. The single listed ingredient is organic adzuki beans.
- Great Northern Beans: 1 lb. The product page lists the net weight and nothing more, so it does not state whether these are organic. If that matters to you, ask the store before you order.
If you are building a bean shelf, Rosebud’s sells other dried beans in the same 1 lb size, several labelled organic on their pages: navy, cannellini, pinto, black, red, pink and red kidney beans, garbanzo beans, black-eyed peas and a 9 Bean Blend. Everything in this guide applies to cooking any of them from dry.
The method, step by step
Rosebud’s only printed cooking directions are on its Lentil, Pea and Rice Soup Blend. They follow the classic pattern for dried pulses, so we use them as the backbone here, with the blend’s quantities noted where they come from.
- Sort. Tip the beans onto a tray and pick out anything that is not a bean, plus any shrivelled or broken ones.
- Rinse. Rinse them in a colander under cold water.
- Soak. The soup blend directions say to cover with water (2 cups for each cup of blend) plus a pinch of salt, and soak overnight or for at least 4 hours. For whole beans, use enough water to keep them covered as they swell, and plan on the overnight end of that range.
- Drain. Pour off the soaking water.
- Simmer. Cover the drained beans with fresh water or broth. The blend directions use 3 to 4 cups of broth per cup, and note that less liquid gives a thicker result. Bring it up to a gentle simmer.
- Add extras near the end. When the beans are almost tender, the store’s directions say to add cooked meats or vegetables if you want them, then simmer until everything is tender.
- Season to taste. Add salt and spices once the beans are soft.
To check doneness, taste a few beans from different parts of the pot. They are ready when the centre is soft all the way through with no chalky core. Since the store gives no time for either bean, start tasting early and keep going until they are right.
Cooking adzuki and great northern beans in one session
The two beans differ in size and colour, so cook them in separate pots rather than together. That way you can take each one off the heat the moment it is tender, and the colour of the adzuki beans stays out of the great northern pot.
Separate pots also make planning easier. One cooking session can give you a pot of each to use across the week: the great northern beans for a white bean soup or stew, the adzuki beans for a different dish. If you want a ready-made mix instead, the 9 Bean Blend puts organic beans, peas and lentils in one bag.
Seasoning from the same shelf
Rosebud’s founder says its seasoning mixes contain no fillers or anti-caking agents, which suits a from-scratch pot of beans. A few options from the same store, as described on their pages:
- Ancho chili powder: organic smoked poblano.
- Chipotle chili powder: organic smoked jalapeño, for more heat and smoke.
- Pasilla chili powder: listed at 1.8K Scoville heat units, which the store calls very mild.
- Baja Gold sea salt: for seasoning at the end of cooking.
- Soup blend partners: the soup blend page suggests Rosebud’s S.O.S., Sami’s Curry or Maria’s Chili seasonings.
Add salty or acidic seasonings once the beans are tender, following the store’s own order of simmering first and seasoning at the end.
Storing dried beans and buying from Rosebud’s
Rosebud’s does not publish a shelf life for its dried beans, so we do not give one. Keep unopened bags somewhere cool and dry, reseal or move opened bags into an airtight container, and use the oldest bag first. Cooked beans belong in the fridge.
Rosebud’s Real Food has a shop in Covington, Ohio, and a stand at the 2nd Street Market in Dayton, as well as its online store. It offers a 30-day return window from receipt for items in original packaging. You pay return shipping, and refunds cover the item price only.
Questions
How do I cook dried adzuki or great northern beans?
Sort and rinse them, soak them, drain, then simmer in fresh water or broth until tender and season at the end. Rosebud's prints this soak, drain and simmer method on its soup blend.
How long should I soak dried beans?
Rosebud's soup blend directions say to soak overnight or for at least 4 hours. The bean bags themselves carry no soaking time, so for whole beans we plan on the overnight end of that range.
How long do adzuki and great northern beans take to cook?
Rosebud's does not publish a cooking time for either bean, so we do not give one. Taste a few beans as they simmer; they are done when the centre is soft with no chalky core.
Are Rosebud's great northern beans organic?
The product page lists only the 1 lb net weight and does not say. The adzuki beans are listed as organic. Ask the store if organic matters to you.
How long do dried beans keep?
Rosebud's does not publish a shelf life for its dried beans. Store them cool, dry and sealed, and use the oldest bag first.
Products in this guide
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