Wondering how to get more protein and fiber in your diet?
Well, bean flour could be just the ticket!
We all struggle to get enough protein and fiber in our diet. Beans can add a boost to our energy, help things ‘move along’ (if you know what I mean) and the extra vitamins, well, who couldn’t use more of those?
Dried beans, peas and lentils can be milled in your grain mill and the flour cooked in with many other foods like spaghetti sauce, gravy, muffins, cakes and breads.
Flour from beans - Who knew?
🫘 THE MIGHTY BEAN 🫘
A Power Punch of: Protein - Fiber - Tons of Nutrients
Just a 1/4 cup of beans can add:
Navy Beans: 12g protein – 14g fiber
Garbanzo Beans: 8g protein – 14g fiber
Brown Lentils: 12g protein – 17g fiber
To take advantage of those super benefits:
Simply mill dried beans in with your grain and added to most baked goods.
OR
Mill them separately to make a great thickener for stews, soups and gravies. Once baked or cooked you won’t even know they’re there. A gluten-free alternative to flour.
Shhh – Don’t tell – They will never know 
Pretty much any dried bean will do
Light Colored Beans
Light colored beans have a milder flavor, better for baked goods and light colored gravies and stews.
Dark Colored Beans
I reserve the darker beans for dark gravies and stews; they are deeper, hardier in flavor.
Light Colored Beans
Navy
Great Northern
Chickpeas / Garbanzo
Lima / Butter
Pinto
Dark Colored Beans
Kidney
Black
Red
Pink
Black Garbanzo
Peas
Blackeyed
Green
Split
Lentils
Red
Yellow
Green
Brown
Just to name a few
How To Use Bean Flour
2 Tablespoons Dried Beans
= equals =
Approx: 1/4 cup Bean Flour
Adding to Baked Goods:
I add beans into most of my baking: breads, biscuits, cookies, cakes, etc. No, you won’t taste them once baked in.
Add 1 Tablespoon dried beans per cup of grain. Just add them in with your grain and mill all together. Navy and Lima beans which seem to be the mildest in flavor are great starts for introducing bean flour.
Ratio: You can use as much as 25% bean flour to replace flour in your recipe.
Example: 2 cups wheat flour, you can use up to 1/2 cup bean flour to 1-1/2 cups wheat flour.
As a Thickener:
Mill 2 Tablespoons of dried beans on finer setting. Make your roux with the bean flour and fat or mix with a little cold water then whisked in for about 3 minutes to thicken stews and soups. Treat the bean flour as you would regular flour.
NOTE: Beans, including bean flour, are not meant to be eaten raw. Always cook them before consuming.
Check out my Milling Basics page for more info.
Most all my recipes I try to incorporate some bean flour for their added nutrition.
Chocolicious Chocolate Cake
Got beans in it
English Muffins
Got beans in ’em
Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins
Yep, there in there too!
Beans mill up into a nice fine flour, so use them in all your cooking
I buy my dried beans from Azure Standard. They carry all sorts of organic and non-GMO beans.
For more info on where to buy and how to store beans, check out my page:
Buying & Storing Whole Grains, Corn & Beans
So, why not POWER-UP your baked goods?!
🫘 What beans have you used to make bean flour? 🫘
Let us know in the comments.
