How to Soak Beans and Grains + Benefits of This Ancestral Practice

Today, the idea of soaking grains, rice, and legumes feels like a foreign concept to most people.

And spending extra time in the kitchen isn’t exactly appealing…

But don’t let that deter you from this powerful ancestral practice. After all, soaking grains is easy to get the hang of—and it comes with a lot of health benefits.

Just a few hundred years ago, preparing grains through soaking and fermenting was considered the norm. It was the only way to consume rice, flour, grains, and legumes. Plus, it offers easier digestion.

What changed?

A desperate need for modern and convenient foods led to the birth of “quick yeast.” Over time, we’ve lost the art of preparing our food the ancestral way. And with its absence, we’ve gained a whole lot of food sensitivities.

Soaking rice, grains, and legumes is an easy way to take some nutritional power back for yourself and your family. In this blog, I’ll teach you how to do it…

The Benefit of Soaking Beans, Grains, and Rice

Our ancestors spent a lot of time focused on survival. Through tradition, instincts, and trial and error, they discovered many of the best methods of food preparation. Soaking grains, beans, and rice was just one of many powerful ancestral practices they counted on.

Grains and legumes contain a compound called phytic acid—which is known to block mineral and nutrient absorption when consumed. So, when it’s included in our favorite oat, rice, or bean dishes, only so much of that food is bioavailable to us. Soaking your grains will help break other things down, too, like gluten.

Not convinced yet? Here are some more benefits of soaked foods:

●      Better mineral and vitamin absorption. Phytic acid (found in beans rice, and grains) binds to nutrients in the GI tract, making them less bioavailable to us. When soaked, a beneficial enzyme called phytase is activated—which breaks down the phytic acid. It also releases more minerals and vitamin B into the food.

●      Healthy enzymes. Another enzyme called amylase is released when grains and beans are soaked. This enzyme breaks down complex starches in your food, making digestion easier.

●      Increased inositol. Myo-inositol and D-chiro inositol are essential nutrients known to help blood sugar regulation and metabolism health. They are often recommended for people with PCOS and insulin resistance—and they can be difficult to obtain through food sources (they are often recommended in supplement form). But soaking grain is a great and easy way to get them into your system naturally.

●      Significantly improved digestion. For those sensitive to starches and gluten, soaking grain can be especially beneficial. It does a lot of the legwork, so your digestive system doesn’t have to. Soaking grain has shown to be effective against gluten sensitivity and can help bring vital nutrients to the gut without symptoms.

Preparing Rice, Grains, and Legumes the Traditional Way

In primal cultures, grains and legumes were prepared before they were eaten—through a process of soaking, sprouting, or fermenting.

Soaking

This process involves soaking your grains or legumes overnight before eating them. It’s a way to break down antinutrients that are difficult to digest while making minerals and vitamins more bioavailable to the body. Soaking is extremely easy—and can be picked up by anyone who regularly cooks.

Sprouting

Sprouting grains and legumes is a slightly longer process (taking up to a few days). It involves soaking the grain and then keeping it in a damp container until sprouts form. This process can boost the protein content of your grain and offer more diverse nutrients.

Fermenting

This ancestral method of food preparation (and preservation) has become more well-known in our culture, thanks to our growing understanding of gut health. Foods like kefir, kombucha, yogurt, kimchi, and sourdough are easier to digest—and can be rich in probiotics, further empowering healthy gut bacteria.

The Elements of Grain Soaking

There are three main elements required for soaking grains. Combined, these allow the soaking process to eliminate phytic acid and boost the bioavailability of the food’s vitamin and mineral content.

Water

I recommend using filtered water from a reputable brand. I like Crystal Quest and AquaTru. Some people like to add minerals to their water for soaking, too.

Grain, Legumes, or Rice

Your food item of choice! Whether you’re soaking oats, beans, lentils, brown rice, or flour, you should expect to gain more nutritional benefits and experience easier digestion from properly soaked foods.

Something Acidic

A small addition of something acidic helps soaked grains to make the full transition from antinutrient to easy-to-digest. You can use apple cider vinegar, kefir, lemon juice, cultured buttermilk, whey, and (for legumes specifically) baking soda.

How to Soak Beans and Legumes

This method of legume soaking covers beans (kidney beans, brown beans, black beans, lima beans, great northern beans, pinto beans, etc.) and legumes (chickpeas, lentils, peas, soybeans, and more). There are different instructions for kidney-shaped beans versus regular beans.

1)    Place your legumes in a glass bowl or nontoxic cooking pot.

2)    Add water. Two parts water to one part beans. You’ll want to make sure your beans are completely covered with water.

3)    Add baking soda or something acidic. This step will depend on the shape of your beans. For kidney-shaped beans, you’ll add a pinch of baking soda (nothing acidic). For non-kidney-shaped beans, you’ll add something acidic (no baking soda). Add one tablespoon of your acidic ingredient of choice for every cup of water.

4)    Cover and soak for 12–24 hours. To soak beans and legumes, rinse the beans and replace your water mixture at least once during the soaking period. This prevents your legumes from fermenting.

5)    Drain and rinse when finished. You should always thoroughly rinse your beans before cooking.

6)    Proceed with your recipe as normal, but remember that soaked beans require about half the cooking time of unsoaked beans.

How to Soak Rice and Grains

This method of soaking can be used for rice, grain, rye, barley, oats, wheat, spelt, and flour.

1)    Place your grain in a glass bowl or nontoxic cooking pot.

2)    Add water. I typically recommend one part grains to two parts water, although the amount doesn’t have to be too specific. Just make sure your grains are well covered. Make sure you measure so you know how much acid to use.

3)    Add something acidic. For every cup of liquid, you’ll need a tablespoon of your acidic ingredient. You can use apple cider vinegar, kefir, cultured buttermilk, lemon juice, or whey.

4)    Cover and soak for 12–24 hours. Most grains require this much time to reduce the phytic acid content. Buckwheat, brown rice, and millet are the only grains that require less time (around seven hours). You’ll want to choose a warm space to soak your grain, like a countertop or oven.

5)    Drain when finished. This is important because you want to drain the phytic acid out of your grain.

6)    Proceed with your recipe. Soaked grains take significantly less time to cook—about half the time of a regular recipe.

One Small Change Could Greatly Benefit Your Digestive Health

In a culture that values anything instant, it’s easy to let go of ancestral food preparation practices. Soaking grains was an everyday practice just a few hundred years ago. Now, our children are raised on instant oats with a side of gut issues—and without the tools and knowledge to advocate for their health.

In my experience, it’s often the small practices that we forget over time that make the biggest long-term difference for our health. Once you get the hang of soaking grains, beans, and rice, it takes no time at all. For my family, it’s made a huge difference in creating nutrient-dense meals and bettering our digestive health.

Together, let’s make an effort to ensure these important ancestral practices aren’t lost to time.