How to Make Beans Less Gassy:
Beans are packed with fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals—but for some people, they come with an unfortunate side effect: gas and bloating.
The main culprits are certain carbohydrates called raffinose-family oligosaccharides, including raffinose and stachyose. We don't completely digest these carbohydrates in the small intestine. Instead, they reach the colon, where bacteria ferment them and produce gas.
Fortunately, how you prepare and eat beans can make a difference.
Quick List - For More Info See Below:
1. Soak Dried Beans—and Throw Away the Soaking Water
This may be one of the most useful things you can do.
When beans soak, some of their gas-producing carbohydrates move out of the beans and into the water. That means you don't want to cook the beans in that same water.
For an easy overnight method:
Cover dried beans generously with water.
Soak for about 12–16 hours.
Drain off all of the soaking water.
Rinse the beans.
Add fresh water before cooking.
In one study of common beans, soaking and discarding the soaking water reduced raffinose by about 25%, stachyose by about 25% and verbascose by about 42%.
So, while soaking won't necessarily remove every gas-producing carbohydrate, it can remove a significant amount.
2. Cook the Beans Thoroughly
Don't stop cooking beans while they're still hard or noticeably underdone.
Cooking further reduces some of the compounds that can make legumes harder to digest. Research on cowpeas found that soaking followed by cooking substantially reduced raffinose and stachyose.
A pressure cooker may be particularly useful. Studies comparing cooking techniques have found pressure cooking can reduce gas-producing oligosaccharides very effectively.
The simple rule: soak, drain, rinse and then cook until the beans are completely tender.
3. Drain and Rinse Canned Beans
Canned beans have already been soaked and cooked during processing, making them a convenient option.
For an extra step, pour them into a colander and rinse them under running water before adding them to your recipe.
Some of the water-soluble carbohydrates from beans can migrate into the surrounding liquid, so throwing away the liquid rather than adding the entire can to your meal may make beans easier for some people to tolerate.
Rinsing has another advantage: it can also substantially reduce the sodium in ordinary canned beans.
If you're especially sensitive to beans, well-rinsed canned beans may be worth comparing with beans cooked from dry to see which you tolerate better.
4. Don't Go From No Beans to a Giant Bowl of Beans
Sometimes the problem isn't beans themselves so much as the amount.
If you rarely eat beans, suddenly eating two cups of bean chili gives your digestive system a very large load of fermentable carbohydrate and fiber all at once.
Try starting with about ¼ cup of cooked beans as part of a meal. If that goes well, gradually work toward ½ cup or more.
Research suggests people's experience varies enormously. In one series of bean-feeding studies, fewer than half of participants initially reported increased gas with pinto or baked beans, and only 19% reported an increase with black-eyed peas. For many participants, complaints decreased over time.
That doesn't necessarily mean your body stops producing all of the extra gas. Another small study found that measured gas didn't decrease with continued bean consumption, even though participants reported becoming more comfortable with it.
So give your digestive system a chance—but there's no reason to force yourself to eat a huge serving.
5. Try an Alpha-Galactosidase Enzyme
If soaking and smaller portions aren't enough, an over-the-counter digestive enzyme called alpha-galactosidase may help.
It's the enzyme found in products such as Beano. It helps break down raffinose-family carbohydrates before intestinal bacteria get to them.
In controlled studies, alpha-galactosidase reduced gas production and flatulence after meals containing beans.
The important part is timing: these products are generally taken with the first bites of the meal, rather than after you're already bloated.
Follow the directions on the particular product you use.
6. Experiment With Different Beans
Beans aren't all identical.
Different legumes contain different amounts and types of fermentable carbohydrates, and people's reactions also vary considerably.
In one feeding study, black-eyed peas caused fewer initial reports of increased gas than pinto beans or baked beans.
If one type of bean repeatedly bothers you, try another rather than deciding you can't eat beans at all.
7. Try the Old-Fashioned Baking Soda Trick
Many older cookbooks recommend adding a little baking soda when soaking dried beans. There appears to be good reason for the tradition.
Baking soda makes the soaking water more alkaline, which helps break down the structure that keeps beans firm. Beans soaked or cooked with sodium bicarbonate can soften and cook more quickly.
It may also help with the very thing we're trying to prevent: gas. Studies have found that soaking beans in a dilute baking-soda solution can reduce raffinose and stachyose, two of the carbohydrates associated with bean-related gas.
You don't need much. A small amount of baking soda in a large bowl of soaking water is enough to change its alkalinity. After soaking, drain the beans, rinse them well, and cook them in fresh water.
There is one downside: too much baking soda can make beans overly soft or cause them to split, so more isn't better.
8. Sprouting the beans before cooking is surprisingly effective.
A 2024 study of common beans found that sprouting combined with cooking reduced stachyose by more than 82%, verbascose by 91%, and raffinose by 76% in some treatments. (ScienceDirect) A 2022 fava-bean study found that 72 hours of germination eliminated detectable raffinose and substantially reduced stachyose and verbascose. (ScienceDirect)
9. Fermentation.
Traditional cultures have also dealt with legumes by fermenting them rather than simply boiling them. An older cowpea study found fermentation completely removed the measured gas-producing oligosaccharides, while research on fermented soybeans, cowpeas and ground beans also found large reductions in stachyose. (PubMed)
10. A warm, slightly acidic soak.
A 2024 Food Research International study experimented with temperature and pH rather than simply soaking beans overnight. At about 113°F/45°C and pH 4 for 1–3 hours, α-galactosides dropped substantially. After three hours, reductions reached about 52% in the beans, 65% in chickpeas and 85% in lentils. The researchers think the mild acidity and warmth encourage the legumes' own enzymA 2024 study tested soaking beans, chickpeas and lentils at different temperatures and acidity levels. One of the most effective combinations was warm, mildly acidic water—about 113°F (45°C) at pH 4.
The scientists controlled the water's exact temperature and pH. Simply adding a splash of vinegar or lemon juice at home won't necessarily reproduce those conditions.
11. Mexico: Epazote and Bay Leaf
In Mexico, epazote has long been added to pots of beans, especially frijoles de olla. Bay leaf is also commonly used. These herbs were not necessarily chosen only for flavor. They have traditionally been associated with digestion, and newer food-science research has found that bean preparation methods involving soaking, cooking and herbs such as epazote or bay leaf can reduce some of the oligosaccharides associated with gas.
12. India: Hing, Ginger and Digestive Spices
Indian lentil and bean dishes often include hing, or asafoetida, along with spices such as ginger, cumin, fennel or ajwain. Hing has been used traditionally as a carminative—a food or herb believed to reduce intestinal gas and digestive discomfort. It is commonly added to dals and other legume dishes in very amounts.
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Queiroz, K. S., Oliveira, A. C., Helbig, E., Reis, S. M. P. M., & Carraro, F. (2002). “Soaking the common bean in a domestic preparation reduced the contents of raffinose-type oligosaccharides but did not interfere with nutritive value.” Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology, 48(4), 283–289. DOI: 10.3177/jnsv.48.283.
Use for: soaking, discarding the soaking water, and the reductions in raffinose, stachyose and verbascose. (PubMed)Ibrahim, S. S., Habiba, R. A., Shatta, A. A., & Embaby, H. E. (2002). “Effect of soaking, germination, cooking and fermentation on antinutritional factors in cowpeas.” Nahrung, 46(2), 92–95. DOI: 10.1002/1521-3803(20020301)46:2<92::AID-FOOD92>3.0.CO;2-P.
This is an especially useful source. It supports bicarbonate soaking, pressure cooking, germination and fermentation. The researchers found that a 16-hour bicarbonate soak substantially reduced raffinose and stachyose; pressure cooking worked better than ordinary cooking; cooking germinated cowpeas was particularly effective; and fermentation eliminated the measured oligosaccharides. (PubMed)Chigwedere, C. M., et al. (2018). “Mechanistic insight into softening of Canadian wonder common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) during cooking.” Food Research International, 106, 522–531. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2018.01.016.
Use for: explaining why baking soda works. Sodium bicarbonate sped bean softening, with the effect associated with changes in the bean cell walls and pectin solubilization. (PubMed)Di Stefano, M., Miceli, E., Gotti, S., Missanelli, A., Mazzocchi, S., & Corazza, G. R. (2007). “The effect of oral alpha-galactosidase on intestinal gas production and gas-related symptoms.” Digestive Diseases and Sciences, 52(1), 78–83. DOI: 10.1007/s10620-006-9296-9.
Use for: Beano/alpha-galactosidase. This was a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial and found reductions in breath hydrogen and flatulence after a bean-containing meal. (PubMed)Winham, D. M., & Hutchins, A. M. (2011). “Perceptions of flatulence from bean consumption among adults in 3 feeding studies.” Nutrition Journal, 10, 128. DOI: 10.1186/1475-2891-10-128.
Use for: starting with smaller portions, adaptation over time, and the interesting black-eyed-pea finding. Only 19% reported increased flatulence during the first week with black-eyed peas, versus higher proportions with pinto or baked beans. (PubMed)Lamz Piedra, A., Cázares Chávez, Z., Jiménez Galindo, J. C., Molina Corral, F. J., Sepúlveda Ahumada, D. R., Rios-Velasco, C., & Olivas Orozco, G. I. (2021). “Cocción tradicional con especias de Phaseolus vulgaris L. y su efecto antinutricional e inhibición bacteriana.” Biotecnia, 23(1), 62–69. DOI: 10.18633/biotecnia.v23i1.1327.
Use for: the Mexican epazote and bay leaf tradition. This is the fascinating one: the researchers specifically studied the traditional practice and found reductions in raffinose and stachyose associated with epazote and bay leaf. (SciELO México)Mahendra, P., & Bisht, S. (2012). “Ferula asafoetida: Traditional uses and pharmacological activity.” Pharmacognosy Reviews, 6(12), 141–146. DOI: 10.4103/0973-7847.99948.
Use for: India's traditional use of hing/asafoetida as a digestive aid and carminative. I would word this one specifically as a traditional use, rather than saying it has been proven to make beans less gassy. (PubMed Central (PMC))Macharia, E. W., Njoroge, D. M., & Owaga, E. E. (2024). “Sprouting and hydrothermal treatments improve nutritional quality and consumer acceptability of biofortified common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris).” Food Chemistry Advances, 5, 100847. DOI: 10.1016/j.focha.2024.100847.
Use for: sprouting. The combined treatments produced large reductions in stachyose, verbascose and raffinose. (ScienceDirect)
I think those eight are enough for the main article. And notice that Ibrahim #2 does a lot of heavy lifting, so we don't need separate references for every statement about soaking, pressure cooking, germinating and fermenting.
There is also one very interesting optional 2024 study I'd save for either a “New Research” box or a later post: Avezum et al., Hydrolysis and diffusion of raffinose oligosaccharides family products in chickpeas, lentils, and beans under different pH and temperature steeping conditions, Food Research International 191 (2024), 114732. It found that slightly acidic soaking at about 45°C/113°F accelerated the reduction of these carbohydrates. (ScienceDirect)
That one could eventually give us a genuinely unusual follow-up post: “Is There a Better Way to Soak Beans? New Research Tests Temperature and Acidity.”
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