One cup of cooked Anasazi-style beans delivers about 245 calories, 15 g protein, and 15 g fiber with minimal fat.
Sodium
Calories
Fiber
Half-Cup Side
- ~120–125 kcal
- ~7–8 g protein
- ~7–8 g fiber
Side
One-Cup Meal
- ≈245 kcal
- ~15 g protein
- ~15 g fiber
Meal base
Pressure Cooker Batch
- 30–40 min high
- natural release
- freeze portions
Batch cook
Why People Reach For This Heirloom Bean
Anasazi beans are a speckled cousin of common beans. In the bowl they taste a bit sweet and earthy, with tender skins that cook evenly. If you’ve tried pintos, you already know the vibe: satisfying protein, slow-burning carbs, and a generous fiber hit. For meal prep, they behave like a blank canvas that happily soaks up chile, citrus, garlic, or smoky bacon notes.
Nutritionally they track with other cooked common beans. A standard cup lands near 245 calories with around 15 grams of protein and the same amount of fiber, with only a trace of fat. Minerals show up in useful amounts too—iron, magnesium, potassium, and a touch of calcium—so a bean bowl carries weight far beyond the calorie line.
Nutrition Snapshot Table: Beans By The Cup
Use this table as a quick compare. Values reflect typical cooked amounts; heirloom lots vary a little by harvest.
| Cooked 1 Cup (171 g) | Calories | Protein & Fiber |
|---|---|---|
| Anasazi-Style (similar to pinto) | ~245 | ~15 g protein • ~15 g fiber |
| Pinto Beans | 245 | 15.4 g protein • 15.4 g fiber |
| Black Beans | ~240 | ~15 g protein • ~15 g fiber |
Close Variant Keyword Heading: Anasazi Bean Nutrition Facts For Home Cooks
Here’s what matters when you’re building plates that satisfy. One cup sits right in the sweet spot for a meal base. Split that cup across tacos or a grain bowl if you’re layering other proteins. A half cup works as a tidy side. Either way, you get steady energy and plenty of fiber to keep things moving.
Protein Quality And Pairing
Beans carry all the amino acids your body needs, yet a couple come in lighter amounts. Pair a bean base with tortillas, rice, quinoa, or pumpkin seeds and you’ve covered your bases across the day. The combo also rounds out texture and flavor without blowing the calorie budget.
Carbs, Fiber, And Blood Sugar
Carbs in this cup arrive with soluble and insoluble fiber. That slows digestion and tamps down big spikes after meals. Many folks notice a steady, longer-lasting fullness when beans sit at the center of lunch or dinner. If you track fiber goals, a single cup covers well over half of a typical 28-gram daily target.
Micronutrients That Show Up
Iron, folate, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus post reliable numbers in cooked beans. That lineup backs red blood cell production, nerve function, and muscle work. For deeper numbers on cooked samples, the FoodData Central database aggregates lab-tested entries you can browse by type.
Antinutrients, Tannins, And Why Cooking Solves The Worry
Raw or undercooked beans bring lectins that can upset stomachs. High heat breaks that activity, which is why a full simmer or pressure-cooker cycle matters. Researchers have also measured tannins in heirloom lines; the speckled variety often shows lower condensed tannins than many pintos. That’s academic, but it lines up with the tender bite people notice after a good cook.
Soaking Or Not Soaking
Soaking shortens stovetop time and can make the pot more predictable, though pressure cooking makes soaking optional. Either route, the end goal stays the same: a complete, rolling boil that softens the skins and finishes the center.
Gas, Raffinose, And Simple Fixes
That famous bean bloat comes from small carbohydrates that pass to the large intestine. A thorough cook helps. Rinse canned beans. If you’re cooking from dry, discard the soaking water and finish with fresh water. Spices like cumin, bay, or epazote play nice and don’t mess with the numbers.
How To Cook For Safe, Tender Results
Sort and rinse. Cover with fresh water by a couple inches. On the stove, bring to a lively simmer and keep it there until tender, usually 60 to 90 minutes for new crop lots; older stock can run longer. In a pressure cooker, go 30 to 40 minutes at high pressure with a natural release. Add salt late in the game to keep skins intact.
Flavor Builders That Love This Bean
Onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, bay, chipotle, smoked paprika—pick two or three and let them bloom in oil before the beans hit the pot. A squeeze of lime or splash of sherry vinegar at the end wakes everything up. For a complete plate, add roasted sweet potato, charred corn, cilantro, or queso fresco.
Serving Sizes, Meals, And Pantry Math
Plan on 1/4 cup dry per person for a side, or 1/2 cup dry per person for a hearty bowl. That translates to about 1/2 cup or 1 cup cooked, respectively. A pound of dry beans yields about seven cups cooked, which covers four to six meals depending on appetite and add-ins.
| Kitchen Scenario | Cooked Amount | What It Looks Like |
|---|---|---|
| Two-Taco Night | 1/2 cup per person | Soft filling under salsa and slaw |
| Meal-Prep Bowls | 1 cup per container | Beans + grains + veg + sauce |
| Big Pot For Freezer | 7 cups per pound dry | Portion into pint containers |
How This Heirloom Compares To Pantry Staples
Against pintos and black beans, the numbers land in the same ballpark. Protein and fiber sit near 15 grams per cup, calories around 240–250, and fat stays close to one gram. That makes recipe swaps easy—use equal amounts by cooked volume and season to taste.
Looking beyond macros, bean skins carry polyphenols that contribute to color and may add helpful antioxidant activity. Darker beans tend to test higher, yet all cooked common beans deliver a similar baseline benefit once they’re part of a steady routine.
Smart Canned And Dry Choices
Canned options save time. Look for “no salt added” if you’re watching sodium. Rinse under water to shed extra brine before warming. Dry beans give you the best texture control and often cost less per serving. Keep a couple bags in the pantry and rotate stock so they cook evenly batch after batch.
Label Reading For Quick Grocery Decisions
Scan the ingredients line on canned beans. Ideally you’ll see beans, water, and maybe salt. Skip cans with added sugar. If the label lists calcium chloride, that’s a firming agent that keeps skins intact during packing. For sodium targets, pick cans under 140 mg per 1/2 cup, then rinse to drop it further.
Cooking Safety And A Quick Science Note
Undercooked beans can cause stomach trouble. Bring the pot to a full simmer and finish until creamy through the center. A pressure cooker reaches higher temperatures that finish the job quickly, which is handy when you’re short on time.
Ideas To Use Every Last Cup
Weeknight Staples
Refried-style mash for tostadas, taco salad topping, and quick chili all start with a plain pot of beans. Blend a cup with chipotles and a drizzle of olive oil for a smoky dip.
Lunch Boxes
Layer with brown rice, roasted peppers, and a spoon of yogurt salsa. Pack lime wedges to brighten the bowl at the table. It travels well and keeps you full until dinner.
Freezer Wins
Cool fully before freezing. Label by date and portion size. Thaw overnight in the fridge or slide the frozen block straight into a simmering pot of soup.
References And Confidence Checks
You’ll see slight variations across brands and harvests. Nutrition services that collate USDA lab data list a cup of cooked pinto beans at about 245 calories, 15.4 g protein, and 15.4 g fiber, which mirrors the numbers you can expect from this heirloom. Safety guidance on lectins points to complete cooking at sustained heat, and peer-reviewed work on speckled lines reports lower condensed tannins compared with many plain pintos.