Celebrating National Bean Day

January 6, 2026·Darcie

Serendipity stepped into my kitchen today as I accidentally celebrated National Bean Day. I was alerted to this food "holiday" by my coworker who loves beans. As luck would have it, I had soaked chickpeas overnight to make falafel, so I was able to celebrate the holiday without even trying. Maybe eating that pot of calico beans on New Year's Day really did usher in good luck for the year.

Braised pinquito beans (Frijoles pinquitos de la olla) from *Nopalito* by Gonzalo Guzmán and Stacy Adimando

Unlike many food "holidays" that are chosen seemingly at random, National Bean Day's date has meaning: it is the day when revered Austrian biologist Gregor Mendel died in 1884. Mendel's work on pea plants (close relatives of beans in the same botanical family, Fabaceae) laid the basis for the modern science of genetics. His groundbreaking experiment of cross-breeding yellow and green peas and following the results through to the third and fourth generation was instrumental in understanding dominant and recessive genes. His genius was not recognized when he was living, however; it wasn't until the beginning of the 20th century that scientists realized the significance of Mendel's work.

Beans are one of nature's most versatile foods. It's estimated there are more than 40,000 different varieties of beans, although a much smaller number are commercially grown. I took a brief inventory of my bean shelf and counted nine different types: mung, red lentil, pinto, great northern, puy lentil, red, black, garbanzo, and beluga lentil (shout out to bean purveyor Rancho Gordo). Beans are nutritional powerhouses, containing protein, fiber, iron and antioxidants. There are over 22,000 online bean recipes in the EYB Library (not including peas and lentils, which have 6,700 online recipes), so you should be able to find a recipe for any bean you might have.

9 comments

redbirdJanuary 7, 2026

This is embarrassing. I have forty different varieties of beans and legumes in my pantry. I cook some sort of bean dish at least three times a week.

goodfruitJanuary 7, 2026

Well, I celebrated one day early then. I tried a new bean from Rancho Gordo and made what my Grandma always called "Hamburger Soup", while Glenn and Friends calls it, "My Favorite Soup,! Inexpensive Beef Soup packed with Massive Flavor!"

So I used the new Flor de Junio bean and made some Hamburger Soup this week. It's a lovely small pinkish-reddish bean with little streaks of brown and a soft, velvet bit!

London_MummyJanuary 7, 2026

Wow, I am a bit envious of you Redbird! Being vegetarians, we eat beans or pulses almost every day, buy in bulk, & tend to grab whatever is in season or on special offer. In the main supermarkets in London you can get around ten varieties of dried bean & about five tinned varieties at low prices. You can also buy in bulk & get a home delivery from Natco at good prices. From time to time I windowshop on the Hodmedod's website (they now seem to have a trading partnership with Rancho Gordo too) & I think of trying some exotic beans, but then I look the price of the fancy beans (at least two to six times more expensive than the everyday varieties & shops) & then I don't place my order. What are the main differences you have noticed in taste, texture or other variables of the rare or heritage beans compared to the industrially-produced common beans? Do you like to pick a recipe then buy the specific beans or do you buy the particular beans & then look for a recipe?

ZephyrnessJanuary 7, 2026

London_Mummy, splurge on some Rancho Gordo sometime. We are a bean eating family and every one of us was shocked at how much tastier the Rancho Gordo beans are. Favorites include the Marcella Bean, the snowcap and the black garbanzo. The beans all seem to have more flavor, produce a tastier bean broth and cook much faster. So anything you make has a richer taste. Personally, I always have pintos on hand, but also several varieties of red/kidney as well as black beans. Within the reds and blacks there are differences in taste, at least to me, but I like them all. I will usually get something new just to try, which is how I ended up loving the snowcap and marcella.

redbirdJanuary 7, 2026

I agree with Zephyrness that splurging on RG beans is worthwhile if possible (though goodness knows how expensive they are in the UK!). I first encountered them on a vacation to San Francisco soon after the company started. Steve had a booth at a farmer's market and I bought so many that I had to pay an overweight baggage fee on my return flight to Boston. Some I buy because I love them; new varieties arrive in my quarterly bean club subscription and often become favorites. My top five varieties are marcella, Rio Zape, Domingo Rojo, borlotti lamon, and baby green lima beans. Note that the last are not the same as what is called a lima bean in England.

Churchim808January 7, 2026

I love beans and lentils and cook with them constantly. Surely I'm not the only person who believes that Rancho Gordo beans are just normal beans with incredible marketing.

rileyJanuary 8, 2026

RC beans are fresh. Grocery store beans may be years old. Because of that the RC beans will cook faster, sometimes without soaking. Quality products is what makes all foods better.

FuzzyChefJanuary 9, 2026

London_mummy, if you're on a tight budget, then do pick a recipe first before splurging on heirloom beans. Specific beans definitely are better for specific recipes. Also get a variety that's very different from the bulk varieties you normally get, like a yelloweye or scarlet runner. Also: in london you have some terrific import markets that will have interestinb beans that aren't as expensive as RG.

averythingcooksJanuary 10, 2026

Perhaps a coincidence but I just read a very interesting online article (posted Jan 9) from the Wall Street Journal all about Steve Sando & Rancho Gordo beans.

I would love try them but for those not in the US who are considering splurging, this is something to think about. I created a cart with 2 lbs of beans using the link they direct Canadians to ($14.75 US dollars) and once I inputted my address, the shipping charges alone were just under $40.00! Also, the free shipping for larger orders is not available.

I'm not whining/complaining as I know it's US company and shipping costs anywhere these days are high. And I will splurge on many special things but almost $55.00 USD for beans is a bit much even for me :)