A List of The Healthiest Beans To Eat

It’s not a secret that legumes are very good for us and should definitely be part of a healthy diet. They have very little downsides other than eating a lot can make us fart! They are high in fibre, micronutrients and are an excellent source of plant-based protein. Not only this but legumes are cheap, non-perishable and take very little skill to prepare. But which should be included on our list of the healthiest beans to eat?

I’ll compare a few of the most common legumes for you to see what differences they have, starting with the black bean.

1. Black Beans

Black beans are the little “black” beans which are commonly used in Mexican-style dishes. They are high in fibre at 15g per serve* and have very low sodium at 14mg per serve[1, 2,3] Their protein content is great too at 14g per serve.3 Black beans do have quite a high sugar content at 8.2g per serve; this is higher than what you would find in baked beans [3].

2. Kidney Beans

Kidney Beans are the maroon, ‘kidney’-shaped beans. Kidney beans have a slightly lower protein punch than black beans at 10g per serve – but this is still great [3]. They do have moderate salt at around ¼ of the daily recommendations for salt intake per serve at 500mg [2,3]. BUT! It’s not all bad news, there are ‘no added salt’ kidney beans available which have more protein and only 21mg of salt[3]! However, this version also comes with about 230kJ extra, so make sure you take this into consideration when choosing the rest of your meals for the day [3].

3. Baked Beans

Third in our list of the healthiest beans to eat are the humble baked beans. This bean is the one that almost everyone has probably tried at least once in their lifetime and is a rainy day staple in many Aussie homes. Baked beans are packed with protein and fibre, however, they do come with quite a hefty salt content. ‘Regular salt’ baked-beans (ie, the ones that don’t have ‘reduced salt’ smeared all over their packaging) have about 1000mg of salt – that’s around half the recommended daily salt intake [2,3]! The ‘regular salt’ baked beans have about 6g of sugar per serve too, which is moderate – but higher than their other legume friends (not including black beans) who top about 2g [3,4]. On the other hand, ‘reduced salt’ baked beans have about half the amount of salt at about 500mg (still ¼ of the daily recommendations) [2,3].But this reduced salt comes at a cost, with the sugar content of these guys at 9.5g per serve [3].

4. Lentils

Lentils are the small, round legume commonly used in curries and casseroles. These guys have the least amount of kilojoules, salt and sugar of the legumes I’ve discussed today. But they’ve kept their protein high at about 13g per serve and fibre moderate at about 7g [3]. If you are looking for something to bulk up your meals with added protein and fibre (but without excess salt and kilojoules) then lentils are the legume for you.

5. Chickpeas

Last but certainly not least is chickpeas. Chickpeas are arguably the most versatile legume, they are the key ingredient in so many delicious foods, including hummus and falafel! What’s better is they are equally as nutritious as all of the legumes I’ve already discussed with about 770kJ, 11g protein and 8g of fibre [3]. Chickpeas are another example of a legume where you might wish to choose a ‘reduced salt’ or ‘no added salt’ version as regular chickpeas come with about 430mg of salt (just under ¼ of the daily recommendations) [2,3]! A reduced salt serve will bring that salt level back to only about 55mg of salt – much better [3]! A lower salt version may also bring the protein and energy level down slightly, but not enough to dull their nutritional shine.

So, Which Are The Healthiest Beans To Eat? 

This blog was co-written by PNW Clinic founder Kiah Paetz and student dietitian by Donna Harris. You can connect with Donna on instagram @pepperandcorndietetics.

If you’re wanting to take your diet to the next level, and book in to see one of our expert Brisbane dietitians.