What Are Baking Beans? Uses, Substitutes + How To

Ever wonder why your carefully crafted pie crusts shrink, bubble up, or turn out with a dreaded “soggy bottom”? You’re not alone. The secret weapon professional bakers use to achieve perfectly crisp, flat pastry every single time is surprisingly simple, and it’s a tool you might already have in your pantry. This guide will demystify this essential baking component and show you exactly how to get flawless results.

Leveraging extensive analysis of professional baking techniques and data, this guide unpacks everything you need to know about what baking beans are and why they are so critical. We’ll cover the step-by-step process for using them, the best substitutes you can find in your kitchen right now, and how to care for them. Say goodbye to pastry problems for good.

Key Facts

Primary Purpose: The main function of baking beans is to prevent pastry crusts from puffing up, shrinking, or developing a “soggy bottom,” particularly when using wet fillings like custard or fruit.
Effective Substitutes: If you don’t have dedicated baking beans, common pantry items like uncooked rice or any type of dried bean are highly effective and widely used alternatives.
Inedible After Use: Once dried beans or rice have been used for blind baking, they are no longer suitable for cooking and eating, but they can be cooled and stored indefinitely for future baking.
Required Quantity: To be effective, the weights must completely fill the crust. A standard 9-inch pie crust typically requires a substantial amount, around 600 grams to 2 pounds of weights.
Chilling is Key: For maximum effectiveness and to prevent the pastry sides from slumping, culinary data shows that chilling or freezing the pastry-lined pan for 15-30 minutes before baking significantly improves the final shape of the crust.

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What Are Baking Beans, Exactly? A Guide to Perfect Pastry

Baking beans (or pie weights) are small, reusable weights, often made of ceramic or dried beans, used to keep pastry flat and crisp during a pre-baking process called blind baking. Ever wonder why your pie crusts shrink or bubble? These little weights are the secret weapon. “Blind baking” is simply the term for pre-baking a pie or tart crust without its filling. Baking beans provide the necessary pressure to hold the dough in place, ensuring it bakes into a perfect, sturdy shell ready for any filling you can imagine.

These indispensable tools, also commonly called pie weights, come in a few different forms, from specially designed products to everyday pantry staples.

Ceramic or Metal Beads: These are the weights you’ll find in kitchen supply stores. They are specifically designed for this purpose, and ceramic beans are particularly popular because they distribute heat evenly, contributing to a perfectly uniform bake. They are non-porous and can be used endlessly.
Dried Legumes or Grains: The most common household substitute for what are baking beans is any type of dried bean, lentil, or even uncooked rice. They are inexpensive and work perfectly.
Sugar: In a pinch, granulated sugar can be used as a pie weight. It’s dense enough to hold the pastry down, and as a bonus, it becomes a delicious toasted sugar that you can use in other recipes.

The “Why”: Preventing Soggy Bottoms with Blind Baking

Baking beans are used for blind baking to prevent the pastry crust from puffing up, shrinking, or becoming soggy, ensuring a crisp base for pies with wet or unbaked fillings. When raw pastry dough hits the heat of an oven, the fat inside it melts and creates steam. Without anything to hold it down, this steam will cause the dough to bubble and puff up dramatically, ruining the shape of your crust. Think of it as a temporary filling that trains your crust to hold the perfect shape.

Here’s the bottom line. Using baking beans solves three major pastry problems:

To Prevent Puffing and Unevenness: The primary job of baking beans is to apply gentle, even pressure across the entire surface of the dough. This keeps the crust flat as that steam is released, preventing large air bubbles and ensuring a smooth base for your filling.
To Avoid the Dreaded “Soggy Bottom”: This is absolutely crucial for pies with wet fillings, like quiche, pumpkin pie, or any fruit pie. Blind baking the crust first creates a crisp, sealed barrier that stops the liquid filling from seeping in and turning the bottom of your pie into a soggy, undercooked mess.
To Fully Cook the Crust: Some pie recipes, like a classic lemon meringue or a chocolate cream pie, use fillings that aren’t baked at all. For these, you need a crust that is already fully cooked, crisp, and golden, and blind baking is the only way to achieve that.

How to Use Baking Beans: A Step-by-Step Guide

Line the uncooked crust with parchment paper, fill it completely with baking beans, bake at around 375°F (190°C) for 15-20 minutes, carefully remove the beans and paper, then bake for another 5-15 minutes until the crust is golden. Following this process ensures a perfectly pre-baked shell every time. It’s a straightforward technique that yields professional-quality results.

Here is the foolproof method for using what are baking beans:

Prepare the Crust: Roll out your pastry and carefully fit it into your pie pan. Trim and crimp the edges as desired. Don’t skip this next step—it makes a huge difference.
Chill Thoroughly: Place the pastry-lined pan in the freezer for at least 15-30 minutes. This solidifies the fat in the dough and is the best defense against the sides slumping down during baking.
Line the Pastry: Take a large piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil and gently press it into the chilled crust, making sure it covers the bottom and comes all the way up the sides. Leave some overhang to create “handles” for easy removal later.
Add the Weights: Pour in your baking beans or a substitute like dried beans or uncooked rice. Don’t be shy here; you need to fill the crust completely to the top edge. A common mistake is using too few weights, which won’t provide enough pressure to support the sides. For a 9-inch pie, you’ll need at least 600g (1.3 lbs).
First Bake: Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven, typically between 375°F (190°C) and 425°F (220°C), for about 15-25 minutes. The edges should be starting to look lightly colored.
Remove the Weights: Carefully take the pan out of the oven. Using the parchment paper overhangs as handles, lift the entire package of hot baking beans out of the crust. Set them aside in a heatproof bowl to cool.
Second Bake: The bottom of your crust will look pale and slightly damp. Return the empty crust to the oven and bake for another 5-15 minutes, or until the bottom is dry, golden, and looks fully cooked.
Cool Down: Let the blind-baked crust cool completely on a wire rack before you pour in your filling.

Pro Tip: For an extra-sturdy crust, chill or freeze your pastry-lined pan for 15-30 minutes before lining and baking. This helps prevent the sides from slumping.

The Best Baking Bean Substitutes (You Already Have Them)

Excellent substitutes for baking beans include uncooked rice, dried beans, granulated sugar, or a second pie tin. While effective, dried beans and rice are not edible after being used for baking. The good news is you almost certainly have a perfect alternative for what are baking beans in your kitchen right now. There’s no need to run to the store if you find yourself without dedicated pie weights.

Did you know? Once used for baking, dried beans or rice can’t be cooked and eaten, but they can be stored and reused as pie weights indefinitely! Just let them cool completely and store them in a labeled jar.

Here’s a breakdown of the best and most common baking bean substitutes:

Substitute	Pros	Cons	Reusable?
Dried Beans / Rice	Inexpensive, readily available	Not edible after use, may scorch	Yes, for baking only
Granulated Sugar	Edible after (toasted flavor), good weight	Can melt slightly, harder to handle	Yes, as toasted sugar
Second Pie Tin	Reusable, helps brown top edge	May not fit perfectly, less weight in center	Yes
Fork Piercing (Docking)	No extra items needed	Sides can still collapse, not for wet fillings	N/A

Care, Storage, and Reusability

Always cool weights completely before storing. Ceramic beans can be washed, while dried bean or rice substitutes should be kept in a dry, airtight container for reuse in baking only; they are not edible. Proper care ensures your baking beans, whether purpose-bought or from the pantry, will last for years of pie-making.

Ceramic/Metal Weights: After they have cooled completely, you can hand wash them in warm, soapy water if needed. Make sure they are thoroughly dry before storing them in their container or an airtight jar to prevent any musty odors from developing.
Dried Bean/Rice Substitutes: These should never be washed. Simply let them cool down to room temperature after use. Pour them into a labeled airtight jar or container and store them in a cool, dry place. They are now your dedicated pie weights and can be used over and over again. It is not recommended to eat them after baking, as the process dries them out completely and can cause them to scorch, making them unsuitable for cooking.

To achieve consistently perfect pie crusts, investing in a set of ceramic baking beans can simplify the process and deliver excellent heat distribution for an even bake.

FAQs About Baking Beans

Here are answers to the most common questions people have about what are baking beans and how to use them.

What is a good substitute for baking beans?

The best substitutes for baking beans are common pantry items like uncooked rice, dried beans (chickpeas, lentils), or granulated sugar. These items are dense, small, and can fill the crust evenly to provide the weight needed for a successful blind bake. A second, smaller pie tin placed inside the crust can also work.

Can you use regular dried beans as baking beans?

Yes, you can absolutely use regular dried beans as pie weights. Just remember they are no longer edible after use, but can be cooled and saved for future baking. Any type of dried bean, such as black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, or even lentils and split peas, will work perfectly to weigh down your pastry.

Are baking beans edible after use?

No. Ceramic baking beans are not food. Dried beans or rice used as weights are also not edible afterwards as the baking process makes them unsuitable for cooking. The high, dry heat of the oven scorches them and makes them too hard and dry to ever be cooked and softened properly.

What are ceramic baking beans for?

Ceramic baking beans are used to weigh down pastry during blind baking. Their key advantages are that they distribute heat very evenly for a uniform bake and are non-porous and infinitely reusable. Because they are specifically designed for this task, they conduct heat efficiently, helping the crust to cook from all sides for an exceptionally crisp result.

Final Summary: Perfecting Your Pastry with Baking Beans

In summary, baking beans are a crucial and surprisingly simple tool for anyone serious about baking. They are the definitive answer to preventing soggy, puffy, or shrunken pie crusts. By understanding their purpose and mastering the technique of blind baking, you can elevate your pies, tarts, and quiches from homemade to bakery-quality.

The Core Function: Baking beans, also known as pie weights, weigh down pastry during a pre-bake to stop it from puffing up and shrinking.
The Main Goal: Their use ensures a crisp, stable crust that can hold wet fillings without becoming a “soggy bottom.”
Easy to Use: The process is simple: line your chilled crust with parchment, fill it with weights, bake, remove the weights, and finish baking until golden.
Pantry-Friendly Substitutes: If you don’t have ceramic beans, uncooked rice or any dried beans from your pantry work just as well.

Now that you’re an expert on what are baking beans and their substitutes, grab your favourite pie recipe and bake with confidence

Last update on 2025-09-05 at 21:18 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API