Can Dogs Eat Beans?

Yes, but only plain, well-cooked beans in a small amount. The free Dog Toxic-Foods Checker lists beans under Caution: “No veterinary source gives a verdict on plain cooked beans, and the AKC names beans as a gas-producing food. Refried, charro, stewed and baked beans often add fat, salt, onion or garlic, which are the real risks.” The bean is rarely the problem; the dish is.

If your family calls them frijoles, porotos or caraotas, the answer is the same. The Diccionario de americanismos (ASALE) records poroto as “frijol, fruto” in Panama, parts of Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay, and caraota as the name used in Venezuela.

What the sources say (and don’t)

No veterinary source I checked gives a verdict on plain cooked beans, whether black, pinto or kidney. What I did find:

• Gas. “Some diets (especially those high in carbohydrates, like beans and certain byproducts) are more likely to produce more foul-smelling gas,” the AKC says. It’s the only source that names beans.
• Fiber. VCA explains that fiber in dog food is fermented by bacteria in the colon, which adds to gas. On its edamame page, the AKC warns that “fiber, when fed in excess, can cause stomach problems, vomiting, and diarrhea.”

Raw or undercooked: a finding in people

A 2010 food-toxicology review (Dolan, Matulka and Burdock) explains that raw or undercooked kidney beans contain a lectin, phytohaemagglutinin, that causes nausea, vomiting or diarrhea in people; that boiling destroys it; and that slow cookers are not advised for beans. That’s human and rat data: no source I checked says dogs react the same way. Still, never share raw or half-cooked beans.

The dishes that are the problem

• Refried beans: fat, salt and often onion and garlic. The ASPCA warns that “too much fat or sugar can lead to inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis),” and VCA says pancreatitis “may be triggered in some cases by a fatty meal” (pancreatitis).
• Stewed beans (frijoles de olla) and charro beans: onion, garlic, salt and, in charro beans, sometimes bacon. The ASPCA says “Allium species can cause gastrointestinal irritation and red blood cell damage,” and the Merck Veterinary Manual notes that raw, cooked, dried and powdered forms all count, with garlic 3–5 times more toxic than onion (onions and garlic).
• Canned beans: salt. Writing about canned green beans, the AKC warns that “many varieties contain high amounts of added salt,” and no source I checked says rinsing removes it.
• Baked beans: sugar and salt. I found no veterinary source that addresses them directly.

If you want to share

Soak and boil them well, with no salt or seasoning, and set aside a small amount before the onion, garlic, lard or chile go in. Home-cooked beats canned. No source prints an amount of beans for dogs, so count them as a treat: the AKC caps treats at approximately 10% or less of daily calories, and the ASPCA’s page says no more than 5%. The free Dog Feeding Calculator gives your dog’s number. If beans give your dog a lot of gas, drop them.

When to call the vet

• If your dog ate beans stewed with onion or garlic, even if they seem fine. Merck notes that hemolysis, the breakdown of red blood cells, “typically occurs 3–5 days after exposure.”
• If there’s vomiting, belly pain or lethargy after refried beans or another fatty dish. VCA lists nausea, vomiting, fever, lethargy, abdominal pain, diarrhea and decreased appetite as the most common signs of pancreatitis.
• If gas comes with diarrhea or weight loss: VCA says it may indicate an underlying metabolic disease.

If your vet is unavailable, ASPCA Animal Poison Control at (888) 426-4435 and Pet Poison Helpline at (855) 764-7661 can advise (a fee may apply). Keep the free Pet Poison Emergency Card on the fridge.