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A hill of beans isn’t such a trivial thing anymore. The tiny round legumes are having a moment as more Americans seek out cheap and healthy foods that are also delicious. For this installment of our series, What’s Eating America, where we look at issues of food and affordability, NPR’s Joe Hernandez takes a look at the growing popularity of beans.

JOE HERNANDEZ, BYLINE: Before Henry Thompson sits down to watch a Denver Broncos game, he grabs a bag of chips and a can of beans.

HENRY THOMPSON: You take the can of beans, you put it in the blender, and then you just pour it out. And during the Broncos game, the whole thing’s gone. It’s like, how’d that happen?

HERNANDEZ: Thompson is a professor at Colorado State University, where he studies the health effects of eating beans and other pulse plants. And he says those benefits are abundant – from keeping your blood sugar in check and keeping you regular to helping manage weight and reducing cancer risk. Yet beans haven’t been a core part of the American diet in recent years.

THOMPSON: We don’t take advantage of it. It’s clear that it has health benefits. Hey, America, wake up.

HERNANDEZ: Interest in beans is surging for a few reasons. Beans are full of fiber, which more people are trying to get into their diets. One study found that just 7.4% of American adults were getting the recommended daily amount of dietary fiber. Also, rising food prices have Americans seeking out cheaper protein sources like beans.

TIM MCGREEVY: There definitely is a renaissance.

HERNANDEZ: Tim McGreevy is the CEO of USA Pulses, the trade group for the pulse crop industry, which includes dry beans, lentils, chickpeas and dried peas.

MCGREEVY: Beans can help you feel good. That’s their power.

HERNANDEZ: Beans were critical to ancient agriculture dating back thousands of years and have been a culinary staple in cultures across the globe. But at some point in the last century, the advent of industrial meat production shoved them aside, says Joel Broekaert, author of “A History Of The World In Twelve Beans.”

JOEL BROEKAERT: And then beans are like, I mean, that’s what you eat when you can’t get your hands on meat, when you can’t afford meat.

HERNANDEZ: McGreevy says sales of beans tend to spike during times of economic uncertainty, which is what happened during the COVID pandemic. Now though, bean fandom is boiling over. Influencers are sharing inventive bean recipes on social media, and some bean fans are even meeting up in person to share their love of legumes.

STEVE SANDO: You should eat beans because they’re delicious, and you’ve taken them for granted.

HERNANDEZ: Steve Sando owns and operates Rancho Gordo, a company based in Napa, California. The heirloom bean company has grown steadily since he founded it in 2001, and Rancho Gordo now sells about 2.5 million pounds of beans per year. Sando even started a subscription bean club as a play on all the wine clubs in the area, which has 30,000 active members and another 32,000 on the waiting list.

SANDO: There’s a victory in making a pot of beans. It’s like you took this rock, you cooked it for two hours or so, and you turned it into something creamy and delicious.

HERNANDEZ: USA Pulses announced last year that it’s aiming to double both the American production and consumption of pulses by the year 2030. So how many beans should you eat? USA Pulses encourages people to eat half a cup of pulses per day. Thompson of Colorado State University says, why not make it 1 1/2 cups? And while you’re at it, he says, make sure you’re getting a variety.

THOMPSON: You go to Qdoba and – black beans or pinto? What do I always say?

HERNANDEZ: Both. Joe Hernandez, NPR News.

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