Great Northern Beans Nutrition

Great northern beans are usually grown in the midwestern United States. They are a cream-colored bean similar in shape to the lima bean. They are bland in taste but absorb flavor well. Like most beans, you will need to sort through the beans and soak them before cooking. Nutritional values are based on a one-cup serving of beans, boiled without salt.

A close-up of dried great northern beans. (Image: pedrosala/iStock/Getty Images)

Basic Nutrition

One cup of boiled great northern beans contains 209 calories, 37.3 g of total carbohydrates and 12.4 g of dietary fiber. Based on a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet, this serving represents 12 percent of the recommended daily value, or DV, for carbohydrates. The beans are an excellent source of dietary fiber, providing 50 percent of DV. They also provide 14.7 g, or 29 percent DV, of protein.

Calories

One cup of boiled great northern beans contains 209 calories. Carbohydrates account for the majority of calories, with 151 calories. Protein makes up 51.2 calories, and the remaining calories come from fat.

Fats

The total fat content is 0.9 g, which represents only 1 percent of the recommended daily value. One serving contains 0.2 g of saturated fat, and the remaining fat comes from healthy unsaturated fats. The beans contain heart-healthy fatty acids as well--149 mg of omega-3 and 182 mg of omega-6.

Vitamins

One serving is an excellent source of folate, with 181 mcg, or 45 percent DV, and thiamin, with 0.3 mg, or 19 percent DV. Other vitamins in great northern beans include 0.2 mg vitamin B6, or 10 percent DV; 0.1 mg riboflavin, or 6 percent DV; 1.2 mg niacin, or 6 percent DV; 0.5 mg pantothenic acid, 5 percent DV; and 2.3 mg vitamin C, or 4 percent DV.

Minerals

Great northern beans are a rich source of minerals. One serving contains 0.9 mg manganese, or 46 percent DV; 292 mg phosphorus, or 29 percent DV; 88.5 mg magnesium, or 22 percent DV; 0.4 mg copper, or 22 percent DV; 3.8 mg iron, or 21 percent DV; 692.1 mg potassium, or 20 percent DV; 120.4 mg calcium, or 12 percent DV; 1.6 mg zinc, or 10 percent DV; and 7.3 mg selenium, or 10 percent DV.

Sodium

If the beans are boiled without added salt, they have only 4 mg of sodium, which is barely a trace amount. When salt is added, sodium increases to 421 mg, or 18 percent of the recommended daily value.