How Michael Symon Dresses Up Canned Beans For Easy Dips - Exclusive

We are all looking for quick ways to throw something together, especially when we have company coming over; even chefs need to get something together in a pinch sometimes. That's why when we had a chance to chat with Chef Michael Symon in an exclusive interview, we asked him the secret to preparing a dish in no time. "One of the great chef cheats is — a lot of chefs in fancy restaurants, you'll go to their kitchen and there's canned beans, which there's nothing wrong with," he said. 

And if canned beans are a chef's secret weapon, you shouldn't be afraid to use them in your own last-minute dishes. "Leaning into the canned beans is a great way to put dips together very quickly. Things that work really well as game day spreads — cooked chickpeas, you could make a hummus in pretty much no time at all." With no soaking or cooking, creating a simple dip from beans is an easy way to look like a gourmet chef, even when you don't have the time for something more complicated.

Michael Symon even gave us an example of using beans to create a spread. "Give them a rinse, buzz them up with some garlic, extra virgin olive oil and lemon, and you got a really great simple bean dip that would be good with pizza or anything like that." Using this method and some chickpeas, you could also easily create hummus or use cannellini beans to make a white bean dip; you don't even need to turn on a stove. 

Symon added that you don't have to limit yourself with flavor — he encourages people to play with flavorful additions and other types of beans to create something new and exciting. "You could do the same thing with black beans and add cilantro and tomatoes and cheese to it. You have something that's great with tortillas," he said. If you're really in a time crunch, he noted that you can use the same technique to elevate even a store-bought dip. "I actually have had some pretty good store-bought hummus that you could jazz up with your own flavors." It's yet another chance to get creative with flavor in a low-pressure, high-reward way — and why not, when everyone loves a good dip?

"Simply Symon Suppers" is now available to order.