20 Bean Recipes That Are Bound To Be A Hit
Is there any food more versatile than the humble bean? There are so many different types of beans that can be a main course, a side, a filling, or an addition to soups and salads with almost any flavor profile, the only other foods in beans' ballpark might be eggs and potatoes. There probably isn't a culture and cuisine on Earth that hasn't embraced beans for their amazing nutrition, affordability, and hearty flavor.
And yet, how often do we unleash all of our cooking talents on beans? More often than not we're content to pour our favorite brand of canned beans into some soup or put on a pot that we can ignore as we focus on the main course; that's not the way to treat a culinary star. A perfect plate of creamy beans can surprise just as much and be every bit the crowd pleaser as any chicken or steak recipe.
So consider this your full-on embrace of one of the world's best ingredients. Run through this list of bean recipes, and you'll find plenty of simple classics, like ham and bean soup or Cuban black beans, but that's just the beginning. You can cook up a satisfying weeknight dinner with crispy pan-fried beans or fill out a casserole for a family of any size. You can party with a chimichanga or chill with a spicy bean stew. So get going — anything is possible with the power of beans.
Vegetarian white bean pot pie
Beans are a great vegetarian protein substitute in so many meals, and here they take the place of chicken or beef in the original one pot meal. This is a quick and easy version of the homey, classic pot pie, using premade puff pastry and ramekins to produce single serving meals in under an hour. The filling is a simple but hearty stew mixture of chopped vegetables, kale, and canned white beans, which only need to be simmered together for a few minutes to meld all of the flavors. A little pastry topper and short bake later, you'll have a bubbling filling and a crispy golden crust.
Cuban black beans
The amount of flavor you can pack into a pot of black beans is amazing. This recipe starts with a Cuban sofrito of onion, bell pepper, and garlic, with a little jalapeño to give it an extra kick. Cumin, coriander, oregano, and smoked paprika give the whole dish the warm, smoky undertones that you want from a bowl of black beans. Using canned beans makes this a 15 minute affair with no real downside in the flavor department. Serve them over rice, as a stand alone side, or top them with avocado and onions for a light meal.
Quick pan-fried Chinese green beans
This is the perfect easy dish to explore the fresh corner of the bean world. Pan fried green beans hit that trifecta of crisp, flavorful, and light that make them an ideal side, and that's not even considering that you can make them in a flash. While a quick fry gives you some color and tenderizes the beans, the flavor comes from the bold Chinese sauce that mixes oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, and chili flakes for tangy, sweet, and salty perfection. A garnish of sesame seeds at the end rounds it out with some pleasing extra crunch.
Lemon garlic green beans
Green beans can be a hearty side, but they can shine without a punchy sauce too. If you want to keep your beans green and crisp, a short blanch in boiling water followed by a quick ice bath will bring out their flavor without overcooking them. Then, it's off for another quick cook in a lemon butter garlic sauce that keeps things bright and fresh while still coating the beans with its own pungent flavor. It's the perfect fresh green side for any big dinner or plate of grilled meat.
Hearty pumpkin and black bean casserole
Beans are perfect for the home cooked magic of casseroles. This roasted dish is a winter vegetarian delight, combining sweet pumpkin with earthy kale and the brightness of tomatoes and red onion. Canned black beans round out the pan with a satisfying protein that makes for a more filling and complete dish. It only takes a short saute of a few ingredients before everything gets baked together in your casserole dish and melds into a creamy stew that makes for a great main course by itself or paired with rice.
Vegetarian black bean and corn chimichangas
Chimichangas may be a takeout favorite, but they aren't hard to make at home and, this way, you can fill them with a creative veggie and bean mixture that turns them into the burrito equivalent of southwestern egg rolls. A combo of corn, bell pepper, tomatoes, beans, rice, and onion comes together in minutes with a little cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, and cayenne pepper for a mix of Mexican flavors. Rolled in store-bought burrito tortillas with shredded cheese, these chimichangas can be fried in a shallow pan of oil without much mess or fuss, but they can also be baked or air-fried for a crunch that's a little lighter on the fat.
Classic pasta e fagioli
This staple of Italian home cooking is one of the tastiest stews on the planet. The pairing of beans and pasta is comfort in a bowl, while the tasty tomato broth makes it perfectly irresistible. The broth gets flavors from all kinds of different angles: fresh herbs, sauteed vegetables, and tomato paste. But the real secret weapons are two umami bombs: pancetta and a parmesan rind. Together they produce a rich, filling soup that will keep you warm any night of the year.
Black bean and corn taco pasta
The love of beans crosses cultures, which makes them the perfect base for some real creative fusion dishes, like this Mexican-inspired pasta. A simple mixture of shells and marinara sauce gets upgrades with a garden of southwestern additions like corn, onion, red pepper, and canned black beans while getting a little spicy flair from taco seasoning. Using some stock to thin everything out, the pasta gets cooked directly in the sauce and, just before it's done, it gets finished off with a sprinkling of cheese and put under a broiler to brown. The end result is a best of two continents creation that's impossible to resist.
Ghormeh sabzi (Persian chicken stew)
If you think of bean stews as primarily hearty and savory, this bright Persian classic will change your perceptions of what's possible with beans. Flavored with turmeric and a whole collection of herbs like parsley, cilantro, and scallions, this simple chicken stew gets cooked down into a vivid green broth deep with light and fresh flavor. The only tough part (but the part that is most essential) is getting your hands on some dried black Persian limes, which gift the whole stew their unique salty, aged acidity. Canned kidney beans round out the dish and turn it into a proper, filling meal.
Hearty black bean burger
Other vegetarian meat replacements like Beyond have gotten so good that it seems like the once popular black bean burger is starting to be forgotten, but that's a mistake because they are delicious enough that they shouldn't be thought of as a substitute for anything. A mix of black beans with oats and eggs comes together in seconds in a food processor and gets some meaty, umami flavor from soy sauce, chili powder, and smoked paprika. A short rest helps that mixture cohere, and then all you need is a quick pan fry for a tasty burger that even meat eaters will crave.
Refrigerator dilly beans
Put those cucumbers aside and leave the radishes in the fridge, these green beans are your new favorite pickled snack. That name says most of it, as dill and vinegar flavors sturdy green beans, which hold up excellently to pickling while still retaining a satisfying crunch. Some peppercorns, mustard seeds, and garlic add a little more pop, but this is also a recipe that is easily customizable to your favorite pickle flavors. Boil the pickling brine, pour over some trimmed green beans in a jar, seal, sit for two days, and start eating.
Pan-fried lima beans with feta and lemon zest
Lima beans are one of those foods that has a bad rap, but they never got the revival project that something like Brussels sprouts got. That's too bad, because as this recipe shows, it only takes a few additions to make them into a wonderful, vibrant side dish. Lima beans' naturally buttery and sweet flavor is mild, but the salt in feta and acid of lemon really wake them up. Pan frying the beans in some herb and garlic infused olive oil adds some nice extra depth and the fat needed for a truly balanced experience. These can be made in minutes and are a great way to test the waters on one of most unjustly disrespected foods.
Spicy pinto beans
Adding chorizo to something is almost cheating, it's so robustly seasoned all by itself, but when the results are beans like this, nobody is complaining. And the reality is that there is so much more flavor going on here. Onion, garlic, tomato, and jalapeño pieces comprise the base of a savory cooking broth that gets more smoke and spice from chili powder, cumin, dried oregano, paprika, and some brown sugar for a little sweetness to round it out. A slow cook to tender beans and the addition of the sausage at the end means that this is enough to satisfy all by itself, but it also makes a meaty side for any cookout.
Spicy black bean soup
One of the best things about beans is that it really doesn't take much to turn them into a comforting, full meal. Canned black beans can become a spicy, full-flavored soup with very little effort: it just takes some chopped veggies, spices, and time. Onion, bell pepper, carrot, and celery fill out the soup as an aromatic base, while the spice comes from smoky chipotles in adobo, chili powder, paprika, and red pepper flakes. After a short simmer, a blender is used to smooth out the cooked beans until they form a creamy broth, flecked with chunks of the remaining beans.
New Orleans red beans and rice
Sure, there is gumbo, jambalaya, and so many other Louisiana favorites, but none of them are quite the staple that red beans and rice are. This is a classic low-and-slow recipe meant to be set in a pot and left alone all day as you work, but it can be made more quickly in a pressure cooker as well. The base is a simple but flavorful mix of onions and peppers with sliced coins of kielbasa, punched up with some creole seasoning. Add some water and beans and, five to six hours later, you'll have one of the best comfort foods on the planet, ready to be spooned over a bowl of fluffy white rice.
Herby ham and bean soup
This ham and bean soup is as old-school as it gets, and it's all the better for it. Like so many bean dishes, the appeal of ham and bean soup is how just a few ingredients slowly simmered can turn into a delicious creamy stew. The ham at the center of it all is a ham hock, which does double duty by infusing the simmering broth with smoky notes and rich fat before getting shredded into sweet chunks of ham to fill out the soup at the end. With only a few aromatic veggies and herbs to round out the broth, this will still be one of the most deeply flavored soups you've ever eaten.
Vegan beet and black bean meatballs
So we know black beans can become a great burger, but why stop there? Combined with earthy, sweet beets and flavors like soy sauce and Italian seasoning, canned black beans become a tender meatless meatball as welcome on a plate of pasta as any made with ground beef. Held together by a chickpea flower, breadcrumbs, and ground walnuts, these meatballs get browned in a pan for a deeply savory finish. In this recipe, the meatballs get finished in a marinara sauce and used to top spaghetti, but these could just as easily become barbecue cocktail meatballs or any other of your favorites.
Vegan cauliflower and green bean casserole
We all love our old favorites, but dishes that rely on processed ingredients like the original green bean casserole are ripe for reinvention. Fresh green beans remain the star, but the canned mushroom soup gets replaced by a homemade gravy that gets a hefty kick of vegan savory flavor from tahini. Cauliflower helps turn this side dish into a proper main course, and the rich and creamy mix gets topped with the essential crispy onions before going into the oven. Even with the homemade gravy it's an easy dish to throw together and only takes a half hour from kitchen to table.
Creamy kidney bean salad
When we tell you beans can do anything, we aren't lying. Here, they take the place of pasta in a classic creamy salad. Canned kidney beans don't need much more to taste great, but they get a little garlic powder and pepper to balance out the fatty mayo base. A trio of onions, celery, and carrots brings plenty of crispy texture and veggie notes to lighten everything up, while a dash of vinegar keeps it from becoming too rich. This is a two-minute recipe that will add a great twist to any BBQ or make a tasty veggie side for lunch.
Bean burrito
Burritos have endless options for fillings, but the most essential might be beans. They tie together burritos with chicken or steak and stand alone as a satisfying protein in vegetarian burritos like this one. The rice and refried beans form the core of this burrito, before they get paired with cool, rich guacamole. But don't worry about things getting too mushy, as the fillings get a final topping of fajita-style sauteed peppers and onions for some brighter flavors and contrast in textures. Cooking the rice is honestly the hardest part, which is great news for such a nutritious and tasty burrito.