Braise Your Canned Beans To Elevate A Pantry Staple Into A Comforting Dinner

Canned beans are a quintessential staple that reign supreme over dried ones because they save you hours of soaking and cooking. That said, they often lack any significant seasonings other than the salty canning liquid that you'll likely drain and rinse off of them anyway. While it may sound like overkill, braising your canned beans is the best way to transform them into a one-pot meal bursting with flavor.

Braising tends to entail numerous stove-top cooking methods like searing, deglazing, and simmering. And, they all apply with a braised bean recipe because you'll be elaborating the beans with other raw ingredients to impart flavor and create a well-rounded meal. The general formula for braised beans starts with an aromatic saute to provide a flavorful foundation for the raw veggies or meat you'll add to the pan next. Increase the heat on your stove to sear or otherwise brown your choice of vegetables and meat so they'll leave some charred remnants on the bottom of the pan. You can then deglaze the pan with something flavorful like this rich Pacific Foods Organic Unsalted Chicken Bone Broth or Imagine Low Sodium Organic Vegetarian No-Chicken Broth. Pour in your can of drained and rinsed beans, and let everything simmer together.

Having cooked beans as the star of the show (as opposed to something like meat) cuts simmering times down significantly. You only need to simmer them for as long as it takes to cook the added veggies or simply heat the dish through.

Braised beans will come together quickly and effortlessly with comforting and delicious results. You can use other pre-cooked ingredients to make preparing the dish even faster. Thawed frozen veggies or drained canned vegetables, cured deli meat, and store-bought broth and cream are all staples to throw into braised beans. The range of possibilities depends on whatever you have lying around. For example, you can transform butter beans into an aromatic Indian-inspired dish by first sauteing onions, garlic, and ginger with cumin, coriander, garam masala, cayenne, and turmeric. You can also toss in thawed frozen spinach, a splash of canned coconut milk. Sop it all up with this garlic naan or serve it over basmati rice.

For something more Mediterranean-style, add cannellini or garbanzo beans to a braising base of sauteed garlic, tomato paste or harissa, cumin, cinnamon, and paprika. Incorporate carrots and frozen cauliflower to brown and absorb the seasonings before adding the beans and a splash of broth. Top the beans with halved Castelvetrano olives, lemon zest, and pine nuts, and serve it over a bed of fluffy couscous.

Mexican food lovers can make an easy braised version of charro beans by sauteing onion and jalapeno in lard, followed by sliced bacon, and deglazing the pan with a splash of beef broth and a can of fire roasted tomatoes and pinto beans. Top the beans with crumbled cotija cheese and cilantro to enjoy with classic corn tortillas.