30 Canned Beans Recipes We Love (2024)

As far as pantry staples go, canned beans can really come in handy. We're talking black beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, and more — if you have a few cans stocked in your cabinets, you can use them to bolster all kinds of meals, ranging from beef chili to a quick cassoulet. Read on for some of our favorite, convenient recipes with canned beans.

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Smoky Beans and Greens in Tomato Broth

30 Canned Beans Recipes We Love (1)

This soul-satisfying bowl of beans and greens hits the spot on a night when you're low on time and energy and the fridge seems a bit bare. Smoked paprika adds a welcome hint of smokiness, while the combination of tomato paste and sun-dried tomatoes delivers an aromatic broth in record time. Feel free to use your favorite canned or home-cooked beans.

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Kale and White Bean Stew

30 Canned Beans Recipes We Love (2)

Combining two Portuguese favorites — kale-sausage soup and a bean, sausage, and tomato stew — makes a simple, sensational one-pot meal. To keep the focus on the vegetables, we've used just a tiny amount of fresh sausage; you can add more, if you like, or substitute dried chorizo or pepperoni.

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Rajma (Kidney Bean Curry) Tacos

30 Canned Beans Recipes We Love (3)

This creamy, richly spiced vegetarian kidney bean curry is usually served over rice with roti or naan, but it also makes a surprisingly delicious filling for corn tortillas. You can assemble the tacos before serving them, or make a giant taco platter with the rajma, toasted tortillas, and all of the toppings, and let your guests build their own to their liking.

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04of 30

Chickpeas and Kale in Spicy Pomodoro Sauce

30 Canned Beans Recipes We Love (4)

This recipe from chef Missy Robbins of Brooklyn's Lilia was named one of Food & Wine's best in 2018. Here, Robbins swaps tangles of kale and chickpeas for pasta in her riff on spicy pomodoro. She finishes the dish with a shower of fresh herbs and salty pecorino cheese.

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Saucy White Beans and Greens on Toast

30 Canned Beans Recipes We Love (5)

This combination of canned cannellini and cranberry beans cooked with spinach, jalapeño, cumin, and citrus is a cozy, quick dinner.

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Spring Minestrone with Grated Egg Pasta

30 Canned Beans Recipes We Love (6)

Multiple ingredients in this bountiful spring vegetable soup give it a deep, satisfying flavor. The Parmigiano-Reggiano rind and vegetable umami both contribute a delicious, salty richness, while curly leaf spinach maintains a fresh, vegetal taste that you can’t get from baby spinach.

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Mushroom-Chickpea Pozole

30 Canned Beans Recipes We Love (7)

Celebrity chef Marcela Valladolid’s quick, vegetable-packed version of pozole features baby portobello and shiitake mushrooms. It uses canned chickpeas in place of dried hominy.

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Classic Beef Chili

30 Canned Beans Recipes We Love (8)

This chili recipe uses two different kinds of canned beans — dark red kidney and black (make sure you drain and rinse them). A hearty batch is ready in just under an hour.

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Refried White Beans with Poached Eggs

30 Canned Beans Recipes We Love (9)

Caramelized shallots and bold Fresno chile lend big flavor while fresh thyme and mint provide freshness and lime juice brings a brightness to what is typically a heavier dish. Serve refried white beans topped with a poached egg and you have one seriously satisfying breakfast, or serve them without the egg for a comforting side dish.

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10of 30

Cacio e Pepe Broccolini with Crispy White Beans and Burrata

30 Canned Beans Recipes We Love (10)

This dish captures the rich, elegant, simple flavors of the classic Italian pasta and rounds them out with charred Broccolini and crispy, creamy, flash-fried white beans. No burrata? Fresh mozzarella will work here, too.

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White Bean and Ham Soup

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When former F&W editor Grace Parisi was growing up, her mother made white bean and escarole soup every Friday. To transform the soup into a main course, Parisi substitutes ham and spiced croutons for the greens.

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Lazy Chicken and Sausage Cassoulet

30 Canned Beans Recipes We Love (12)

You can use canned or home-cooked white beans in this fast version of cassoulet, a hearty French casserole of beans, various meats, sausages, and poultry.

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Marinated Chickpea Salad with Radishes, Cucumber, and Queso de Freir

30 Canned Beans Recipes We Love (13)

This quick chickpea salad from pastry chef Paola Velez is packed with vegetables and tossed with a simple, flavorful lemon-garlic and cumin dressing. Crispy, melty strips of fried queso de freir — a favorite cheese from Velez's childhood — take the dish over the top. The salad comes together in 30 minutes, making it ideal for busy nights.

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14of 30

Gina Mae's Baked Beans

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For this summer-perfect side, scholar Regina Bradley dresses up store-bought barbecue sauce and canned baked beans with extra brown sugar; apple cider vinegar cuts through the smoky sweetness.

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Black Bean Tlacoyos

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These tlacoyos are filled with seasoned black bean and topped with nopales, cheese, cilantro, salsa, and chopped onion. No nopales on hand? No worries.

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Crispy Cheese Burritos with Chorizo and Eggs

30 Canned Beans Recipes We Love (16)

When Richard Chang was chef and owner of Tacos La Tehuanita truck in Los Angeles, he wowed crowds with his burnt-cheese-roll taco, made by griddling cheese until crisp and rolling it up around various fillings. This version pairs chorizo-studded black beans and scrambled eggs with creamy avocado for richness.

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17of 30

Blackened Skillet Pork Chops with Beans and Spinach

30 Canned Beans Recipes We Love (17)

Cannellini beans are simmered with chicken stock, shallots, and spinach for a tasty side to accompany pork chops.

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"Steak Bomb" Rice and Beans

30 Canned Beans Recipes We Love (18)

Chef Jamie Bissonnette of Toro in Boston describes a steak bomb as a sub sandwich stuffed with a delicious mess of shaved beef, onions, peppers, and cheese: “It’s New England’s answer to Philly cheesesteak.” He upgrades this pizza parlor staple by simmering thicker strips of beef with black beans and fresh tomatoes to serve over rice.

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Mustard Salmon with Cannellini Bean Ragù

30 Canned Beans Recipes We Love (19)

The cannellini beans don't cook for very long in this recipe, but they have a rich, rustic flavor since they're simmered with prosciutto and escarole.

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Ribollita

30 Canned Beans Recipes We Love (20)

This savory and cozy Tuscan soup is simmered with a sofrito cooked in peppery olive oil; earthy, rustic bread; and small, thin-skinned white beans.

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Kidney Bean Soup

30 Canned Beans Recipes We Love (21)

Warm, hearty, and deeply comforting, this kidney bean soup gets a nice kick from crushed red pepper and brightness from a bit of mustard.

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Cavatappi with Chorizo and Black Beans

30 Canned Beans Recipes We Love (22)

The full, earthy Tex-Mex flavors of chorizo, black beans, and chili blend perfectly, if somewhat unexpectedly, with corkscrew-shaped macaroni.

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Smashed Cucumber Salad with Butter Beans and Tarragon

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Gently crushing the cucumbers for this salad releases their aroma and creates nooks and crannies for soaking up the dressing. They still retain plenty of crunch, a great contrast to the rich, creamy butter beans.

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Skirt Steak with Pinto Beans and Pasilla Chile Vinaigrette

30 Canned Beans Recipes We Love (24)

Instead of serving juicy skirt steak with steak sauce, chef Hugh Acheson makes a flavorful vinaigrette with pasilla chile and adds it to pinto beans as a very tasty, hearty accompaniment to the meat.

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Beans and Bacon on Buttered Toasts

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This hearty fork-and-knife dish from chef Hugh Acheson, which features navy beans, is perfect for a quick, easy dinner for two.

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Bean and Cheese Vegetarian Enchiladas

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Sweet bell peppers and two kinds of beans are the stars of this meatless meal. They're held together with melty Monterey Jack cheese.

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Warm Spinach Salad with Cannellini Beans and Shrimp

30 Canned Beans Recipes We Love (27)

The combination of sweet shrimp and meaty little cannellini beans here transforms a simple warm spinach salad.

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Tuna and White Bean Salad

30 Canned Beans Recipes We Love (28)

This simple salad has fewer than 10 ingredients, with canned white beans (cannellini is preferable) and canned tuna as the stars.

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White Bean Huevos Rancheros

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Chef Neal Fraser’s take on huevos rancheros uses simmered whole white beans; here, the beans are mashed with ham to form the base of the dish, then piled with corn tortillas, fried eggs, and queso fresco before broiling. A warm tomato salsa tops it all off.

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Roasted Leek and White Bean Gratin

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Leeks, canned cannellini beans, garlic, chicken broth, and Gruyère cheese come together in this comforting gratin. If you have leftovers, you can mash them and serve them as a dip or spread for toasts.

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30 Canned Beans Recipes We Love (2024)

FAQs

What can I add to canned beans to make them better? ›

My technique, typically, was to caramelize the onions and garlic a bit, then add the drained cannellini beans, finishing with salt, lemon zest, sherry vinegar or lemon juice, red pepper flakes, and fresh herbs.

Is it OK to eat canned beans everyday? ›

Eating a few servings of beans a day can help you reach your recommended daily fiber intake of 21 to 25 grams for women and 30 to 38 grams for men. Beans are one of the most nutritious foods you can eat.

Why you should always rinse canned beans? ›

Unless the recipe tells you to keep the canned beans in their liquid, you should drain your can and give the beans a good rinse before using. This will improve the flavor and texture of your finished dish.

What can I add to beans to make them nicer? ›

Onions and garlic: Quartered onions, halved shallots, or smashed garlic cloves. Herbs: A sprig of fresh rosemary or thyme, or sage, parsley, or cilantro leaves or stems. I often add frozen herbs to my home cooked beans. Spices: Black peppercorns, freshly ground black pepper, bay leaves, or dried chiles.

How to jazz up a can of beans? ›

Here are the steps:
  1. Drain and rinse your beans.
  2. Heat a large pan over medium heat with the olive oil. Once the pan is hot, add the drained and rinsed beans.
  3. Add the chili powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, cumin, chili flakes, salt and pepper. ...
  4. That's it!
Apr 24, 2024

How to make canned beans tastier? ›

Toss with a little olive oil, salt, pepper and cumin. Roast at 425 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until the beans are browned on the edges. Pan fried. Canned beans can be crispy and flavorful when fried in a skillet or sauté pan.

Is 2 cans of beans a day too much? ›

The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends eating 1-3 cups of beans, peas and lentils per week. That is equal to approximately ½ cup per day. References: https://diabetes.org/food-nutrition/food-and-blood-sugar/diabetes-superstar-foods.

What is the healthiest bean to eat? ›

The 7 Healthiest Beans to Eat, According to Dietitians
  1. Lentils. Lentils are rich in polyphenols, plant-based compounds that have both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. ...
  2. White Beans. ...
  3. Black Beans. ...
  4. Chickpeas. ...
  5. Pinto Beans. ...
  6. Red Kidney Beans. ...
  7. Lupini Beans.
Aug 14, 2023

How to stop gas after eating beans? ›

Gas-Reducing Tips

Drink more water each day as you eat more beans. When soaking dry beans before cooking, change the water several times. The gas-producing fibers are released into the soaking water, and discarding it removes some of these compounds. Rinse canned beans without sauce before eating or using in recipes.

What to put in canned beans to prevent gas? ›

To cut down on the gassy properties, you can add a little baking soda to your recipe. The baking soda helps break down some of the beans' natural gas-making sugars.

What is the liquid in canned beans called? ›

Officially called aquafaba, the liquid included in cans of beans is typically starchy and salty, though those qualities differ based on the brand of beans. Feel free to dip a spoon or finger in to taste it before using. “It has a viscous body from the fibers of the beans.

What happens if you forgot to rinse beans? ›

It impacts the flavor of your food: "[Rinsing] gives the bean a cleaner mouthfeel and prevents the gel-like coating from altering the flavors of the surrounding ingredients." This is why you might want to rinse canned beans even if you are making a dish that calls for additional liquid, as tempting as it might be to ...

How do you pimp up beans? ›

Cook up beef sausages with onion to create a super-flavorful base for your dressed up baked beans. Upgrade #3: All of the condiments! Maple syrup, molasses, ketchup, vinegar, mustard—basically throw every sweet, salty, tangy condiment you've got at those canned baked beans and you know they're going to taste delicious.

What seasoning is good for beans? ›

In general, most beans go well with herbs like parsley, rosemary, sage, savory, and thyme. You usually can't go wrong with garlic and onions, either. Specific kinds of beans, like fava beans or mung beans, have other affinities with particular herbs and spices.

What gives beans a good flavor? ›

Salt, spices, and aromatics are the keys to flavorful beans.

How do you make cheap beans taste better? ›

A few ideas:
  1. Rinse the beans.
  2. Spice (cumin, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder) and warm them up.
  3. Mix with other ingredients (add vegetables, cooked rice, pasta, or use them as a filling for wraps or tacos)
  4. Mix with your own sauce (onion+bell pepper+carrot+canned tomatoes)
Aug 3, 2023

How do you fix bland beans? ›

Cooking dried beans with just salt and water is fine, but they are going to taste rather plain. The Bean Institute recommends cooking beans with aromatics to get the most flavor out of them. They advise adding onion, garlic, and fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, or bay leaf.

What can I put in canned beans to prevent gas? ›

To cut down on the gassy properties, you can add a little baking soda to your recipe. The baking soda helps break down some of the beans' natural gas-making sugars.

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