Creamy white beans with seasonal vegetables. This is my go to meal when I don’t have much time but want something delicious. It’s super simple to make, and so comforting!
Serve with some crusty bread for a quick and delicious meal ready in 20 minutes!
I always have a can of some white beans in my cupboard so this is a meal I make on repeat. It’s made with very few and simple ingredients making it a dinner or lunch lifesaver.
The beans are cooked with olive oil, shallot and seasoned with nutritional yeast and some of the canned bean water to make them super creamy.
I love to have this meal with some crusty bread. All of the richness of the beans is absorbed by the bread! They are great on their own or with some rice or pasta.
Creamy White Beans – Ingredients
- Cannellini beans: any white beans will work. I love all types of beans and of course they’re packed full of fibre, protein and vitamins such as B, E and K
- Extra virgin olive oil: high quality olive oil for sautéing the shallot and beans and for garnish
- Shallot: I prefer shallots for these types of preparations, as they are a little sweeter than most onions. I like them diced really finely.
- Seasonal Veg:Here I used asparagus and peas.
- Sesame seeds: for garnish.
- Water: to help simmer the beans
- Nutritional yeast: for an added cheesy taste
- Miso paste: for a umami kick
- Salt and pepper
Step by step instructions
Dice the shallot finely. Heat up some olive oil in a pan, add the shallot, a pinch of salt and let it cook 5-8 minutes.
In the meantime drain the cannellini beans, but don’t rinse them and keep some of the liquid for later.
Once the shallot is browned, add the cannellini, nutritional yeast, miso paste mixed with some water to dilute it and some more water. Let it cook until reduced and creamy.
For the toppings I simply sautéed some asparagus and peas with some olive oil in a pan and garnished with some sesame seeds.
To serve, spread the beans mixture on a plate, top with the vegetables, a drizzle of olive oil and serve with crusty bread.
Creamy White Beans – Variations
To play around with this dish here are some things you might use instead or add:
- Mix in some spinach of spinach, or other leafy greens and let them wilt (cabbage, kale)
- Toppings: top with different vegetables: artichokes, red peppers, mushrooms, roasted tomatoes or sun-dried ones
- Add fresh herbs! Parsley, basil, thyme, would be a great addition.
How long do these last?
Stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, they last up to 5 days. They might need additional water when reheated to become creamy again.
Creamy White Beans – With Peas and Asparagus
Ingredients
- 1 can cannellini beans 400g
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 3 small shallots
- 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp miso paste diluted in some water
- 1/4 cup Water
- 5 Asparagus
- 1/2 cup Peas
- 1 tbsp Sesame seeds
- Crusty bread
Instructions
- Dice the shallot finely. Heat up some olive oil in a pan, add the shallot, a pinch of salt and let it cook 5-8 minutes.
- In the meantime drain the cannellini beans, but don’t rinse them and keep some of the liquid for later.
- Once the shallot is browned, add the cannellini, nutritional yeast, miso paste mixed with some water to dilute it and some more water. Let it cook until reduced and creamy.
- For the toppings I simply sautéed some asparagus and peas with some olive oil in a pan and garnished with some sesame seeds.
- To serve, spread the beans mixture on a plate, top with the vegetables, a drizzle of olive oil and serve with crusty bread.
This recipe was very easy and yummy! I followed the recipe directly, but topped the plate with fresh green onions at the end. A perfect weeknight meal
I’m glad! Thanks for sharing your feedback☺️
I just made this, it was delicious. I like that it is so adaptable to personal taste as well as to locally available or seasonal ingredients. I used a teaspoon of marmite instead of miso paste for the umami and replaced the asparagus with broccolini and carrot matchsticks that I sautéed in garlic oil. This is going on the list, thank you Francesca