This recipe for white beans with garlic, Parmesan, and cherry tomatoes only takes 15 minutes or less and 2 cans of cannellini beans. Serve it as an easy meatless dinner with your favorite crusty bread or as a side.
Canned white beans are a pantry staple for good reason. They’re affordable, convenient, and versatile. But let’s be honest – their flavor is a little lackluster straight from the can. Luckily, with just a few easy tricks you can turn those bland beans into something downright delicious.
Read on to discover 10 simple ways to make canned white beans taste so much better. These techniques will take your soups, salads, and sides to the next level!
1. Sauté Aromatics
One of the easiest ways to infuse flavor into canned beans is to sauté aromatics like onion, garlic, and herbs
Start by heating a drizzle of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add diced onion and cook for 5 minutes until translucent. Next, stir in minced garlic and cook 30 seconds until fragrant. Finally, throw in a few sprigs of thyme, rosemary, or other fresh herbs.
After just 2-3 minutes of sautéing, you’ll have a flavorful base to add your drained beans to The onions, garlic, and herbs permeate the beans as they heat through, taking them from bland to beautifully seasoned
2. Brown Some Bacon
Got some bacon or pancetta in the fridge? browning a few slices and then cooking the beans in the leftover fat adds a smoky, salty depth of flavor.
Chop the bacon into small pieces and fry over medium heat until crispy, 5-6 minutes. Remove the bacon bits with a slotted spoon and reserve. Add the drained canned beans to the bacon fat in the pan and stir to coat. Finish by mixing the crispy bacon back in.
Other cooked or cured meats like ham, chorizo and prosciutto can also be browned beforehand to amplify flavor.
3. Toast Spices and Nuts
Blooming spices and toasting nuts before adding canned beans enhances their aromatic qualities.
For spices, briefly cook them over medium heat to intensify their flavors. Cumin, coriander, mustard seeds and chili powder all work well. For nuts, spread them evenly in a dry skillet and cook 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Chopped almonds, walnuts and pine nuts pair nicely with beans.
After toasting the spices and/or nuts, add the drained beans and mix to incorporate the flavors. This adds warmth, crunch and complexity.
4. Deglaze with Wine or Stock
Here’s an easy cooking technique that adds lots of extra flavor to beans: deglazing.
After sautéing aromatics or meats, pour in a splash of wine, stock or vinegar and let it simmer while scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. This captures all those caramelized juices and infuses them into the beans.
Some acidic liquids that work well for deglazing include red or white wine vinegars, vermouth, sherry, and vegetable or chicken broth. Just a 1/4 cup or less adds a boost of flavor.
5. Finish with Acid and Herbs
Brightening canned beans at the end with an acid and fresh herbs is a game-changer. The acidity balances the beans’ starchiness and the herbs provide vibrancy.
For the acid, a squeeze of lemon or lime juice does the trick. Or use vinegars like red wine, sherry, or apple cider. For herbs, opt for soft leafy ones like cilantro, parsley, basil, dill or chives.
Stir in a teaspoon or two of acid and 1-2 tablespoons of chopped herbs right at the end to lift all the flavors. This works for beans served hot or cold.
6. Mash Some of the Beans
Mashing a portion of the beans thickens their texture and adds creaminess. Mash about 1/3 of the beans lightly with a fork or potato masher until they’re broken down but still chunky.
Stir the mashed beans back into the whole ones. They’ll help thicken up soups and spreads while providing contrasting texture. Plus, mashing releases more starch to better absorb surrounding flavors.
7. Purée for Smoothness
For an ultra-smooth and creamy bean dip or spread, purée a portion of the beans before mixing back with the rest.
Scoop out around 1/3 of the beans and purée them in a food processor or blender. Then stir the puréed beans back into the pot of whole beans. This gives a luscious consistency while still having some texture from the whole beans.
8. Simmer in Broth or Tomato Sauce
Cooking canned beans in flavorful broths or sauces allows them to soak up tons of extra taste. Try veggie, chicken or beef broth, or tomato-based sauces like marinara.
For broth, simply use it as the cooking liquid instead of water when heating up the beans. For tomato sauce, stir beans into warmed sauce and simmer briefly before serving. The flavors get absorbed into the beans, adding moisture and complexity.
9. Bake with Cheese and Herbs
Baking canned beans with cheese and herbs is an easy way to create an ultra-flavorful side dish. The hot oven melds the ingredients together.
Stir beans with shredded cheese like cheddar or Monterey jack and chopped fresh herbs. Transfer to a baking dish, top with more cheese and bake at 375°F until hot and bubbly, 20-25 minutes.
The melted cheese acts as a binding sauce and the herbs provide freshness. Feel free to add spices, aromatics or other mix-ins too.
10. Make Quick Bean Croquettes
For a crispy, flavor-packed spin on beans, make quick croquettes. The crunchy browned exterior contrasts with the creamy bean interior.
Mash canned beans with cheese, herbs and spices. Form into patties, coat in breadcrumbs and pan-fry in oil for 2-3 minutes per side until golden. Serve these crispy bean cakes as appetizers or a side dish.
With just a little creativity, you can transform canned white beans into something special. Next time you open up a can, try out some of these easy flavor-building techniques. Your soups, salads, sides and mains will taste so much better!
Ingredients: What you’ll need to make this easy white beans recipe
You can make dinner quickly with just a few common pantry items. Here’s what you’ll need to make these white beans.
- Minced garlic: I like 3 to 4 minced garlic cloves in this dish, but you can change this number to suit your tastes.
- Extra virgin olive oil—Adding a lot of EVOO to the dish at the end makes the sauce smooth.
- Canned cannellini beans: You’ll need two cans of rinsed and drained cannellini beans. This recipe also works with other white beans, like butter beans and great northern beans.
- Cut cherry tomatoes in half. A cup of cherry tomatoes gives the dish color and a hint of sourness.
- Aleppo pepper—I love how this recipe has a hint of sweetness and a tang from the Aleppo pepper.
- Cumin: The earthiness of this spice makes it a great base for the other flavors.
- Chopped fresh parsley—Fresh parsley is one of the herbs that can make any dish taste better.
- Grated cheese—Parmesan cheese and Pecorino Romano, a dense, nutty, and sharp cheese, work together to give this white beans recipe a taste that makes your mouth water. If you can’t find either one, you can use only Parmesan or just Pecorino Romano. But the salty-tangy and nutty flavor of both together is great.
- Fresh lemon juice—A squeeze of lemon juice makes this dish instantly brighter and brings out its creamy, tangy flavors even more.
How to make this white bean recipe
Another thing I love about this dish is how easy it is to make. All you need is a big pan and 15 minutes. Here’s how you make it:
- Sauté the garlic and beans. Three to four minced garlic cloves should be cooked in hot olive oil in a large pan over medium-low heat. When the garlic turns golden, add two drained 15-ounce cans of cannellini beans and about ½ cup of water. Add kosher salt, black pepper, 1 teaspoon of Aleppo pepper, and ½ teaspoon of cumin to taste.
- Add the tomatoes, fresh parsley, and cheese. Put in 1 cup of cherry tomatoes that have been cut in half. Cook for 10 minutes, until the beans and tomatoes are warm and the tomatoes have become a little soft. Add the chopped fresh parsley, ¼ to 1/3 cup of shaved Parmesan, ¼ cup of grated Pecorino Romano, and the juice of half a lemon.
- Serve! Finish the white beans dish by drizzling a lot of extra virgin olive oil over it. Serve right away.
Transforming Canned Cannellini Beans: A Flavorful Culinary Guide! | Easy & Delicious Recipe
FAQ
What can I add to canned beans to make them taste better?
How to season beans out of a can?
Should you rinse canned white beans?
How do you make canned beans taste better?
This is my absolute favorite way to make canned beans taste better! Canned beans go from somewhat squishy and mushy to crispy and browned! Just be sure to thoroughly pat dry the beans to remove any liquid and to avoid crowding the pan. They’re fantastic stuffed into baked potatoes and sweet potatoes, or in a salad or grain bowl.
What do you do with canned beans?
So I usually turn to canned beans instead, adding canned black beans to quesadillas, stirring white beans into a brothy spring minestrone, simmering kidney beans in a hearty, spicy pot of chili. The types of foods in which beans are an enhancement, rather than the featured attraction. These canned beans don’t thrill me.
Why do you salt white beans before cooking?
By salting the aromatics at the start of cooking, the seasoned, spicy base notes permeate the entirety of the dish when I added in the white beans and cooked the whole together for just five minutes. The confited onions and garlic spiked the whole dish with sweet, salty, spicy notes.
Do canned beans taste tinny?
There’s just one tiny problem: Canned beans often taste muted, even a bit tinny, like they came, well, from a can. They also tend to lack the buttery, ultra-creamy texture you get when you cook dried beans from scratch. Dried beans, however, take time. More often than not, I don’t have the foresight to prepare them ahead of when I want to eat them.