These spicy white beans are cooked with garlic, chili flakes, tomato paste, and a little bit of ~spice~. They’re super convenient, versatile, and comforting any time of the day.
If you have a can of beans, you have lunch. Beans and I are having a moment, which isn’t surprising because I grew up around lots of Indian lentil & bean dishes, but for some reason I never had white beans. They aren’t common in Indian cuisine, so I was unfortunately barred from understanding their soft melt-in-your-mouth beauty. I’m here now though, so that counts for something.
So next on the romanticizing lunch time series, I thought it’d be fun to add a twist to the brothy beans I see often. These spicy white beans include great northern beans cooked with olive oil, garlic, chili flakes, and tomato paste. But then I was like, let’s get spicy but not toooo spicy. So we also did garam masala, coriander, turmeric, and pepper.
These beans are ethnically ambiguous, but if Indian-italian cuisine ever surfaced, this might be it. I served them with a random salad of spring greens, almonds, tamarind chutney, and lime juice (highly recommend grabbing a sauce you haven’t thought to use in salad before). I’m all for pressure cooking dry beans but this is for when you want a 20-minute meal with little work, big flavor & comfort. Cool beans.
Spicy White Beans
Ingredients
- 30 oz. great northern beans or another white bean (2 cans)
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ tsp red chili flakes
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- salt
- ½ tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ tbsp lime juice (~ ½ a lime)
Instructions
- Drain and rinse the canned beans.
- Add olive oil to a pan over medium heat. When it's hot, add garlic. Stir occasionally for a few minutes. The oil should start to bubble and the garlic should turn slightly golden.
- Add red chili flakes and stir with the garlic for a minute. Then add tomato paste and salt. Stir for 3-4 minutes, until it all clumps together.
- Add the ground spices (garam masala, coriander, turmeric, pepper) and mix for a minute.
- Add beans and one cup water. Turn heat to medium-high and cook uncovered for 3-4 minutes, or until it starts to simmer. Turn back to low heat and cover for 5-7 minutes.
- Taste for salt, finish with lime juice, and serve with toasted sourdough!
For more beans and lentils love, check out…
Smoky Eggplant, Mushroom, and Chickpea Stew
Lentil Grain Bowls with Roasted Vegetables
I’m with ya
This is simply wonderful.
No end to what can be done with this recipe.