8 Easy Bean Recipes

Whether you’re serving beans because you’re cooking in quarantine, trying to eat more plant-based foods, or just because they’re good & cheap, it’s always great to have some easy and delicious options for getting beans onto your plate. Here are 8 of our everyday favorites (with a lentil option thrown in for fun).

For even more bean goodness, check this post for 4 ways to Cook Dry Beans & Cooking in Quarantine and listen in to the Our Food In Quarantine radio show and podcast (on this site or wherever you listen to podcasts) to hear 3 stories including talk about all these beans.

10 Second

Bean Sauce

Add to already cooked beans, or a drained can of beans with a little water or cooking liquid added: a squirt of ketchup, 1/2 teaspoon or more of cumin, salt and pepper (or adobo garlic/garlic salt). Stir, simmer for one minute, serve. This instant sauce takes plain beans from blah to fabulous in seconds.

Tomatoes, Greens & Beans

Sauté onion and garlic, add any spices you like (curry, coriander and cumin - fennel seed and rosemary - thyme and oregano). Add a can of diced tomatoes or tomato paste plus water, and beans and simmer. Chop and add cooking greens like spinach, kale, collards, dandelion, cabbage. Adjust seasoning and cook till greens are tender. Enjoy over any grain, pasta, baked sweet potato or with tortillas.

Broiled Tortilla

Oil a sheet pan. cover with corn or flour tortillas. Pile each with any veggies, cooking greens, and beans you have. Add a shmear of chili paste, or some diced tomato if you have it, a little adobo or smoky paprika, and a sprinkle of grated cheese. Bake for 10 minutes at 400. Move to top rack and broil for a minute to crisp the cheese if you like (be careful not to burn the tortilla edges too much). If you have lettuce or other fresh greens you can add those after cooking instead of cooking greens.

Bean Burgers

3 cups of beans or lentils, 1 egg, 1/2 cup any type of flour or bread crumbs, spices, 1 teaspoon baking powder (optional) and seasonings of your choice. Pan fry a spoonful to test taste and texture. Too dry? add oil, water or egg, Too wet? add more bread crumbs or flour. Pan fry until brown on both sides, bake additional 10 minutes in oven if centers are too soft. Favorite combos: White beans with arepa corn flour, smoky paprika and fennel; black beans with scallion, corn, red pepper, and cilantro; or brown lentils with onion, chopped spinach, and adobo. Tired of ketchup and mustard? Try sriracha mayo, pickled onions, lemon zest and mint mayo, or a garlicky “pesto” w/ any fresh green herb you like.

Smoky Beans & Creamy Polenta

Cook onions in olive oil, add smoky paprika and a few pinches of whole fennel seed. Add any canned tomato product you have, water, plus salt and pepper or adobo to make quick a sauce. Add beans (white or butter beans are great), any veggies, simmer till tender. Adjust seasoning. For Creamy Polenta: boil 4 cups water and season. Slowly whisk in 1 cup corn meal, simmer on low heat with cover, 20 minutes. Add a little oil or butter. pour into bowls, top with beans.

Caramelized Onions

Slice onions thinly. Over medium high heat sauté onions with plenty of oil, salt and a sprinkle of sugar or drizzle of honey, stirring occasionally. When onions start to brown reduce heat to low and continue to cook until they are dark golden brown, stirring for even browning. Watch closely so they don’t burn. Toss onions and oil over beans with any other seasoning or herbs you like.

Lemony Hummus

If you cook up a bunch of chickpeas save a few cups for making hummus. In a food processor or blender, puree until very smooth: 3 cups chickpeas, 2-4 cloves garlic, zest and juice of one lemon, salt, 1/2 cup tahini or sesame seeds if you have them (you can add some olive oil and warm water if you don’t) just enough liquid to make it go round. Blend for 3 minutes or longer until very smooth. drizzle olive oil on top…and if you’re lucky enough to have it sumac or za’atar.

20 minute Red Lentil Soup

in a heavy bottomed soup pot add 2 cups of red (orange) lentils and 5 cups of water. A little adobo or salt and pepper is enough to make this a good soup to pour over rice for a really quick meal. I often add some turmeric and ginger (dried or fresh), a few handfuls of chopped cooking greens, and a splash of coconut milk in the last few minutes of cooking when I want a little extra. Great with a squirt of hot sauce or pickled red onions, or with some dried coconut added to your rice.