Easy Dinners That Start With a Can of White Beans

Canned white beans are a hero of weeknight cooking. Like their chickpea counterpart, they’re cheap, easy to use and highly adaptable. And, unlike dried beans, which need to soak overnight, this hearty pantry staple turns into a delicious dinner in practically no time. Here are 15 recipes that let them shine.

“Marry me beans.” “Pizza beans.” “THA BEANSSS.” No matter what you call them, one thing’s for sure: You’ll love Alexa Weibel’s recipe, which has earned something like celebrity status on Reddit. You might ask yourself after making this dish, as this one punny commenter did, “Where has this recipe bean all my life?”

Recipe: Creamy, Spicy Tomato Beans and Greens

Hetty Lui McKinnon coats braised leeks in a punchy miso vinaigrette, then tosses them with creamy white beans and serves with a jammy egg for a comforting midweek meal. If you like to meal prep, the miso leeks get better over time and can be made up to three days in advance.

Recipe: Miso Leeks With White Beans

This Sue Li recipe, based on lemon, leeks, garlic and butter, comes together quickly enough for dinner on a busy night, but also feels special enough for a party. Feel free to substitute the shrimp with a flaky white fish or seared scallops, or feed a larger group by serving it over pasta.

Recipe: Lemony Shrimp and Bean Stew

This versatile recipe from Hetty Lui McKinnon pairs bok choy (or whatever other sturdy green you have on hand) with an assertive ginger-maple dressing and, of course, white beans. Cilantro adds even more brightness, lifting the beans out of winter and into spring.

Recipe: Charred Bok Choy and Cannellini Bean Salad

Melissa Clark gives a cheesy bean bake a fiery glow-up in this easy weeknight recipe. For some heat, she recommends adding your favorite chile crisp or chile paste slowly, tasting as you go. (Different brands vary in their spiciness.) The hot beans are then topped with Cheddar and baked until the cheese has melted and toasted around the edges.

Recipe: Cheesy Chile Crisp White Beans

You could soak dried beans for this vegetarian Moroccan stew and get a truly lovely dinner, but Nargisse Benkabbou gives you the quicker option of using canned beans. This generous recipe hangs out beautifully in the fridge, even making a great breakfast with fried eggs or a lunch side with grilled meat.

Recipe: Loubia (White Bean and Tomato Stew)

Christian Reynoso simmers shallots, garlic, stock and cannellini beans (or any other creamy white beans) until soft, then adds a cup of grated Parmesan for a silky, pesto-inspired meal that yields maximum flavor with minimal effort in just 35 minutes.

Recipe: Pesto Beans

Did you know you can marinate canned beans? That’s what Melissa Clark does here, infusing them with brightness and a touch of heat via red-pepper flakes. While the beans marinate, and the pasta cooks, she sautés asparagus in olive oil for a layered dish that’s ready in 30 minutes.

Recipe: Lemony Pasta With Asparagus and White Beans

Soy sauce and harissa are the special ingredients in Yasmin Fahr’s nontraditional take on a classic. Dress it up however you like, but skip the finish of yogurt or sour cream and the final sprinkle of cheese to keep it vegan.

Recipe: Harissa and White Bean Chili

While refried beans are typically made with pinto or black beans, they don’t have to be. Here, Ali Slagle uses canned white beans whose extra-starchy liquid speeds up cooking time, then adds a rich, spicy egg for a full meal. Tip: You can also cut some of the richness by finishing each egg with a few drops of vinegar.

Recipe: Refried White Beans With Chile-Fried Eggs

Carolina Gelen’s five-ingredient recipe is the perfect choice for when you need a low-effort meal to warm you up. Top with crunchy garlic chips and sink into the couch with your favorite comfort movie.

Recipe: Garlicky Alfredo Beans

“When I told my friend that this was the best thing I’d ever eaten, she said ‘How can that be?’ IT BE,” one reader commented on Melissa Clark’s 30-minute pantry masterpiece. Canned beans are quickly braised with olive oil, rosemary, tomato, chile flakes and lemon zest until the skins burst. Cooked down onions add both texture and a sweet, caramelized element.

Recipe: Rosemary White Beans With Frizzled Onions and Tomato

Yotam Ottolenghi cleverly uses halloumi in this quick weeknight pasta. He has you grate it to add fluffiness to the pasta as well as a delicious cheesiness. Lemon pulls it from the edge of being too rich as does an elegant pesto cleverly built on arugula.

Recipe: Pesto Pasta With White Beans and Halloumi

The textures and flavors in this hearty salad from Melissa Clark are delightful, especially because it comes with very little effort. Thin slices of fennel bring sweetness, while baby arugula and fresh basil add some green. Then, just before serving, crumbled store-bought Parmesan crisps are tossed in, making the whole thing crunchy, salty and very fun to eat.

Recipe: White Bean Salad With Crispy Cheese

This 30-minute soup from Ali Slagle owes its deep, complex flavor to a full head of garlic browned and simmered with canned white beans and tomatoes and then blended until creamy. Make it spicy with harissa, smoked paprika or chipotle. Serve with a crusty bread or top with pesto, croutons, cheese, cooked grains, greens or a fried egg. The possibilities are endless.

Recipe: Tomato and White Bean Soup With Lots of Garlic

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