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Comforting one-pot brothy beans. Low maintenance, simple, easy, and a recipe that everyone should have in their arsenal.
Ok, but first, what even are brothy beans?
Brothy beans consist of beans (typically white beans), aromatics, herbs, and a few spices that are slow-cooked for 1-2 hours. Resulting in creamy spiced beans and a flavorful broth.
These spicy one-pot brothy beans are incredibly easy to make, rely on pantry staple ingredients (plus a few fresh aromatics), and make the perfect make-ahead meal.
And don’t be scared off by the 2-hour cooking time. That time is mainly inactive cooking for the beans to boil down and get all silky and tender!
Whether you cook these for a comforting Sunday dinner, or batch cook them for the week ahead, you can’t go wrong with this recipe!
Ingredients For These Brothy Beans
Here’s everything you’ll need to make this recipe. You’ll also need a large pot, like a dutch oven.
- Dried white beans: I love using larger bean varieties like baby lima beans, gigante beans, etc.
- Olive oil
- Yellow onion
- Fresh garlic bulb
- Lemon
- Fresh herbs: You’ll need fresh oregano, rosemary, and sage.
- Chili flakes
- Kosher salt
- Kale: Just for some added greens. Spinach or chard would also work here.
- Vegan parmesan: For serving!
- Fresh parsley: For serving!
How to Add Flavor to Brothy Beans
You’ve heard me say it before, but making almost anything from scratch at home will always beat the store-bought stuff. Obviously, there are some exceptions, but these oniony brothy beans are infinitely more flavorful than anything at the store.
The assortment of aromatics that cook with the beans infuse them with so much flavor. Plus, the bean starches help thicken the broth and make it almost like a soup.
Sharing a few ways I like to infuse these beans with flavor below:
- Aromatics: Such as garlic, onion, and fresh herbs. I cannot stress enough the importance of these three aromatics; they will make or break how flavorful your beans are.
- Olive oil: I love cooking beans in fat; it infuses the broth with a lot of richness.
- Parmesan rinds: If you’re not vegan, parmesan rinds will not only help add flavor to the broth but also tons of richness as well.
- Finish with fresh ingredients: My favorite way to finish off this dish is with freshly chopped parsley and a generous drizzle of high-quality olive oil. These will both help brighten the beans and add that hint of freshness that any good brothy soup needs!
FAQ’s!
- What kind of beans can I use for brothy beans? There are so many different bean varieties to choose from, but I tend to lean towards the bigger bean varieties. Such as lima beans, gigante beans, etc. In general, I’ve found that any type of white bean works well in this recipe. Keep in mind that older beans will take longer to cook than younger beans. Additionally, larger beans like lima or gigante beans will also take longer to cook, as opposed to smaller beans like cannellini or northern beans.
- How do I store brothy beans? I like to pop the brothy white beans into a large glass tupperware and store it in the fridge (the beans last about 5-6 days).
- How to reheat brothy beans? My preferred method to reheat these beans is stovetop. Simply ladle the portion of beans you want into a saucepan and heat on medium heat until it’s reached a soft boil.
- What to serve with brothy beans? I like to treat brothy beans like soup. Just toast and butter a hunk of sourdough bread, top the beans with fresh chopped parsley and vegan parmesan, and dig in. Instead of vegan parmesan, you can top it with ricotta cheese instead; both ways are delicious.
If you’re looking for a way to use up any leftover beans from this recipe, try out this spicy bean toast. Just save the broth for later.
XO, Yasmeen.
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One-Pot Brothy Beans
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
Description
Comforting one-pot brothy beans. Low maintenance, simple, easy, and a recipe that everyone should have in their arsenal.
Ingredients
- 12 oz dry baby lima or gigante beans
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, quartered
- 1 head garlic, cut in half, lengthwise
- 1 lemon, cut in half, lengthwise
- 1 small bunch of oregano, rosemary and sage
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes
- 6 cups water*
- 2 tsp kosher salt, plus more as needed
- 2 large handfuls of chopped kale
- Shaved vegan parmesan for serving
- Finely chopped fresh parsley for serving
Instructions
- Soak your beans. The night before, soak the dried beans in a bowl of water (at least 3 inches over the beans) along with 1 tbsp of kosher salt. Soaking beans (or any legume) overnight helps speed up the cooking process, plus it also reduces the phytic acid content in the beans. And less phytic acid equals increased nutrient bioavailability, specifically for zinc and iron.
- Fry the aromatics. In a large pot or Dutch oven, pour in the olive oil and heat on medium-high heat until shimmering, then add in the onion, garlic, and lemon. Fry the aromatics for 5-6 minutes until browned and slightly charred; I usually put the garlic, lemon, and onion face-side down to ensure the interior gets charred. Quick note, I prefer to keep the onion and garlic skin on; it adds more flavor and color to the broth. So don’t throw those skins!!
- Add the remaining ingredients. Next, add the soaked beans, herbs, chili flakes, kosher salt, and water. Stir the mixture so all the ingredients are combined, and bring to a soft boil on medium-high heat.
- Cook the beans. Once boiling, keep the heat on medium-high and let the beans continue to cook until tender and soft (not mushy). My beans took a solid 2 hours to cook as they were big, but depending on the size of the bean you use, the cooking time can vary. So be sure to check your beans every 30 minutes.
- Serve. Once the beans are done, add the kale and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until wilted. Next, remove the onion, garlic, lemon, and herbs. I tend to remove it as I serve the bean, that way the leftover beans can continue to soak with the aromatics overnight (which will make them even more flavorful). Serve the brothy beans in bowls, topped with shaved vegan parmesan, finely chopped fresh parsley, and a drizzle of olive oil, alongside a hunk of toasty sourdough bread.
Notes
*I used an extra 1 1/2 cups of water for my beans which were large. So if you’re using any type of large bean, go with 7 1/2 cups of water total.
Does the fresh rosemary, sage, and oregano get added at the same time as the onion, garlic and lemon? Or does it get added when the water and beans are added?
I add them in with the water and beans!