Add These Tomato-Braised White Beans to Your Weeknight Rotation

A cozy and simple meal is perfect for busy weeknights. If you’re looking to add more plant-based foods to your diet, a dish that’s 100-percent vegetarian is even better. These tomato-braised white beans from the Institute of Culinary Education work just as well as a hearty side dish as a vegetarian main.

1. Tomato-Braised White Beans

This recipe is a great use of in-season vine tomatoes, but you don’t have to stick to those. Chef Barbara Rich tells Mental Floss that other varieties, such as beefsteak, Roma, heirloom, or even canned tomatoes should result in the same flavor profile. Some tomatoes are less juicy than the vine variety, so you may need to add more water to the recipe to get the right consistency. You can also replace cannellini beans with chickpeas, but the former are more aesthetically pleasing and a bit creamier.

Get started on these tomato-braised white beans by first preheating the oven to 350°F. Pour the canned beans with their liquid into a pot and warm them over low to medium heat, stirring frequently. Leave the beans alone until you‘re ready to mix them with the tomato sauce.

Now you can begin making the tomato base. Take your onion, slice it, and sauté it in a separate, large pot until it’s tender and lightly caramelized. Add the tomato, garlic, tomato puree, and a quarter cup of the olive oil. Simmer everything for 10 minutes, and then season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste before draining the beans and adding them to the tomato sauce.

To finish, pour the bean mixture into a baking dish and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Cover the with aluminum foil and bake, removing the foil after 40 minutes to cook uncovered 10 minutes longer. Sprinkle with chopped parsley for garnish.

The Institute of Culinary Education teaches the arts of pastry baking, plant-based cooking, and much more out of its campuses in New York City and Los Angeles. Excited to learn more? Head to ICE’s website.

Tomato-Braised White Beans

Serves: 8-10 as a side

1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans

2 tablespoons olive oil 

2 vine tomatoes, grated 

12 ounces yellow onion, sliced

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

2 cups tomato puree

Salt 

Black pepper

½ cup olive oil

½ ounce parsley, picked and roughly chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Place the beans, with their liquid, in a pot. Heat them on low or medium heat to warm through. Stir frequently.
3. Hold the beans in their cooking liquid until you are ready to put them in the tomato sauce.
4. In another pot, heat olive oil and sauté the onion until tender and lightly caramelized. Add the tomato, garlic, tomato puree, and ¼ cup of the olive oil. Simmer for 10 minutes and season with salt and pepper.
5. When the sauce is done, drain the beans and add them to the sauce.
6. Pour the mixture into a gratin dish and cover with the remaining olive oil.
7. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 40 minutes, removing the foil for the last 10 minutes.
8. Garnish with the chopped parsley.

If you would prefer to serve these tomato-braised white beans as a side, Chef Rich says they go well with many proteins, especially chicken, pork, lamb, and lean white fish. Pair them with this chicken Milanese and you’ll have a dinner to remember.

Read More Recipes: