Brothy Beans with Garlic Toast ~ yes beans can be dinner, and a darned delicious one at that, especially when you combine them with garlicky toasted bread and and an incredibly aromatic broth. Let’s do this!!
Notice I’ve been doing a lot more easy dinner recipes lately?
It has something to do with one of my New Year’s resolutions…to eat better dinners. Don’t judge ~ after a long day of cooking, photographing, cleaning up, photo editing, and writing, we food bloggers don’t always feel up to more cooking. So I’ve been trying to come up with easy dinners I’ll really look forward to. Most of them can be prepped ahead, check out a few of my latest ideas:
- Easy 30-Minute Dan Dan Noodles
- Thai Chicken Satay Bowls with Peanut Sauce
- The Best Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Kale and Pancetta Pasta
- Instant Pot Cheddar Risotto
- Teriyaki Chicken with Broccoli Rice
I know brothy beans with garlic toast is a pretty simple notion, and maybe hardly worthy of a recipe at all, but stay with me, there’s more to this humble meal than you might think. And if you’re used to grabbing an Amy’s frozen dinner from the freezer most nights, this will rock your world.
What? You’re telling me you don’t like beans? Hold that thought…
When it comes to brothy beans it’s all about the…broth!
After soaking your dried beans the real fun begins. Add them to a large pot with a 48 ounce carton of stock or broth. Add aromatics that will cook along with the beans and infuse right into them for amazing flavor. The aromatics themselves will be removed when the beans are tender. What’s so wonderful is that while the beans are cooking and plumping up in all that broth, they’re also taking on flavor.
Aromatics for a fabulous bean broth = BIG flavor!
This is just a suggested list, there are many more options, feel free to substitute or pare down…
- fresh garlic ~ just slice the whole head in half
- fresh ginger ~ slice a big chunk in half lengthwise
- bay leaves
- shallot
- fresh thyme and rosemary
- dried chili pepper
- Parmesan rind
- saffron
My secret to a silky broth
Once my beans have simmered until they’re tender, I remove all the aromatics, they’ve already given up their flavor so you can let them go. I’m left with tender creamy beans, and a yummy broth. But I don’t stop there. I whisk a beaten egg into the broth to give it a silky finish. It adds just a little body to the broth and makes it even more satisfying. Then I toss in a good dose of herbs to freshen the deal.
One last thing…don’t downplay the garlic toast, it a key player in this meal.
Slice a baguette on the bias for the most surface area, then fry it in a generous amount of olive oil. Rub a cut garlic clove all over the craggy surface to get instant garlic bread, and then sprinkle with sea salt to bring it all together. You almost don’t need the beans 😉
Make this meal special diet friendly
- skip the bread for gluten free, the beans are great on their own. Or try them over sweet potato toast.
- go vegan using vegetable broth (or water!) and omit the egg.
- lower the fat and toast the bread in a toaster.
- boost your protein and add sausage, tuna, or my personal favorite, a fried or poached egg.
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Brothy Beans with Garlic Toast
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried beans, I used Great Northern white beans
- 48 ounces chicken stock or broth
- 1/2 head garlic, sliced in half
- 1 slice fresh ginger
- 1 dried chili pepper
- 1 shallot, sliced in half lengthwise
- bay leaves
- 1 bunch thyme sprigs, tied in a bundle
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- a pinch or two of saffron
- 1 Parmesan cheese rind
- 1 egg, lightly beaten in a heat proof bowl or pyrex measuring cup
- fresh chopped rosemary and thyme leaves
- grated Parmesan, optional
Instructions
- First soak or quick soak your dried beans ~ to quick soak, rinse your beans and add them to a pot. Add cold water to cover the beans with several inches of water and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let sit for an hour. For regular soaking method, let your beans soak in cold water over night. Whichever method you choose, drain the soaked beans and return them to the pot.
- Add the chicken stock and aromatics (garlic through Parm rind.) Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to low and simmer, covered, for about 40 minutes, or just until the beans are tender.
- While the beans are cooking fry the bread ~ liberally coat the bottom of a saute pan with olive oil and fry the bread on both sides until golden. Rub the tops of the bread with the cut sides of the garlic, and season with sea salt. Set aside.
- Remove the aromatics from the bean pan. Ladle some of the hot broth into the beaten egg to temper it, while whisking constantly. After adding 2 or 3 ladles of the hot broth, pour the whole thing back into the beans and stir to combine. Add the fresh herbs.
- Put a slice or two of bread in the bottom of your bowl and top with the beans and broth. Add grated Parm if you like.
Notes
Can you do this with canned beans?
- I don't recommend canned beans for this recipe because they are already cooked and can't absorb all the flavors from the aromatic broth, but in a pinch, yeah.
Can these brothy beans be cooked in the Instant Pot?
- Yes! No need to soak the beans in that case, the beans will cook in about 35 minutes of pressure cooking (on high) I cook my chick peas in the Instant Pot with great success in my Instant Pot Hummus recipe.
Can you use other types of dried beans for this recipe?
- Yes, almost any type of bean will work, but they will vary in the time they take to cook.
I’m cooking this now and the smell is amazing! I’m using Ayocote Blanco beans from Rancho Gordo.
I recently found out about Rancho Gordo, I’m going to sign up!
I made these on Saturday, but didn’t get to them until tonight. My stars!!! The flavor was fantastic! I added some chopped fresh spinach to give them a little color, along with a shake of grated cheese…mmmmmmm……! Guess what I’m taking for lunch tomorrow?
I’m so glad to hear the good reviews on these beans ~ yay for healthy beans!!
Best. Beans. Evvverr! Everyone loved them. Thanks, Sue, again, for a delicious recipe.
Thank you for such a wonderful recipe.
We made this last night and were blown away! It is amazing how much flavor and savory goodness was packed into each bite. Hubby can’t wait to make it again. Thank you Thank you Thank you!!
I’m so glad you tried these Lisa, I was blown away by how much flavor they took on, too!
It was pretty cold and I wanted stew, tried this instead. Delicious! SO easy, reasonably quick. I brightened this a bit with a squeeze of lemon – Definite keeper for a quick night.
Quick question, I have an instant pot, do I add all ingredients at once ? I’m new to IP cooking.
Glad you enjoyed these Sue. If you want to do this in the IP I would add all at once, then pull out the aromatics afterwards.
I am stumped with the rine of Parmesan cheese? How do you get this? Do I purchase a hunk of Parmesan and just use part of the rine? Don’t mean to sound stupid it’s a question I have had for a while. Love this recipe tho’.
Smart Italians have been saving their rinds forever for just this kind of use. I always keep a good wedge of Parm in my fridge, and when I get to the end, I save the rind in the freezer (just keep them in a zip lock bag.) I pull one out when the need arises. If you don’t have one on hand, just skip it, but do save the next one!
Hi Sue, love your site! A question..exactly which dried chili pepper did you use?
I too order from Rancho Gordo. Please do look at his products.
Hi Janelle ~ the chile I used was a guajillo.
It is a wonderful recipe, Sue. Full of flavor and so different to the one I use most times. Never thought to cook them like this. Thank you –
Hope you love them Alexandra 🙂
This sounds wonderful. I can’t wait to try it! I was going to suggest for those people who don’t have eggs in their diet I have taken a part of the cooked beans and puréed them . This also gives a silky consistency to the broth.
Yes, you can definitely do that, good tip.
I have a healthy supply of Rancho Gordo beans and often struggle for ideas with the white ones. This sounds wonderful and I will comment again when I cook them for a simple Sunday dinner.
Great Debbie ~ do you grow them?
No growing—have been a member of Rancho Gordo’s bean club but have suspended membership now that I only cook for two. I love their beans!
I’ve never heard of that, I’ll check it out 🙂