Creamy White Beans With Herb Oil
- Total Time
- 15 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:2 to 4 servings
- ½cup roughly chopped chives
- ½cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems
- ½cup tightly packed basil leaves
- ½cup olive oil
- Squeeze of lemon
- Kosher salt, to taste
- 2tablespoons olive oil
- 2garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2(15-ounce) cans white beans, like butter beans or cannellini, rinsed and drained
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- ½cup chicken stock, vegetable stock or water
- Flaky salt, for serving (optional)
For the Herb Oil
For the Beans
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
557 calories; 36 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 25 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 45 grams carbohydrates; 11 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 16 grams protein; 674 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Make the oil: In a food processor, combine chives, cilantro and basil, and pulse until finely chopped. Add olive oil, and pulse again until mixture is silky and emulsified. Transfer to a small bowl, stir in lemon juice and salt to taste. Set aside.
- Step 2
Prepare the beans: In a 10-inch skillet, heat olive oil over medium-low heat. Add garlic and cook until translucent, about 1 minute. Add beans to the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the flavors have melded, about 2 to 3 minutes. With the back of a spoon or spatula, smash about ⅓ to ½ cup of the beans and stir until they are incorporated into the rest of the bean mixture. A good portion of the remaining beans should maintain their structure.
- Step 3
Add stock or water and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until sauce becomes creamy and is reduced by about about half, about 1 to 2 minutes more. Smash additional beans and add a few more tablespoons of water, if needed, to reach desired consistency and stir again to combined.
- Step 4
Transfer beans to a bowl and swirl with herb oil on top. Season with flaky salt, if desired.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Kevin
Yes canned beans are a convenience but taking the time to cook the beans by simmering them in water for an hour or so means you do without a great deal of unwanted sodium, get much better tasting beans, and voilà, you can use the beans' cooking water as the stock. As an alternative you could cook the beans ahead and freeze them until you're ready for this dish.
TBB
When I print a recipe, I wish I had the option of printing a picture of the prepared meal, too.
Tess
I think a simple jar of good pesto (or a good pesto recipe...) would be a suitable substitute for the herb oil.
Diane
Excellent, and came together quickly. However, no way this serves 4-6 people as an entree. I served it over bulgur as an entree, doubled the recipe and it served three of us.
Linda Levy
This is a wonderful, clever recipe, since the beans themselves (some crushed) plus broth or water actually make a creamy sauce. Two things: 1) Herb oil ingredients include 1/2 cup packed parsley leaves, but the recipe neglects to mention them. I'm pretty sure you just throw them in the food processor along with the basil and chives, but still. 2) For beans, it says to cook the garlic until translucent, but garlic doesn't get translucent (unlike onions). Make it golden brown. Burns easily.
David
Superb and very easy dish that has become a regular for my wife and I. Combine with greens dressed with EVO and balsamic, a hunk of crusty bread and a glass of Pinot and you have a wonderful and quick vegetarian dinner. I now skip making the herb oil and just use a high-quality pesto...enjoy!
colleen
I added some grape tomatoes cut in half, sautéing them with the garlic, and used a pre-made pesto. Delicious and hearty!
Brian
This immediately became a staple in our house. I used all different combinations of herbs for the oil, depending on what's on hand. Last night was Thai basil, sage, and shallot instead of the chives.
Celiacsense
Love this easy recipe. Took the time to cook the garlic over very low heat while making the herb oil, so it was soft and sweet (not golden). Definitely making this again. Leftover herb oil was great on scrambled eggs. Used parsley, a few sage leaves, and chives because it’s winter and the basil is not looking good.
stargazer, pacific northwest
Be brave. Think of the cowardly lion in the Wizard of Oz (he was the bravest of the bunch, just needed a medal :). Navy, Great Northern, and Cannellini have subtle enough differences that any would be (imho) fine in this recipe. Try two types and take note of the difference. Then the recipe will be yours. (on the side, i would take an extra day and soak dried beans rather than use canned beans, but there's another experiment for you: try both)
bill
why can't you use the liquid from the cans as stock? and when you buy dried beans in a supermarket you have no idea how long they've been sitting on the shelf. dried beans do not last forever.
Kate
Excellent! Amazing that so much flavor is achieved so simply. The herb oil is much more than needed for the beans---but it makes a great marinade for chicken breasts or vegetables. I once made this with half chickpeas (opened the wrong can) and it was also delicious.
Alan
This is a great recipe, thank you! Two notes: we had no chives so substituted scallions, which worked fine. And don't plan on feeding four people with the recipe as a main course - three was a stretch.
Mary Buford Hitz
Super recipe - turns beans into food for the gods. If you have a small cuisinart, use it to make the sauce; it's much easier than doing it in a big cuisinart. Also, make double the sauce - it is good on fish, chicken, in scrambled eggs, etc.
Blue Jay
I added brown rice, and corn (to add up with the beans to a complete protein). I will make this again.
El
It was delicious, but heavy on the oil. I would use 1/4 cup less next time.
tawny
Made exactly. Extremely delicious. Used two cups of beans I made. Had extra herb oil but so good for bread or tomato salad 1 1/2 c beans would be perfect for 2 with a green salad.
Mark
If one uses dried cannellini beans, which are dried kidney beans, make sure to cook the beans after soaking them to destroy a toxin naturally present in beans that according to the FDA can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. FDA says beans should be soaked in water for at least 5 hours, the water poured away, and the beans boiled in fresh water for at least 30 minutes. The FDA also says slow cookers don’t get hot enough to destroy the toxin in kidney beans.
Kathy F.
I added spinach and jarred Italian tuna with jalapeño. Served with crust bread. It was so fast and fabulous. It feed two people with a small amount of leftovers.
Mary
I used about half a lemon’s worth of juice in the herb oil to cut a bit of the grassiness. Served with a loaf of sourdough, a salad, and roasted green beans and squash from my father in laws garden. A truly delightful summer dinner eaten alfresco; however, due to the texture of partially smooshed beans, they were only fully appreciated by myself, the eight year old, and the baby, although he eats anything within arms’ reach. Don’t let that stop you! Eating like a French peasant is such a vibe.
Stephen
I think a better name for the dish would be "White Beans with Herb Garden Pesto" - that's essentially what you might pull from your summer garden to make a pesto for the beans.
Der Derd
I'm really impressed with how tasty this was, given its simplicity and use of canned beans. A keeper. Will definitely make again
Kim Dunn
Excellent filling recipe. I added a small handful of roasted pine nuts to the herb oil and had a bit of left over roast chicken I threw in. Definate keeper recipe.
Cee
This was excellent and easy. I used canned beans and did not add salt to the beans. I am glad I did not give in to the temptation to use store bought pesto sauce. The chives, cilantro and basil combo brought the dish to the next level. The salt added to this herb oil was enough for the whole dish. Very, very good.
Gail
Option: Rancho Gordo Corona Beans (online) were excellent in this dish. Saved the bean broth, used that in the recipe, and also sautéed a handful each of asparagus and snap peas before the garlic and beans. I mixed in all the herb oil with the beans and vegetables. Highly recommended.
Sharon V
Made s written with salt free beans. Used a whole squeezed lemon because we like lemon. Easy and delicious.
Cat
I served this with braised leek and kale and seared peeled prawns (from frozen—it’s a weeknight), using the water I thawed the prawns in as stock. I also prepared the beans from dry on the weekend, and included some of the bean water. A truly delicious, healthy and filling meal!
Andrea V
Delicious exactly as written. Great payoff for low effort. Served with a fried egg on top. Agree with other comments that it wouldn’t likely serve 4 people. This one will definitely go into the rotation!
Laura
Instead of ½cup chicken stock, vegetable stock or water I used the aquafaba from the beans and kept the measurement to 1/2 cup.
lasagnaqueen
I admit that I made this with dried borlotti beans in the instant pot and didn't do the whole mashing thing. But... the herb oil! The herb oil is the star here, and if you don't make it then you missed the whole point of this recipe. I used parsley, mint, chervil, and green garlic because it's what I had on hand, and it was bomb. Stirred in some steamed asparagus & english peas - spring in a bowl! Can definitely see myself adapting summer, fall, and winter versions, too.
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