Brothy Beans & Greens
Brothy beans are far from a new phenomenon. For the past few years, I’ve seen so much hype for brothy beans from fellow recipe developers and cooks, so I was convinced to see what all the fuss was about. Can I just say, WOW! For something so simple—literally just beans, some aromatics, and a bunch of water—brothy beans have so much flavour, a beautiful texture, and feel like such a sophisticated dish. This Brothy Beans & Greens is my take, which leans more towards a soup/stew with the inclusion of kale.
Table of Contents
- Ingredients for Brothy Beans & Greens
- Why Do I Need to Soak My Beans?
- Step One—Soak the White Cannellini Beans
- Step Two—Sear the Aromatics
- Step Three—Simmer the Beans
- Step Four—Remove the Aromatics
- Step Five—Stir in the Kale
- Step Six—Season and Serve!
- More Tasty Bean Recipes
- Brothy Beans & Greens Recipe
Ingredients for Brothy Beans & Greens
One of the best things about brothy beans is the list of required ingredients is incredibly short, and odds are, you already have a lot of these things lying around. To make this recipe, you will need the following ingredients:
- 1 lb (2 cups) dry white cannellini beans
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, peeled and quartered
- 1 large jalapeño, halved and deseeded
- 1 large head of garlic, sliced in half crosswise
- 10 cups of water
- 2 tablespoons sea salt, divided
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 sprigs of thyme
- 1 parmesan rind
- 1 large bunch lacinato kale, destemmed and roughly chopped
- Juice of half a lemon
- Fresh black pepper
Why Do I Need to Soak My Beans?
Soaking your dried beans overnight before cooking helps to reduce cooking time. While you can cook dried beans without soaking, the cooking time will be substantially longer than if you soak the beans before cooking. For the purpose of this specific recipe, I highly recommend you do not skip soaking the beans overnight.
Step One—Soak the White Cannellini Beans
Add the dry beans to a large bowl and cover them with 8 cups of warm water and 1 tablespoon of sea salt. Mix to dissolve the salt. Soak the beans for 8 to 12 hours, or overnight. After 8 to 12 hours, drain and rinse the beans, picking out and discarding any that are shrivelled or damaged.
Step Two—Sear the Aromatics
You’ll notice that some brothy bean recipes instruct cooks to sear their aromatics, while others simply add them to the cooking water raw. I like to sear my aromatics—onions, garlic, and jalapeño, in this case—to add extra depth of flavour to the beans’ broth.
Heat a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat, then add the olive oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add the quartered onion, halved jalapeño, and the head of garlic, cut side down, to the oiled pan. Sear for 3 minutes, flipping the onions to get even browning on each side.
Step Three—Simmer the Beans
Add the drained beans to the Dutch oven along with 10 cups of water, the bay leaves, fresh herbs, parmesan rind, and 1 tablespoon of sea salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover the pot and simmer on low for about one hour and 40 minutes, checking the beans every once in a while to make sure they have enough cooking liquid.
Check the beans to ensure they are cooked. I like to check about 5 beans because they can cook at different speeds, so testing one might not be representative of the whole pot.
Step Four—Remove the Aromatics
Pluck out the bay leaves, jalapeño, herb stems, parmesan rind, and the garlic skin. Make sure to squeeze any garlic cloves left in the skins out into the beans!
Step Five—Stir in the Kale
Season the beans with another tablespoon of sea salt, stirring well to dissolve. Add the chopped kale and stir until the kale has wilted into the beans. Cook for a further 3 minutes.
Step Six—Season and Serve!
Remove the beans from the heat and stir in the juice of half a lemon. Season with lots of fresh black pepper. Serve the brothy beans with fresh parsley, a drizzle of olive oil, freshly grated Parmesan, and a side of crusty bread.
More Tasty Bean Recipes
If you loved my Brothy Beans & Greens recipe, be sure to check out these tasty bean recipes:
Caramelized Onion, White Bean, & Feta Dip
DIY At-Home Shawarma (AKA Fake Lazeez)
If you make this recipe, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! I love to see what you all are making.
Feel free to leave any questions, comments, or reviews below. I love to hear from you!
Brothy Beans & Greens
Equipment
- Large Dutch oven or soup pot
Ingredients
- 1 lb dry white cannellini beans (2 cups)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, peeled and quartered
- 1 large jalapeño pepper, halved lengthwise and deseeded
- 1 large head of garlic, halved crosswise
- 10 cups water
- 2 tablespoons sea salt, divided
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 sprigs of thyme
- 1 parmesan rind
- 1 large bunch lacinato kale, destemmed and roughly chopped
- Juice of half a lemon
- Fresh black pepper
To Serve
- Italian parsley
- Olive oil
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Flaky salt and fresh black pepper
- Crusty sourdough bread
Instructions
- Add the dry beans to a large bowl and cover them with 8 cups of warm water and 1 tablespoon of sea salt. Mix to dissolve the salt. Soak the beans for 8 to 12 hours, or overnight.
- After 8 to 12 hours, drain and rinse the beans, picking out and discarding any that are shrivelled or damaged.
- Heat a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat, then add the olive oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add the quartered onion, halved jalapeño, and the head of garlic, cut side down, to the oiled pan. Sear for 3 minutes, flipping the onions to get even browning on each side.
- Add the drained beans to the Dutch oven along with 10 cups of water, the bay leaves, fresh herbs, parmesan rind, and 1 tablespoon of sea salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover the pot and simmer on low for about one hour and 40 minutes, checking the beans every once in a while to make sure they have enough cooking liquid.
- Check the beans to ensure they are cooked. I like to check about 5 beans because they can cook at different speeds, so testing one might not be representative of the whole pot.
- Pluck out the bay leaves, jalapeño, herb stems, parmesan rind, and the garlic skin. Make sure to squeeze any garlic cloves left in the skins out into the beans!
- Season the beans with another tablespoon of sea salt, stirring well to dissolve. Add the chopped kale and stir until the kale has wilted into the beans. Cook for a further 3 minutes.
- Remove the beans from the heat and stir in the juice of half a lemon. Season with lots of fresh black pepper. Serve the brothy beans with fresh parsley, a drizzle of olive oil, freshly grated Parmesan, and a side of crusty bread.
