A Quick, Comforting Pot of Brothy Beans
These brothy beans come together in under 30 minutes
I love spending an afternoon slow cooking a pot of beans, but on the days I don’t have the time to do so, a can of beans works just as well for an easy bowl of brothy beans. Yes, I love that this is simple to prepare, but I also love it because you can really make it with whatever you have on hand or whatever ingredients you’re craving. The basic components are: olive oil, a can of beans (with its liquid), some type of broth, some variety of alliums (garlic and onions), a leafy green, fresh herbs, lemon, and fresh Parmesan. And really you could skip the lemon and Parm if you wanted to, but personally I think they’re what make this dish pop.
For this version I used cannellini beans, some leeks and thinly sliced garlic, chicken bone broth, fresh thyme, spinach, lemon, red pepper flakes, and Parmesan, and I topped it all off with some leftover sourdough croutons I had made earlier in the week with my favorite sourdough bread from Winner Bakery. In the past I’ve made this with shallots, red onions, kale, a mix of microgreens, cranberry beans, Christmas lima beans, regular butter beans, and so on. I always add lemon, because I love the hint of brightness, but how much you add is up to you and your preference. As for the Parmesan, I also always add a Parmesan rind to the pot while it’s cooking, plus finely grate some extra on top. Whatever you throw in or leave out, be sure to slowly savor every spoonful. This one is the true definition of comfort in a bowl.
This makes enough one very large serving or two smaller servings. If you’d like to make a larger batch, add an extra can of beans + more broth to your liking.
Ingredients
1 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
1 leek, halved and thinly sliced and a few cloves of garlic, thinly sliced - here you can use any kind of garlic and onion and really you can cut them however you’d like. If using a large onion, I would suggest using about 1/2 to 1/3 of it (unless you love a ton of onion, in which case, you do you).
Fresh thyme - or herb of your choice. Oregano would be nice. You can also use dried herbs here.
2-3 thing slices of lemon (seeds removed) - you can also just squeeze lemon juice in at the end, but I like to let them sizzle a bit before adding in the broth for a bit more depth of flavor.
Salt to taste - I start with a good pinch of Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt and then like to sprinkle in some good quality sea salt.
Pinch of red pepper flakes
2 cups chicken bone broth - you can use vegetable broth or regular chicken broth here. I like to use bone broth for the added protein. You can also use a little less or a little more. It just depends upon how much broth you’d like with your beans.
One 15oz can cannellini beans - again, you can use whatever bean variety you’d like here! Personally, I don’t think a black bean would work as well, but see some of the suggested varieties I’ve listed above.
Handful of spinach or other leafy greens
1 piece of Parmesan rind
Fresh cracked pepper to top with
Finely grated Parmesan to top with (use a microplane here)
How to make it
Heat EVOO over low-medium heat in a heavy-bottomed pot (I love making this in my smaller dutch oven pot). Add leeks/onions and a pinch of kosher salt and let cook a few minutes until softened, but not browned, then add the sliced garlic and cook until softened.
Add fresh thyme and red pepper flakes and let cook for another minute
Add lemon slices (again, you can also just add lemon juice at the end if you prefer) and let sizzle for a few minutes.
Add chicken bone broth, can of beans with bean liquid, and Parmesan rind to the pot and bring to a rapid simmer.
Once simmering, lower heat and let gently simmer for 10 minutes.
Add spinach/leafy greens and continue simmering a few more minutes.
Taste for seasoning and add salt to taste.
Remove lemon slices and Parmesan rind and serve brothy beans in a bowl.
Top with grated Parmesan, cracked black pepper, and top with anything else you’d like.
Enjoy!
