White Beans on Toast with Veggies and Greens

A Delicious Use-What-You-Like Recipe for Beans on Toast 

At least twice a month, I make a big pot of beans, simmering them low and slow in the slow cooker, or in the Instant Pot until they are creamy and delicious.

Sometimes I even let them cook for a few hours in the Traeger Smoker, which gives them a gorgeous smoky flavor. The beans get used throughout the week in a variety of dishes and whatever's leftover gets tossed in the freezer. 

While I try to make a habit of always cooking dried beans, we also always have at least a few cans of beans in the pantry. They are a staple in my kitchen because of their ability to add flavor and nutrition to a meal with minimal effort. 

Toss them into soup or stew, stuff them into poblano peppers, use them to fill burritos, enchiladas, tacos, or tostadas, pile them onto veggie nachos, and of course, cook them with some veggies and greens and spoon them over toast.

One of our all time favorite way to use beans is in these Crispy Corn Tortilla Quesadillas, which we eat at least once a week, and often more than that. I am not even joking.

Beans are inexpensive, incredibly versatile, and super good for you. They are the ultimate unprocessed convenience food.

Why Bother Cooking Beans from Scratch?

The best thing about cooking dried beans is that you have the opportunity to add herbs, spices, garlic and onions to them while they cook, infusing the beans with all that flavor. Also, the texture of cooked dried beans is much, much better than anything that ever comes out of a can. 

I also feel that cooking dried beans makes them more digestible. Very important. Beans, beans, the magical fruit, the more you eat, the more you toot! 😂

In my experience, the tendency that beans have to make you toot, is much more likely with canned beans than when I take the time to cook up a batch of dried.

Soaking dried beans overnight causes them to release some of their difficult-to-digest phytic acid into the water, and cooking them slowly helps to break down hard-to-digest fibers.

And, while cooking a pot of dried beans does take a bit of forethought, it only takes about 5 minutes of actual hands on time.

Simply pour the beans into a bowl, cover them with water and let them sit overnight. The next day, drain the beans, dump them into a Dutch Oven, saucepan, or slow cooker, add some herbs and spices, and let them simmer until tender, creamy, and delicious. Done and done.

And, guess what??? Beans cooked in an Instant Pot do NOT require any soaking and will be done in about 45 minutes. 👏👏👏

Step by Step Photos and Instructions

This "recipe" is really more of a formula for improvisation than a recipe. It involves little more than cooking some beans with veggies, greens, and spices and then piling them onto toast along with a few vinegary condiments like sun-dried tomatoes and banana peppers.  

In truth, it's one of my all time favorite meals because it offers the chance to transform some beans and whatever veggies happen to be rolling around in my refrigerator into something incredibly delicious, satisfying, and nutritions in roughly 30 minutes.

Here's what you do....

#1. Cook some white beans, or open up a couple of cans.

Plan on about 1 cup of beans per person.

If you've cooked some dried beans reserve about 1 cup of the cooking liquid because that stuff has a lot of great flavor. If using canned, drain and rinse the beans and use broth (or just water) for the liquid in this recipe.

#2. Sauté some veggies.

Chop up an onion and sauté it in some olive oil. Then add whatever vegetables you like or happen to have around.

My favorites include bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, cabbage, or carrots. The important thing with the vegetables is not which vegetables you use but how you chop them. Try to cut them into pieces that are all fairly close to the same size so that they cook evenly and at the same rate.

I also like to chop them into pieces that are somewhat the same size as the beans so that it's possible to get a forkful that includes a little bit of everything.

#3. Add garlic and spices.

Add whatever kind of dried herbs or spices sound good to you.

At the moment, I'm obsessed with Urfa pepper, so that's been a given the last several times I've made this dish. Other great options are thyme, rosemary, sage, parsley, paprika, chili powder, cayenne or red pepper flakes, or any kind of seasoning blend. 

#4. Add the beans and some liquid.

Dump the beans into the pan and pour in that reserved bean cooking liquid, broth or water. Let everything simmer away until about half of the liquid has evaporated, and your kitchen smells like heaven.

#5. Then add some greens.

Adding a few handfuls of greens is about more than nutrition, although the greens definitely add that.

Greens like spinach, kale, or chard add a touch of bitterness that compliments and accentuates the creaminess of the beans and the flavor of pretty much any kind of vegetable you choose.

#6. A splash of acid makes everything better.

Adding a splash of acid at the end of cooking is one of the best tricks in the book for making a dish taste bright, fresh and flavorful.

There are 5 general categories of flavor that register on the human tongue: bitter, salty, sweet, umami, and sour. The very best dishes lean into how these flavors balance and compliment each other.

In this dish, a tablespoon or two of lemon juice brightens and sharpens the flavors of all the other ingredients, making everything taste more fresh and intense than it did just seconds before.

#7. The best part of beans on toast are the condiments.

White Beans on toast is really just an open faced sandwich. And the difference between a really great sandwich and a mediocre one is the condiments.

Turkey and cheese is fine. Turkey and cheese with mustard, mayo (or homemade labneh), and cranberry sauce is exceptional. Tuna salad is fine. Tuna salad with spicy pickles, roasted red peppers, and arugula is delectable.

Even though there is already a TON of savory, sour, bitter, and even a touch of sweetness in the saucy beans and veggies, layering up the toast with some butter or mayo (hello, creaminess!) a few banana peppers, sun dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, or chili peppers takes beans and toast to a whole other level.

Add whatever you like. Briny, vinegary and/ or spicy flavors are particularly delightful. I have two favorite combinations, depending on my mood and what happens to be in my refrigerator.

1. Butter, Calabrian peppers, and roasted red peppers, or...
2. Mayo (or homemade labneh), spicy banana peppers, and sun dried tomatoes.

More Delicious Recipes with Beans:

• Crispy Corn Tortilla Quesadillas
• Stuffed Poblano Peppers
• Tamale Pie with White Beans and Chorizo
• Vegetarian Chili with Pico de Gallo and Chimichurri Sauce
• Black Bean Tomato Soup
• Veggie Black Bean Nachos
• White Bean and Kale Soup with Wild Rice
• Black Bean Enchiladas with Creamy Tomatillo Sauce
• Black Bean Soup with Pickled Onions and Cilantro Oil

If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or take a picture and tag it #alittleandalot on Instagram.