Bean Stew

Our bean stew is a simple and flavorful recipe you can make in one pot in half an hour, and you can eat it for a weeknight dinner with rice, couscous, polenta, or a slice of crusty bread.

The recipe is inspired by a famous Italian bean stew called "Fagioli all'uccelletto." Like most Italian recipes, it's made with very simple ingredients but has a rich and delicious taste.

To make them, we first prepare a flavor base with olive oil, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, sage, and rosemary.

Gently frying those veggies for a couple of minutes with a tiny bit of olive oil will make the bean stew super flavorful.

We then add canned tomatoes, vegetable broth, canned beans, salt, and black pepper, and we let the stew simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until thick and flavorful.

Simple right? You can put together this wholesome, tasty, and nutritious meal with almost no effort and enjoy it with your family as an everyday dinner.

Ps. The bean stew is also great for meal prep as it keeps in the fridge for a few days, and you can freeze it for several months.

Beans

You can use canned beans or dry beans.

If you use dry beans, you must first soak them for 8 hours, then boil them in plenty of salted boiling water until tender.

I like to make this stew with canned pinto beans or cranberry beans, but you can also use white beans, cannellini beans, black beans, or red kidney beans.

You can even substitute chickpeas for beans.

Tomatoes

The best tomatoes for this recipe are canned whole canned peeled tomatoes or crushed tomatoes. If you can't find those, then go for chopped canned tomatoes.

Onion, celery, carrot, and garlic

We gently cook these veggies for a couple of minutes in little good quality extra virgin olive oil to make the flavor base.

You can use red, white, or yellow onion.

Aromatics

Beans are a perfect match with sage and rosemary. Try to get them fresh if you can. Also, we add a bit of dried chili or red pepper flakes to spice things up. Finally, you can add a couple of bay leaves to make the bean stew earthier and more aromatic.

Olive oil

Best if extra virgin; we use it to gently fry the vegetables. If you have an excellent EVOO, you can also drizzle some on top of the stew before serving it.

Parsley

Sprinkle on top and add a touch of freshness to the dish. Flat-leaf parsley would be best.

Salt and pepper

We use sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Serve with

You can serve this Italian bean stew in a bowl with crusty bread, polenta, white rice, brown rice, pasta, couscous, quinoa, and other grains. You can even serve it with flatbread or rosemary focaccia. It goes well with a side of sautéed spinach or kale or with a simple side salad.

To make any stew taste delicious, it's good practice to start with a flavor base of onion, celery, and carrots. 

To a large pan, skillet, or dutch oven, add the extra virgin olive oil, chopped onion, carrot, and celery, and fry gently on medium-low heat for 3 - 5 minutes.

Tip: you can finely chop the veggies by hand with a chef's knife or save time with a food processor.

Finely chop sage leaves, rosemary needles removed from the rosemary sprigs, and garlic cloves, and add them to the pan. Fry for one more minute. Here you can also add a bay leaf if you like.

Add the canned tomatoes, season with salt and black pepper, and simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes.

Add the drained and rinsed beans and a cup of water or vegetable broth.

Simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes or until you reach your desired consistency.

Serve with your favorite grain, pasta, or bread, then sprinkle with parsley, and drizzle with a few drops of good quality extra virgin olive oil.

We love serving our bean stew with grains and a side of sautéed veggies such as kale or spinach. Also:

• For a quick 5-min preparation, we go for couscous. No stirring is required; it's a perfect grain choice for busy weeknights.
• Increase your veggie intake and make a quick portion of cauliflower rice. You can have the cauliflower rice instead of the white rice or do half-half.
• Serve it with crusty bread or with our rosemary focaccia, flatbread, or Italian piadina.
• Make it Italian and serve it with instant polenta. It's a creamy and wholesome side dish of cornmeal, and you can make it in 5 minutes.

Stir the polenta in hot water with a pinch of salt, slowly, with a whisk, then simmer while stirring it for about 5 minutes. The ratios of water to polenta should be on the package.

Corn and beans have been eaten together for centuries, and they complement each other well from a nutritional point of view. They also taste delicious together!

Arrange the polenta onto a plate, add the bean stew, and sprinkle with some freshly chopped parsley. It's an earthy, comforting, and nutritious dinner that will satiate your family too.

Save chopping time

If you are often in a hurry and don't have time to chop celery, onion, and carrot, you can use a food processor to chop up the vegetables. 

To save time during the week, we like to chop more vegetables than needed on a Sunday evening. I use a food processor for that but without over-processing the veggies. 

Then I put them in a freezer-friendly food container, like one for baby food, and I freeze the whole thing.

Storage

The bean stew stores well for up to 4 days in the refrigerator, best if in an air-tight container. Then, warm it up on the stovetop with a dash of water or in the microwave.

You can also freeze the Italian bean stew for up to three months and thaw it in the microwave or stovetop at your convenience.

If you love this bean stew, try one of our other easy and wholesome stews and soups next. They're warming and comforting during cold winter nights:

• Tuscan bean soup with leafy greens and white beans
• Lentil soup with wholesome ingredients- a perfect comfort meal for winter
• Butternut squash soup: an easy-to-follow soup recipe with a bake and blend technique
• One-pot chickpea stew with sweet potato, tomato, and plant-based protein
• Lentil curry with a rich, earthy, and endlessly creamy texture
• Lentil bolognese with chewy lentils and real Italian flavor
• Chickpea curry: an easy curry recipe ready in 30 minutes
• Kung pao tofu with a spicy and sticky sauce - a perfect weeknight meal!