Make Ahead
Brothy, Garlicky Beans
Popular on Food52
50 Reviews
Jennifer
December 6, 2021
I've been making this recipe for a few years now - from this site - and I have to confess, I always use canned beans and vegetable stock and it's always delicious. I will try it with dried beans one of these days though.
Lindsey C.
December 16, 2018
Made this tonight! Added extra minced garlic ad extra salt, but it’s great. I imagine some bacon would be amazing in in this!
Lynn B.
October 27, 2018
Just made this today with Rancho Gordo beans. Smells great but they still are not tender three hours later.
Merrill S.
December 17, 2018
Oh no! Wonder what could have happened. Did you wait to add the tomatoes?
Lisa B.
September 27, 2018
I made this today with Ranch Gordo Azufrado beans. I could t find a Parmesan rind at my local store, so omitted that. What a wonderful recipe! Absolutely delicious!
Laura
May 14, 2018
This recipe is delicious! Very customizable depending on what you have on hand and tastes even better the next day.
Gerry L.
April 30, 2017
Merrill's recipe looks delicious.... Thank you!
I thought I was on a vegetarian site??? But its ok anything with chicken stock will make it taste better--heck i have seen bacon vanilla ice cream
Isnt the challenge to be able to make vegetarian foods taste umami?
Now that is a real challenge for a flexatarian(rarely eat meat except raised on small ranch by my friends here in Arizona)
Nothing against it but my wife is vegatarian and I have begun to love the dishes she make(part italian).
We invited my macho friends over for one of her pasta dinners with red sauce. They swore that there was meat in there...pretty cool.
I thought I was on a vegetarian site??? But its ok anything with chicken stock will make it taste better--heck i have seen bacon vanilla ice cream
Isnt the challenge to be able to make vegetarian foods taste umami?
Now that is a real challenge for a flexatarian(rarely eat meat except raised on small ranch by my friends here in Arizona)
Nothing against it but my wife is vegatarian and I have begun to love the dishes she make(part italian).
We invited my macho friends over for one of her pasta dinners with red sauce. They swore that there was meat in there...pretty cool.
Neophyte
February 12, 2017
Merrill Stubbs recipe + Rancho Gordo beans = satisfying and relish. The beans took a lot longer to cook--I used white Ayocotes (well within the expiration date). A small inconvenience, given the final results.
bgavin
November 13, 2016
Two questions...
Why wouldn't you sauté the aromatic veggies first? For deeper flavor?
and
Why wouldn't you reserve some or all of the bean cooking water?
Why wouldn't you sauté the aromatic veggies first? For deeper flavor?
and
Why wouldn't you reserve some or all of the bean cooking water?
OneLittleDetail
April 11, 2016
So good!
I used navy beans and soaked them overnight. This worked perfectly in my slow cooker. Didn't have the Parmesan rind and I added the olive oil at the end (to avoid bitterness because of the long cooking time). But everything else I kept the same. Perfect meal to come home to.
I used navy beans and soaked them overnight. This worked perfectly in my slow cooker. Didn't have the Parmesan rind and I added the olive oil at the end (to avoid bitterness because of the long cooking time). But everything else I kept the same. Perfect meal to come home to.
Rebecca B.
October 28, 2018
Can I ask how long in the slow cooker? And setting, low or high? Thank you
Grace
August 9, 2015
Love this recipe. Half made 4 smaller main portions. My changes were: subbing corn stock for chicken stock, adding a few handfuls of arugula at the end. and simmering some eggs to make it more of a meal. and basil.
Oili Z.
March 17, 2015
Very nice soup. I didn't remove the aromatics and extra vegetables, but it still was so good. Thanks for sharing this recipe! :)
Riann
March 10, 2015
If I were to use kidney beans would I need to do the boil for 10 min to avoid that obscure toxin? This looks great and my daughters love kidney beans.
Ed S.
March 1, 2015
Now for the unmentionable question... How is this recipe on stomach gas. As we adults know, beans are known to cause "issues" in that area... How is this one?
Susan W.
March 1, 2015
Beans will be beans, but I have a method that makes a huge difference. I soak the beans overnight in water. Then, I drain them and put them in a strainer over a bowl. I went the beans a couple of times a day. They are ready to cook when little tiny sprouts spring from them. It's like the beans grow a little tail. From what I understand, this changes the bean from a legume to more of a vegetable. You can also add a small piece of Kobe (seaweed) to them when cooking. I forget why this helps. This recipe may be my all time favorite bean recipe.
Susan W.
March 1, 2015
You are welcome. Just so you know, it may take a day or two for them to sprout. Maybe longer depending on the temp of your home. I actually set the bowl on a heating pad when my house is especially cold. Also, the fresher the beans, the better, so buying them in bulk from a busy store seems to be best.
Nilam A.
February 2, 2015
I'm excited to try this recipe out! Any ideas on how it will work with a pressure cooker? That's how my mom's always made dry beans but I'm afraid that since pressure cooking is so quick, the flavors won't absorb?
Susan W.
February 2, 2015
I can't get enough of these beans. I have to always have a supply in my freezer.
Dana
February 1, 2015
I make this often and it's one of my favorite easy weeknight dinners. It's so incredibly flavorful and even better the next day!
clumsychef
September 15, 2014
I made this and the cooking time took nearly double for the beans to get soft. Perhaps this contributed to the extremely salty end result. My big pot of beans is way too salty to be eaten like this, I think I may portion them and freeze to throw into soup later.
Merrill S.
September 15, 2014
Sorry to hear this -- I've never had beans take much more than an hour to cook! Were yours nice and fresh? You can always add more water to keep them from being too salty if the cooking takes longer.
Diane P.
April 6, 2014
I used dried pinto beans, too, because that's what I had on hand. Great recipe!
KDH9966
March 30, 2014
I made this today for my sister's restaurant and they turned out wonderful! I soaked the beans so I skipped that first step and the flavour from the rosemary was amazing!!
SunBunny
March 12, 2014
Friend is bringing me a big monk bread so I will have to think about delving into this delicious sounding recipe.
Eliz.
March 11, 2014
Finally emptied that jar of cranberry beans! I really like the technique: creating a vegetal raft over simmering beans instead of covering them; the broth is thickened perfectly. The recipe also offers a great lesson in improvisation. I recommend dicing and browning a thick slice of bacon and caramelizing a small, minced onion in the rendered fat before adding beans and other aromatics. A couple of dried porcini bits contribute much as does a generous glob of tomato paste slowly darkened in olive oil.
Sarah
March 9, 2014
I didn't have dried beans on hand and was in a hurry so I used canned, and it was still delicious. I agree that there probably wasn't as much of an opportunity for the beans to absorb the flavors, but it wasn't a problem. I'm making this again this week with dried beans.
Tim J.
March 7, 2014
Sounds like a great recipe. Do you think this will work in a slow cooker? If so, how?
Merrill S.
March 11, 2014
I haven't done it in a slow cooker, but it should work -- this would be a perfect question to ask on our Hotline!
rlsalvati
March 12, 2014
I popped the ingredients in my slow cooker this morning. I'll let you know how it turns out. It smells wonderful.
rlsalvati
March 14, 2014
Great recipe for the slow cooker. Once the beans were soaked, I put everything but the tomatoes in my 4.5 qt slow cooker. After about 5 hours the beans were nice and soft (the way I wanted them). I added the tomatoes, left it for about 1 hour, then set the lid askew to allow some of the liquid to cook off. This is absolutely delicious and fairly begs for a cassoulet-type breadcrumb crust.
Jessica36
March 6, 2014
Are you soaking the beans beforehand?
Merrill S.
March 6, 2014
No, the initial boil and hour-long rest is essentially a quick-soak method.
Jessica36
March 13, 2014
Thanks! I made this recipe last weekend and it was delicious, turned out great.
betta.c
March 4, 2014
Could I make this recipe using canned beans instead? Or must they be dry?
Merrill S.
March 5, 2014
I don't recommend using canned beans for this recipe. Because canned beans are already cooked, you won't be able to simmer them for very long before they get too soft -- thus, they won't have a chance to absorb much of the flavors from the other ingredients, and the liquid won't have time to reduce.
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