Quick Braised Cannellini Beans and Kale

Quick braised cannellini beans and kale is filling, delicious and ready in 30 minutes from start to finish. The perfect weeknight meal! It truly is super simple. Once you get the method down, it can be adapted in so many ways.

First let’s talk about what braising is. Braising is a cooking method that uses both dry and wet heat. Typically we braise foods that take a while to cook, mostly meat but the same method can be applied to veggies. We just have to drastically cut down the cooking time.

The first step in any braise is to saute the food in some fat at a relative high heat then add liquid to finish. In this recipe we saute the spices, cannellini beans and kale then add veg stock. The end result is a luxurious plate of creamy garlicky delicious beans. All you need is a piece, or two, of crusty bread… the absolute perfect vehicle for shoving these beans into your mouth.

These quick braised cannellini beans and kale only need a handful of ingredients to make. Most of them, you probably already have in your pantry. Namely garlic, extra virgin olive oil and veg stock or broth. The one ingredient you may not have is Trader Joe’s Sofritto seasoning blend. Its a flavorful blend of minced onion and garlic, tomato flakes, crushed chili peppers, crushed red pepper, parsley, sage and salt. I highly recommend it but you can sub in more minced garlic and 1/8-1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper. Add as little or a lot of the crushed red pepper, it all depends on how much spice you like.

Once you’ve made this dish a few times, start experimenting with the ingredients. Saute some bacon and sausage and use that fat to cook the beans and kale in. Chorizo would be amazing in this as well, use jalapeño instead of the sofritto 😉 Want to keep it vegetarian, no problem… saute some mushrooms instead to add another layer of flavor. You can also swap out the white beans for black or any bean you fancy. The greens are interchangeable too. The possibilities are endless!

Just in case you have more kale laying around and you’re not too sure on how to use it. Click here for my fave spaghetti with kale recipe.. now lets go make some beans!

Quick Braised Cannellini Beans and Kale

Yield: feeds 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Additional Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Quick braised cannellini beans and kale is filling, delicious and ready in 30 minutes from start to finish. The perfect weeknight meal!

Print

Ingredients

• 2 15.5 oz cans of Cannellini Beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups roughly chopped kale
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp Trader Joes Sofritto seasoning
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth or stock
• Handful of parsley leaves chopped
• 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt 

To Serve

• Toasted or grilled crusty bread
• Crushed red pepper, optional
• Shaved or grated parmesan cheese
• Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Heat a medium sized skillet over medium heat on the stove.
2. When the skillet is hot, add the oil.
3. Add the garlic and sofritto, sauté until fragrant.. about 30 seconds
4. Add both cans of beans and season with a dash of salt and pepper. Stir and make sure the beans are coated with the garlicky goodness in the pan.
5. Add your stock and kale and continue to cook until the kale has wilts.
6. Season with the 1/2 tsp of kosher salt, stir and add the parsley and a squeeze of lemon.
7. To serve, spoon beans and kale into bowls, tops with parmesan cheese, crushed red pepper if using, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and pieces of crusty bread on the side.
8. Enjoy!

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 376

nutrition information is not always accurate