Bean Recipes:
Great Nutrition Made Delicious!

Having a supply of great bean recipes is an essential part of healthy quick eating.

Beans and other legumes are an excellent choice when you are looking for an easy, economical and healthy meal.

(What is a legume, anyway? It is a the fruit of a plant in the "Fabaceae family". Plants in this family produce pods that open along a seam on both sides. So, all beans are legumes - but so are lentils, peas, peanuts and more.)





Beans are full of protein, vitamins and minerals, low in fat and high in fiber. They are extremely economical, especially if you cook your own beans from scratch.

I used to be intimidated about cooking beans. I thought that there was something mysterious about them, and that only "real cooks" cooked their own beans. I finally mustered up my courage to cook beans from scratch, and quickly realized how easy it is.

Cooking Beans

• The first simple step is soaking the beans.
  
  
• Once the beans are soaked, it's easy (really!) to cook them.

Then you are ready to choose one of these wonderful bean recipes.

Bean Recipes

Appetizers

Bean dips and spreads make excellent appetizers! Serve them on crackers, dip raw veggies into them, or use them as sandwich filling! Either way, you'll be enjoying a high-fiber, high-flavor snack.

• Black Bean Hummus is a twist on the traditional favorite. Black beans, cumin and lemon juice are a great mixture!
  
  
• Chickpea Hummus is the traditional favorite! I like homemade hummus much more than any hummus I've ever bought.

• You can make White Bean Dip thin enough to drizzle on steamed veggies, or thick enough to use as a dip.

Salads and Side Dishes

These bean salads and side dish bean recipes are so substantial that they can be a main course! Pack them in your lunch for an easy and healthy mid-day meal.

• Black and Orange Rice is a hot side dish made with black beans and diced squash.

Soups

These recipes for bean soup are all easy to make. Bean soup is a filling and comforting meal.

• Bean Chowder is a hearty and economical navy bean soup recipe. It's delicious!
  
  
• Creamy Chickpea Soup is a rich-tasting but dairy-free meal.

• Lemony Lentil Soup is a very quick meal, because it uses fast-cooking red lentils.
  
  
• Lentil-Apricot Soup has a delightful fruity flavor. It's even better the day after you first make it!
  
  
• Lentil Spinach Soup is another quick red lentil soup recipe. It's bursting with color and nutrients.
  
  
• Bean Chowder is an easy navy bean soup recipe.

• I love Split Pea Soup! You can eat it as is, or add some cubes of ham.

• What could be nicer than coming home on a cold day to find a batch of Split Pea Slow Cooker Soup waiting for you?

Entrées

We have beans for supper once or twice a week. Beans are economical and nutritious - and with a good recipe, they are tasty too! I have so many main dish bean recipes that our diet is interesting and varied.

• Black Beans

  My favorite beans are black beans, so it's no surprise that I have lots of black bean recipes!
  
  

  • We eat Balsamic Black Beans every couple of weeks. Served over tortilla chips with sour cream and salsa, this is a real family pleaser!

  • Bean and Tortilla Stacks are fun to make. You can tailor these to fit individual preferences. Let each person make an individual stack with favorite ingredients.
  • Black Beans in Mango Sauce is delicious!

  • Looking for a tasty supper? Make Caribbean Black Beans. The flavors of orange juice, ginger and garlic are perfect with black beans!

  • I love making Cuban Black Beans and Rice because the beans and rice cook in the same pot!

  
  
  

• Chickpeas

  You might know chickpeas by another name: "garbanzo beans". Whatever you call them, they are full of fiber and nutrients.

  • One of the great things about Pasta with Marinated Chickpeas and Corn is that you do all of the prep work in the morning. In the evening, just put on the pasta to cook. The chickpea sauce has been marinating all day and is so good!

  
  
  

• Kidney Beans

  I used to think that kidney beans had just one role: in a pot of beef and tomato chili. I was wrong! Both red and white kidney beans are much more versatile than I knew. Try these great kidney bean recipes!

  • White kidney beans are delicious in White Bean Chicken Chili. It's a nice change of pace from tomato-beef chili.
    
    
  • Zesty Kidney Beans are colorful and tasty. They look and taste great garnished with citrus zest.

  
  
  

• Lentils
  
  

  Lentils are a good choice when you need a quick meal. Unlike most other legumes, they don't need soaking before you cook them.

  • Lentil Skillet Supper is full of cheesy, lentily goodness.
    
    
  • South of the Border Lentils is the "fastest of the fast!" You can be eating this delicious meal in no time at all.
    
    
  • Sweet and Sour Lentils are delicious hot or cold. This is the perfect dish to take to a vegetarian potluck.

  
  
  

• Navy Beans

  I don't know why these are called navy beans! They certainly aren't navy blue in color. They are small and white.

  • Making Slow Cooker Baked Beans takes time - but almost no work! Put the beans and water in the crockpot the night before, drain the beans and add additional ingredients at noon, and enjoy an awesome meal at suppertime.

  
  
  

• Pinto Beans

  I have a big sack of pinto beans at home, because pinto beans are so versatile! They are the "all purpose bean" in my house. Here are my favorite pinto bean recipes.
  
  

• Quesadilla Pie looks and tastes fantastic! It's a good meal to serve to guests.
  
  
• Refried Beans with rice, or rolled in a tortilla, makes a filling and easy supper. Homemade refried beans are vastly superior to the canned version I used to use.

• If you like baked beans, you will love Tangy Baked Beans with Apple. They are bursting with cheesy, savory deliciousness!

Desserts

Really? Desserts made from beans? Yup.

• Black Bean Brownies are a chocolately wheat-free snack.
  
  

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  Looking for still more recipes? Visit this site. It's packed with great recipes based on the Greek Mediterranean diet.
  
  
  
  

  Return from bean recipes to healthy quick meals.

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