Creamy Beans with Kale
This Creamy Beans with Kale recipe is like a warm hug in a bowl, it’s one of my favourite kinds of recipes that uses only a few simple ingredients but manages to pack in so much flavour. It’s hearty, comforting, and full of nourishing ingredients, perfect for chilly evenings or anytime you want a cozy meal. The creamy beans and tender kale come together to create a rich, flavorful dish that’s easy to make and incredibly satisfying.
Serve it with crusty bread for a simple main dish or as a hearty side with your favourite protein —it’s versatile, delicious, and sure to become a favorite.
Ingredients
The beans I used in this recipe are cannelini beans, but you could use any combination of white beans you like, for example – butter beans or haricot beans. I wouldn’t recommend using chickpeas though as they are are too hard to work well in this recipe and don’t melt into the sauce.
Olive oil and butter are used to sautee the onion, the butter adds in extra flavour but feel free to just use olive oil if you prefer.
Creme fraiche is my favourite way to add creaminess to any dish, you could also use double cream.
A little chicken or veggie stock loosens the sauce a bit.
Finally parmesan cheese is melted into the sauce, I’ve also used cheddar and it worked well. Use whatever you have to hand but don’t go over the recommended amounts or it starts to turn into a cheese sauce (which is still nice but not what we’re going for here!)
For some extra fibre and nutrients I added kale, especially since it’s currently in season. My favourite type is cavelo nero but regular kale works great too (which is what I used for the photos). Spinach would make a great swap, too whether frozen or fresh.
To serve – a steamy bowl of these creamy beans is just crying out for a thick slice of crusty bread to dip. You can also serve these creamy beans as a side dish to your preferred protein source.
Making the Creamy Beans
This creamy beans recipe can be made in just a few easy steps, coming together in around 20 minutes! Perfect for weeknight dinners.
Heat your olive oil and butter in a large saucepan until the butter has melted and starts gently spitting. Now you can add in your finely diced onion along with a small pinch of salt.
Adding the salt during the sauteeing process helps with browning and will bring about a more well rounded flavour in the dish (versus just seasoning at the end) so don’t skip this step!
Sautee for about 5-10 minutes until the onion turns translucent and has browned slightly. Now add in the minced garlic and sautee for a few more minutes until the garlic is fragrant but not browned.
Next, add in the drained and rinsed beans, stock, creme fraiche, grated parmesan cheese, chopped kale and a generous amount of freshly cracked black pepper. Stir really well to combine before you place the lid on the pan, reduce the heat down to low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
I recommend tasting as you go with this one, depending on what stock and cheese you’ve used, you may need to adjust the salt levels during the cooking process.
Season generously with freshly cracked black pepper, stir through and serve immediately. Top with an extra sprinkling of parmesan cheese and pepper.
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Creamy Beans with Kale
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Salted Butter
- 1 whole Onion, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves Garlic, minced
- 3 cans Cannelini beans, drained and rinsed 720 g total drained weight
- 500 mL Stock (chicken or vegetable)
- 2 heaping tbsp Creme Fraiche
- 30 g Parmesan, finely grated (plus an extra few grams for serving)
- Generous dash of freshly cracked black pepper
- 100 g Kale or Spinach, chopped.
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat your large saucepan on a medium heat and add the olive oil and butter.
- When the butter has melted and is starting to spit gently, add your sliced onion to the pan, along with a small pinch of salt.
- Sautee the onion for 5-10 minutes until it starts to brown.
- Add the minced garlic and sautee for a few more minutes, until the garlic is fragrant but before it starts to colour.
- Now add in the cannelini beans, stock, creme fraiche, parmesan cheese and freshly cracked black pepper and stir well to combine.
- Have a quick taste at this stage, depending on how salty your stock was you may find you need to add a little more salt, or not.
- Now add in your chopped kale. Stir the kale in well and place the pan lid to cover.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the kale is tender. If you have used spinach, this step may only take 5 minutes.
- Serve the creamy beans immediately, with an extra dash of fresh black pepper and parmesan cheese.