20+ Cannellini bean recipes you’ll love!
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If you wonder what to do with cannellini beans, here you’ll find 20 scrumptious cannellini bean recipes to make super cozy soups, yummy salads, bruschetta, pastas, and dips!
Delicious, filling meals that you’ll be making again and again.
Today I’ve updated with new recipes this roundup that I originally published three years ago. Essentially, these are cannellini bean recipes that I cook for my family, so you can see how great these humble beans can be!
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With their texture, hearty flavor, and an outstanding nutritional profile, cannellini beans are definitely one of the best cupboard staples you should always have on hand.
They’re economical, versatile, easily accessible, and best of all, they are sensational to make delicious, filling, protein-packed meals.
I love their creaminess and fluffy texture. They’re comforting but light at the same time. They’re also amazingly nutritious as they provide plenty of protein, fiber, iron and magnesium.
And they go with SO many different ingredients and flavors.
You can turn them into a warming soup, or a super quick salad in no time. But they are also great for dips, one-pot pasta recipes or you can simply enjoy them with crusty bread, garlic and extra virgin olive oil.
Cannellini beans truly can make the perfect midweek meal for the whole family.
Whether you’re a meat-lover or a vegetarian, I’m sure you’ll find in this roundup many cannellini bean recipes you’ll LOVE!
Enjoy. x
Cannellini bean recipes
Cannellini Bean Soup
Rich, savory and wonderfully thick, this cannellini bean soup requires just a handful of pantry staples and makes the perfect feel-good meal when it's cold outside. It's healthy, comforting and tastes AMAZING.
Cannellini Bean Salad
This easy recipe combines tender cannellini beans with juicy tomatoes, savory olives, and refreshing parsley. All tossed in a fantastic homemade lemon garlic dressing. A simple yet flavorful salad ready in no time.
The best white bean soup
This wonderful, creamy white bean soup is a 5 star reader favourite with hundreds of reviews! The recipe features a few basic ingredients, canned cannellini beans, and fresh spinach. It's amazing.
Pasta with Cannellini Beans (1 pot)
This is a wonderful pasta recipe that uses cannellini beans, herbs and a simple favor base made with onion, garlic and olive oil. It's a terrific, nourishing family meal that you can make in one pot in less than 20 minutes.
Smoky Beans on Toast
Cannellini beans are also great for bruschetta! These little toasts are topped with fluffy beans cooked with smoked paprika, herbs, red pepper flakes, fresh garlic, and olive oil. Yum!
White bean soup
This is not an average bean soup, this is an awesome soup with big flavors. I cook it the way my mum used to, loaded with chili flakes, parsley, and garlic. Serve it with black pepper focaccia, and you’ll go back for seconds and thirds.
One-Pot White Bean Pasta
This lovely pasta with white beans is a hug hit at my house! The entire recipe starts and ends in the same pot and makes a wonderful family meal packed with fresh ingredients.
Beans and Bread, the Italian way!
Meet one of my favorite, no-frill, fresh-and-flavorful, speedy lunch: beans and bread. It requires just a few pantry staples, it’s ready in less than 10 minutes and tastes soooo good. It’s also vegan and makes a lovely quick lunch, snack or crowd-pleaser appetizer.
White Bean and Kale Soup
This is the kind of soup that warms you up. It's healthy, flavorsome and chock full of veggies, kale and protein-packed beans. Make a big batch, soup leftovers will taste delicious.
Mediterranean Bean Salad
This speedy salad is another favorite quick lunch at my house. It combines fluffy beans with crispy cucumbers, tomatoes, savory olives, red onions and aromatic oregano. You'll love every bite.
White Bean Dip
This white bean dip makes a delicious dreamy creamy dip or appetizer ready in minutes. It's smooth, garlicky, nicely spiced with cumin and coriander and lighten up with fresh parsley and bright lemon juice.
Tuscan Farro Soup with Beans and Kale
This hearty Tuscan farro soup with cannellini beans and kale is the perfect cozy and comforting soup to warm you up this winter. It's healthy, full of protein, and delicious.
Sun Dried Tomato Cannellini Bean Salad
What about a cannellini bean salad recipe with tangy sun-dried tomatoes and ready in less than 15 minutes? Serve as a simple side, as a starter or light lunch with some crusty bread or focaccia on the side.
Cabbage Soup with Cannellini Beans and Kielbasa
This rustic soup is one of the best cannellini bean recipes you’ll make all fall and winter long! It's so warming, filling and delicious with golden croutons!
White Bean Tabbouleh Salad
Lots of fresh parsley, hint of mint, dotted with tomato and cucumber, and that distinct lemony freshness makes this bean salad totally delicious and good for you.
Pasta e Fagioli (Italian Pasta and Beans)
Lots of aromatics, crushed tomatoes, Tuscan kale, and pasta turn this cannellini bean recipe into a terrific meal that is filling, warm, and leftovers taste even better the next day.
Marinated White Beans with Olive Oil Toast.
Savory feta, chopped roasted red peppers and a few diced sun dried tomatoes and lemon juice majes these white beans delicious and perfect for a quick lunch or snack. Delicious with some long crispy breadsticks on the side.
Cannellini Beans and Greens
In this cannellini beans recipe, Swiss chard, olive oil, and a big squeeze of lemon juice transform the beans and their wondergul broth into a yummy, wholesome meal.
White Bean Soup with Crumbled Bacon and Spiced Brown Butter.
Creamy, velvely and delicious, this is the white bean soup that hugs at the end of the day. Serve with croutons or garlic crostini and you'll be in soup heaven.
Tuscan White Bean Soup (Ribollita)
Tuscan White Bean Soup aka Ribollita is hearty, creamy and SO cozy! It’s an easy soup to make, full of beans and veggies, a must for the holiday season.
Lemony-Garlic White Bean Salad with Hemp Seed Pesto
This lovely bean salad is ready in only 15 minutes and makes a terrific last minut lunch. it's warm, protein-packed and delicious with some tomato focaccia on the side.
Bean Soup
Thick, rich, and flavorful, this bean soup is an amazing traditional Spanish bean soup topped with a pesto-like picada that really brings it home. Amazingly delicious.
Notes & FAQ’s
You can find either canned or dried cannellini at your local store. Dried cannellini provide more flavor and a better texture, but for convenience and zero prep time, canned cannellini beans should be a must-have staple in any pantry.
Are cannellini beans good for you?
Yes, they’re an excellent source of fiber and important micronutrients. Plus, they’re packed with protein and contain zero fat. Big bonus if you’re vegan or if you simply try to throw together a delicious meat-free meal from things readily to hand.
Better canned or dried beans?
Canned cannellini beans work fine in any recipe, but if you have the time, it’s worth the effort to make your own cooked beans at home, mostly because:
- They’re cheaper
- They taste better
- They freeze beautifully
- You can use the bean cooking water as a flavorsome broth
How long does it take to cook cannellini beans?
To speed cooking time, dried cannellini should be soaked before cooking.
Soak them in lots of cold water from a minimum of 5-6 hours to overnight. Drain and rinse, then put them in a large pan, cover with water and bring to the boil, reduce the heat, and cook until tender (it might take from 30 to 50 minutes).
Plus, cooking a big batch of beans, and freezing the rest, will save you energy and money!
TIP: it’s a good idea to add a few bay leaves and pieces of vegetables such as carrots, celery or onion, into the cooking water. They will make the thick and nutrient bean broth delicious, which you can use to add flavor to soups and stews.
Do you have to cook canned cannellini beans?
NO, canned cannellini beans are so convenient and already cooked, that means they can be eaten without additional cooking. However, before using them in any recipe, drain and possibly rinse them.
In conclusion, canned or dried, in soups or in salads, in stews or in toasts, vegan or not vegan, the hearty and creamy cannellini beans are just delicious!
Loved these cannellini beans recipes?
If you enjoyed this collection of recipes, check out these roundups featuring more healthy amazing legumes:
And if you enjoy one of these amazing cannellini bean recipes, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it or tag a photo #theclevermeal on Instagram.
I would love to hear from you! x
Beans & Bread + 20 cannellini bean recipes!
Ingredients
- 2 large slices of sourdough bread (or 4 slices of ciabatta)
- ½ Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 small garlic clove, minced or grated
- ¼ teaspoon chili flakes
- 1 can white beans, drained (or any other beans)
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1-2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Slice your crusty bread and toast the slices until crispy and golden.
- Heat the olive oil, garlic and chili flakes in a skillet over medium heat until fragrant, for about 40-50 seconds (don't burn the garlic).
- Toss in the drained beans, salt, pepper and cook for about 3 minutes.
- Turn the heat off, add lemon juice, parsley, and toss to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
- Top the slices of bread with the bean mixture, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and extra freshly ground black pepper and parsley as well. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Love all these recipes! Cannellini beans are my all time favourite, thank you!
Thank you so much for all this inspiration! We have decided to eat a vegetarian meal once or twice a week to save money and be healthy. Love these recipes!
Fantastic, Margie! Thanks so much for your lovely feedback. : )
I love all of the recipes you’ve included!! I made the Pasta E Fagioli soup last night and it was wonderful. My husband even liked and he’s not a big soup eater. Thank you for sharing all of these wonderful recipes.
I’m so pleased to hear that, thanks so much Kirsten! : )
I love the pictures of the cannelini bean soups and salads – but Recipes these are not!
Hi! What do you mean, exactly? If you scroll down you’ll find bean soups and bean salads, the ones you see in the pictures.
I did a search for VEGETARIAN cannellini bean recipes here. I found recipes that contain meat products in them. This is NOT acceptable!!!
Hello Cherry,
I’m sorry and I understand your disappointment, but it’s not our “fault”.
You googled vegetarian cannellini recipes and for some reasons you’ve got here, but we didn’t label this roundup as vegetarian. The search engine decides what to show you, not us.
Cheers x