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This white bean pasta makes a wonderful one-pot family meal ready in less than 15 minutes. It’s everything you want in a pasta dish: it’s comforting, packed with fresh ingredients, protein, veggies, and it’s no fuss.
And if you’re after easy pasta dishes, you’ll love these delicious one-pot pasta recipes and quick pasta ideas!
I do love one pot pasta meals, they’re easy, and pack a lot of flavor into only one pot. This white bean pasta recipe is not exception and makes a delicious balanced meal in no time.
Watch how to make it
In this recipe, I sauté garlic, paprika, and fluffy beans in olive oil (plenty of flavor!). Then I add water, pasta, and cook all together on medium-low heat until the pasta releases its starch. In the last minutes of cooking time, I stir in fresh spinach, cherry tomatoes, and I finish the dish with parmesan. Done, ready to serve and so delicious!
The mashed creamy cannellini beans, the starch and the melted cheese make the final dish mouthwatering, perfect as a meatless main meal or side dish. I promise, you’ll have everyone asking for seconds.
What ingredients you need
- Pasta (short pasta shapes)
- Cannellini beans (or Great Northern beans)
- Baby spinach
- Cherry tomatoes
- Parmesan cheese, freshly grated!
- Paprika
- Chili flakes
- Olive oil or extra virgin olive oil
- Salt & Pepper
White Bean Pasta Step-by-Step
(Note: the full recipe is at the bottom of the page)
- Saute’ garlic in olive oil until fragrant
- Add spices, beans, black pepper and give a good stir
- Add hot water – or vegetable broth – salt, and bring to the boil
- Add pasta (the liquid is minimised, it’s fine)
- In the last minutes of cooking time, stir in spinach and tomatoes
- Add freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Give a good stir and serve!
RECIPE NOTES & TIPS
White bean pasta ingredients
- Pasta: any short pasta shapes such as penne, fusilli or bow ties are perfect for the recipe. Choose premium quality pasta, it’s more expensive than basic pasta, but it’s resilient and has a more robust texture.
- White beans: cannellini beans with their fluffy texture are my go-to white beans for any recipe, but Great Northern beans work just fine.
- Spinach: fresh washed spinach is the best: ready to use, perfect texture, and wilts quickly. You can swap swiss chard (cut and steams removed) for spinach, add it in the last 3-4 minutes of the cooking time.
- Cherry tomatoes: they add a lovely sweet flavor and make the final dish so inviting! But I leave them optional: if they’re not in season, flavorless or too pale, skip them.
- Extra flavor: give a good final stir with plenty of freshly grated parmesan, if you don’t keep it vegan, of course.
How to cook it
While you add pasta to the pot, you may think to yourself “there’s not enough liquid“, but I promise it will be fine: the liquid is minimized and the pasta absorbs it completely and releases its starch. And the more starch, the better!
But keep in mind a few tips:
- Cook on low-medium heat
- Cover with a lid
- Stir frequently
- Add a bit of liquid only if needed
MORE CANNELLINI BEAN RECIPES?
First of all, make sure you’ll have a look at this collection of scrumptious 15 cannellini bean recipes, you’ll find so many creative ways to turn you canned beans into something good!
I also list here a few tasty bean recipes that feature cannellini beans, some of my family favorites:
If you make white bean pasta recipe or if you have any questions, let me know! Leave a comment, send me a message, or rate it.
I would love to hear from you!
One-Pot White Bean Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil or extra virgin olive oil, plus more to drizzle
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ tsp paprika
- ¼ or ⅛ tsp chili flakes*
- 1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans, or Great Northern beans
- ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 ½ cups (600 ml) water or low sodium vegetable broth*
- ½ tsp fine salt, or according to taste
- 8 oz (220 grams) short pasta shapes (fusilli, penne, bow ties…)
- 4 oz (120 grams) baby spinach, washed
- 4 oz (120 grams) cherry tomatoes, cut into halves
- 2 oz (60 grams) freshly grated parmesan, plus more to serve
Instructions
- Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant and smells good, about 45 seconds.
- Add paprika, chili flakes, beans, black pepper, and give a good stir.
- Add hot water or low sodium vegetable broth, salt, turn to high heat and bring to the boil.
- Stir in pasta, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover with a lid and cook stirring frequently. The amount of liquid is enough to partially cover the pasta (but keep an eye on it to make sure the pasta doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot, and add a touch of water if needed).
- In the last 2 minutes of the pasta's cooking time, add fresh spinach, a handful at a time, and cherry tomatoes. Stir until the spinach is wilted, it takes a couple of minutes.
- Turn off the heat, finish the dish with freshly grated parmesan, and give a good stir until the cheese melts and the pasta looks well combined (taste and adjust the season according to your taste if needed).
- Serve immediately with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, more freshly ground black pepper and parmesan cheese if you like. Enjoy!
Jen
Would protein pasta or chick pea pasta work with this dish?
Katia
I find that one-pot recipes work better with pasta that holds its texture and bite. I’ve never tried protein or chickpea pasta, you might give it a go and check its texture closely before gets overdone. x
Catherine
Wow one of the simplest and most delicious pasta I have ever made. The creamy liquid made from cooking the pasta in the stock was absolutely delicious. Will definitely make it again.
Katia
What a lovely feedback, Catherine!
I’m very happy to hear that, thanks so much : )
KB
Great texture, quick and easy veggie dish. You may want to add more seasonings or ingredients for a more robust flavor. I had gorgonzola on hand, which also tasted great. Note: one part of the recipe says 2.5 cups liquid, the notes say 1/2 cup but it is 2.5 cups.
Katia
I’m so pleased you loved the recipe, I’m sure gorgonzola was great..
And thanks for the note, I missed a number!! : )
Lydia
Made this and loved it but I am only one person xan I freeze leftovers
Katia
Thanks for sharing your feedback, Lydia!
I usually don’t freeze pasta leftovers, but you can store in the fridge and reheat it tomorrow! : )
Lucy
Awesome, easy, and fast. And could use what I already had! I used spinach and peas. Will definitely make again. Thank you!
Katia
That’s great, Lucy! : )
Thanks so much for sharing your lovely feedback. x
Dan
How much water do you use ? 2 1/2 cups or 1/2 cup ?
Katia
Hi Dan, the recipe says 2 1/2 cups (600 ml), not 1/2 cup.
Cheers!
Lisa
It does say 1/2 cup in the notes.
Katia
Ops… it’s actually 2 1/2 as stated in the recipe, will amend!
Thank you! x
Myra mouton
So delicious! I will definitely make again.
Katia
I’m so pleased it turned out delicious! Thanks so much for your comment : )
Dee
I made this last night and it was a hit with my very picky family! Thank you for this recipe. Question. I drained the canellini beans, was I supposed to?
Katia
I’m so glad to hear that, thanks so much for sharing your feedback.
And yes, the beans should be drained. Cheers x
Carol
Thank you for this recipe. I wanted to use up some leftover cannellini beans, so that’s why I looked up the recipe. I didn’t have fresh tomatoes, so substituted garden tomatoes that I had frozen for winter. It worked. They just dissolved into the sauce. I also used frozen swiss chard and that worked as well. In spite of all my substitutions it was very good, and my husband liked it as well. A great vegetarian main dish. I will make again.
Katia
I’m so happy you say it’s a great vegetarian main dish! Thanks for taking the time to share your comment, Carol.
And Merry Christmas! x
Dmitriy Lebedev
Fantastic recipe. Made it for myself and my vegetarian girlfriend, and we enjoyed it very much. I added a little bit of finely chopped onions and substituted the tomatoes for fresh jalapeno slices. Will definitely make again and try out different substitutions.
Katia
Thanks so much for sharing your feedback! I’m so happy it turned out fantastic. : )
Have a lovely weekend. x
Lena
Making this tonight, sounds yummy, I know this will be first if many times I will be enjoying this recipe 🙂.
Katia
I’m so glad you like it, Lena! : )
Thanks for your rating, and have a lovely weekend. x
Stephanie
I made this with gluten free rice pasta and it was still perfect! Thanks for the great recipe.
Stephanie
Forgot to give the rating, here’s my five stars!
Katia
I’m so happy to hear that, Stephany! Thanks for taking the time to share your wonderful feedback x
Janet
Have made this multiple times and everybody in my family loves it. Fast, easy, delicious! A keeper!!
Katia
I’m happy to hear that, Janet! We love this one-pot pasta recipe, and I’m glad your family loves it too.
Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback. Cheers, Katia
Deborah
Trying tonight! Will be adding turkey sausage!
Katia
Awesome, let me know how it turns out! Cheers x
Anne Ronsky
Delicious, just made for dinner this evening, I used dried cannelloni beans that I soaked overnight and just chopped up a vine tomato as I didn’t have any cherry ones! We thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely make this did again, I love a one pot meal! Thank you 😊
Katia
I’m so pleased you enjoyed it, Anne! Thanks so much for your lovely comment. 💛
Kathy Cullen
I made it. I loved it. I substituted what I had. Dried cherry tomatoes from last year’s garden, kale instead of spinach.
My husband especially loved the ‘gravy’ made by cooking the pasta with everything else.
Katia
I’m so glad you and your husband loved it, Kathy! 🤩 Thanks for taking the time to share your lovely feedback. x