32 Vegan Bean Recipes For Every Mood

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These 30 delicious vegan bean recipes will make you fall in love with beans. If you’re already a bean lover, get ready to fall in love all over again! Beans are one of the most versatile ingredients in the world. They come in a variety colors, textures, shapes, and sizes, but they’re all delicious, nutritious, and affordable. We should all be eating beans everyday, and these recipes will make that so easy.

Beans are healthy

This humble pulse––whose cousins include lentils, peas, and even peanuts––is an amazing, nutrient dense, high protein, fiber-rich food. Beans are also a good source of folate and iron, and each variety has its particular phytonutrients that have proven effective at everything from lowering cholesterol to preventing cancer. Beans are also essential for a healthy thriving digestive system and gut microbiome. They contain both soluble and insoluble fiber, as well as resistant starch and other non-digestible carbohydrates that serve as food for the important microbiome inside your gut. Supporting a healthy gut microbiome is essential for healthy digestion and elimination, mental health, and the immune function.

How to make beans taste good

I love beans because they are so easy to make, readily available, affordable, and nutritious. All beans taste different, but overall they tend to have a delicious mildly nutty flavor with a hint of sweet. Because of their mild flavor, beans work well in a wide variety of recipes, as you’ll see below. But before we get to those recipes, keep these tips in mind for when you’re making beans without a recipe:

Cook dried beans with aromatics like onions, garlic, leeks, or shallots.
Salt your beans to taste, even after you’ve made a recipe. Sometimes they need just a little more salt.
Add a squeeze of citrus or vinegar to balance the flavors in cooked beans, bean stews, and curries.
Season them with your favorite seasoning. From teriyaki sauce to jerk spice, beans party well with everyone.
Make sure your beans are well cooked before eating. They should be tender and creamy through the center.
Add a piece of seaweed (I usually add kombu) to your beans as they cook to reduce gassiness.
Cooking your beans in an acidic base like tomato sauce will slow down the cook time, so plan to add the tomatoes once they’re already tender.

What beans are best?

I truly love all beans, but my personal favorites are: black eyed peas, royal corona beans, and lima beans. They each have a distinct texture and taste. There isn’t a superior bean. You should eat the ones you like best. But since they all have their own unique phytonutrient profile, make it a priority to eat a wide variety of beans each week or month.

What to do with lots of beans!

Too many beans? That’s my dream scenario! You can never have too many, because they are so healthy and versatile. The 30 delightful recipes below will give you plenty of ideas for how you can cook beans. There’s even a sweet recipe thrown in there; and no, it isn’t black bean brownies or chickpea blondies. Let’s eat!