My beans and green stew is one of the easiest dinner’s you’ll ever make, but it’s so delicious and incredibly comforting! Made with hearty kale and white beans simmered in garlicky broth and a touch of wine, a big bowl of this stew with a piece of crusty bread is absolutely heavenly on a chilly day!
Pretty much any combination of beans and greens is a winning one if you ask me! I love putting them together in soups like my escarole soup, Swiss chard soup, Tuscan kale soup, and black-eyed pea soup. I love combining them in other dishes, too, like my kale burgers, kale curry, and spinach and black bean enchiladas. But today’s recipe makes beans and greens, namely kale and cannellini beans, the absolute stars of the recipe.
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This recipe is for a simple stew of brothy kale and white beans. It’s not quite a soup. We’re keeping the broth to a minimum, so you just have enough to soak a piece of bread and distribute seasonings. The dish is incredibly simple, and pretty darn healthy, but also easy to throw together in and oh-so-comforting!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Olive oil. Another high-heat oil will technically work, so substitute if you need to, but use olive oil if you want the best flavor!
- Onion.
- Garlic. We’re using a good amount of garlic: five cloves for just two servings. Be brave. You won’t regret it.
- Dry white wine. You can leave this out if you prefer to cook without alcohol, but it does add a lot of flavor. Not all wine is vegan, so run your brand through Barnivore before purchasing.
- Kale. The recipe calls for curly kale, just because it’s the most common type. If you’d like to try another variety of kale, such as lacinato kale (also known as Tuscan kale or dinosaur kale), or red kale, be my guest!
- Cannellini beans. We’re keeping things simple by using canned cannellini beans.
- Vegetable broth.
- Red pepper flakes. These will add a little kick to the dish. Feel free to leave them out if you’re not into heat.
- Lemon juice. Use freshly squeezed juice, please.
- Lemon zest.
- Salt and pepper.
How It’s Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe!
Do your prep work before you start cooking. Dice your onion, mince your garlic, and prepare your kale by removing the stems and tearing the leaves into bite-sized pieces.
Step 1: Heat your olive oil in a large pot, then add your diced onion. Cook the onion for a few minutes, just to start softening it up.
Step 2: Add the minced garlic to the pot. Cook it with the onion very briefly, making sure to stir it constantly, as it can burn quickly!
Step 3: Add the wine to the pot. Bring it to a simmer and let it cook for a few minutes, until the volume reduces by half.
Step 4: Add the kale, beans, broth, and red pepper flakes to the pot. Stir it up while you bring the liquid to a simmer.
Step 5: Cover the pot and lower the heat. Let the stew simmer until the kale is soft.
Step 6: Uncover the pot, take it off of heat, and stir in the lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper.
Tip: The recipe instructs you to simmer the stew for fifteen minutes, but you can cook it longer if you like your kale very soft, or more briefly if you like it a bit crunchy.
Step 7: Your beans and greens stew is ready to serve! You can enjoy it plan, or top it with a sprinkle of vegan Parmesan cheese.
Variations
- Switch up the beans. You can make this recipe with most varieties of canned beans. Try chickpeas, kidney beans, or butter beans.
- Switch up the greens. You can substitute different types of greens for the kale, but keep in mind that some varieties, like spinach, will cook more quickly.
- Make it a soup. This stew can be transformed into a soup by simply adding extra broth.
- Beans, greens, and pasta. Make this dish extra comforting by adding your favorite type of cooked small pasta, like shells, ditalini, or orzo.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is!
Feel free to double or even triple this recipe. Just make sure you’re using a very large pot. Even with a large pot, you may not be able to fit all of the kale in at once. Add it by the handful, and let each addition wilt before adding more.
This is really a matter of preference. Once it’s wilted, which will only take a couple of minutes, it can be “done” at any point when you decide it is. I like it very soft, after about fifteen minutes. If you’re not sure how firm you like it, periodically take a bit out and give it a taste-test. Stop cooking when you’re happy with the texture!
More Stew Recipes
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Garlicky Beans & Greens
My beans and green stew is one of the easiest dinner’s you’ll ever make, but it’s so delicious and incredibly comforting! Made with hearty kale and white beans simmered in garlicky broth and a touch of wine, a big bowl of this stew with a piece of crusty bread is absolutely heavenly on a chilly day!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 1 medium bunch curly kale, stems removed and leaves torn into bite-sized pieces
- 1 (15.5 ounce/439 gram) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- Pinch red pepper flakes, or to taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
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Coat the bottom of a large pot with the oil and place it over medium heat. Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the onion. Sweat the onion for about five minutes, stirring occasionally, until it starts to soften and become translucent.
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Add the garlic and cook it with the onion for about one minute, until it becomes very fragrant, stirring constantly.
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Add the wine to the pot. Raise the heat and bring it to a boil, the lower the heat and let it simmer for three to four minutes, until it reduces by about half.
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Stir in the kale, beans, broth, and red pepper flakes. Raise the heat and bring the broth to a boil. Stir the ingredients to help the kale begin to wilt as the broth heats up.
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Lower the heat until the broth is just at a simmer, then cover the pot. Let the mixture simmer for about fifteen minutes, until the beans have softened a bit and the kale is tender, occasionally uncovering the pot to stir the ingredients.
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Remove the pot from heat. Stir in the lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper.
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Ladle the stew into bowls and serve.
Nutrition
Serving: 1.5cups | Calories: 329kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Sodium: 875mg | Potassium: 345mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 6746IU | Vitamin C: 70mg | Calcium: 295mg | Iron: 5mg
