Great Recipes for Canned or Dry Beans

You probably have a stash of canned or dry beans in your pantry—now what? Our recipes show you how to use those as the base for delicious soups, skillet dishes, salads, burrito bowls and more.

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Roasted Butternut Burrito Bowls

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You can have this deliciously nutritious Mexican-inspired meal on the table in under an hour—or even less if you cheat and use precooked brown rice!

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Chipotle Black Bean Chili

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We used ground beef, jarred salsa, beans, and potatoes to make this soup extra satisfying. Omit the meat to create a hearty vegetarian dish.

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Simple Salsa Skillet

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Pantry ingredients like black beans, corn, and salsa go together quickly with potatoes, sweet peppers and chicken for a simple, satisfying meal.

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Greens, Beans and Ham

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This 5-ingredient recipe combines makes Great Northern beans the base for a very simple main dish or side. Substitute another protein for the ham or a different green for the spinach if you’ve got other ingredients around the house.

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Roasted Kale, Tomato and Chickpea Salad with Wheat Berries

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Our hearty salad tastes equally good warm from the pan, cold from the fridge or even at room temperature, so it's perfect for make-ahead meals and leftover lunches. Other grains, such as barley, faro or wild rice, also work well in this salad

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Tuscan Bean Soup

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Flecked with a grab bag of hearty vegetables, this healthy soup hums with garlic and crushed red pepper. The recipe comes from La Soupe, a nonprofit cafe in Cincinnati.

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Bean and Sweet Potato Patties with Lime-Jalapeno Cream

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Because canned beans can be mushy, pair them with crunchy ingredients. Our sweet potato, quinoa and pinto bean patties had plenty of smoky, garlicky flavor. But when we added walnuts and served them over crisp romaine, they soared.

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Chicken With Black Beans and Rice

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Add some kick to this chicken dish by stirring in a few dashes of Louisiana hot sauce.

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Skillet White Beans

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Eating gluten-free? Gluten can sneak into a lot of baked bean recipes, but not this one. Maple syrup adds a sweet finish. (While beans are naturally gluten-free, other ingredients can be introduced in canning, so be sure to purchase only canned beans clearly labeled gluten-free.)

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Mediterranean Lentil Skillet With Pita Chips

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This healthy, veggie-based dinner draws on the flavors of carrots, celery, lentils, kale and tomatoes, with crunch in the form of chopped walnuts and pita chips.

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Dilly Chickpea and Radish Salad

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Think of this as a welcome update on three-bean salad, with radishes and celery adding color and crunch to wholesome garbanzo beans.

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Chili-Pasta Skillet

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No need to boil hot water in a separate pot! The macaroni cooks along with the rest of the dish, including canned beans, so you'll have this meal on the table in 25 minutes.

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Lentil and Rice Summer Salad

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Try this topped with a salmon fillet or, for a vegetarian entree, served over spinach or other salad greens. (A word of warning: Don't substitute a different rice. Arborio, the type used in risotto, definitely works best.) The recipe comes from the blog A Couple Cooks.

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Chickpea Sandwich Filling

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This nifty mayo-dressed salad uses healthy and budget-friendly chickpeas instead of the traditional tuna, hard-cooked eggs or chicken. Try it in a sandwich or wrap or over a bed of greens.

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Red Bean, Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew

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Vitamin-rich sweet potatoes and creamy peanut butter complement spicy Cajun seasoning in this easy chicken slow-cooker stew.

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Braised Green Beans with Tomatoes and Lentils

Brie Passano

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This recipe comes from chef Abra Berens' book Ruffage: A Practical Guide to Vegetables. Don't be alarmed by cooking beans this long. Make it vegetarian by using vegetable broth and skipping the Parmesan.

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Bean-Mushroom Sloppy Joes

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Canned beans supply fill-you-up protein at a fraction of the cost, fat and calories of ground beef or turkey. In our sloppy joes, we dress navy beans in mustardy tomato sauce that has all the familiar flavor of the meaty original.

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Chili Bean Stuffed Peppers

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Beans, tomato, onion: it's a hearty vegetarian chili stuffed inside a bell pepper. If you're looking for extra kick, try topping with pepper jack instead of mozzarella.

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Stuffed Zucchini with Black Beans, Corn and Poblano Pepper

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Zucchini "boats" overflow with Tex-Mex flavors and pack the heat of poblano pepper.

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Bryan Hansen's Famous Chili Recipe

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Lean ground beef, canned tomatoes, and canned beans are used to make this simple chili recipe. Cumin and chili powder add spicy heat.

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Great Recipes for Canned or Dry Beans

1 of 20

Roasted Butternut Burrito Bowls

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2 of 20

Chipotle Black Bean Chili

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Simple Salsa Skillet

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Greens, Beans and Ham

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Roasted Kale, Tomato and Chickpea Salad with Wheat Berries

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Tuscan Bean Soup

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Bean and Sweet Potato Patties with Lime-Jalapeno Cream

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Chicken With Black Beans and Rice

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Skillet White Beans

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Mediterranean Lentil Skillet With Pita Chips

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Dilly Chickpea and Radish Salad

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Chili-Pasta Skillet

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Lentil and Rice Summer Salad

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Chickpea Sandwich Filling

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Red Bean, Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew

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Braised Green Beans with Tomatoes and Lentils

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Bean-Mushroom Sloppy Joes

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Chili Bean Stuffed Peppers

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Stuffed Zucchini with Black Beans, Corn and Poblano Pepper

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Bryan Hansen's Famous Chili Recipe

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