These Tuscan Cannellini Beans are the perfect lunch or light dinner. It's rich and creamy and full of the flavours of Italy. Get the recipe below.
A taste of Italy
Tuscany is a region of central Italy. Tuscan chicken is a popular dish that is inspired by the region. Of course being vegan I had to come up with another way of enjoying this delicious dish without the meat. Beans instead of chicken? Perfect!
What makes this dish the taste of Italy has to be the sun-dried tomatoes. You can almost taste the Italian sunshine in every bite. Of course the Italian herbs like basil and oregano also add to the flavour profile and vegan parmesan finishes it off perfectly.
What are Tuscan Cannellini Beans?
These Tuscan Cannellini Beans are a saucy dish that's flavoured with sun-dried tomatoes, Italian spices like oregano and vegan parmesan. You'll also find onions and plenty of spinach in the creamy sauce.
Why use cannellini beans?
Cannellini beans are a type of white bean that comes from Italy. What better ingredient to use in an Italian dish than an Italian bean?
They are packed full of protein and fibre, as well as being high in nutrients like B vitamins and minerals like magnesium and iron.
When cooked, they have this creamy, yet fluffy texture which just melts in the mouth.
How do I make this recipe vegan?
Tuscan chicken would ordinarily include cream and parmesan. Of course anyone following a plant based diet can't eat these.
You can buy vegan parmesan (or hard Italian "cheese") in lots of supermarkets across the UK. Violife is the most common brand.
Alternatively you can make your own by following my recipe here. This is best for sprinkling on top of dishes.
As for the cream, Oatly does an oat cream that works perfectly in this dish. Elmlea also have their own line of plant based cream - pick the single cream instead of double cream for this recipe.
Serving suggestions
These beans taste delicious served on their own. But, if you want to make it into a bigger meal then you can serve it with rice or bread. I particularly like serving it alongside focaccia.
The recipe
Tuscan Cannellini Beans
Ingredients
- 0.5 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 225 ml plant based cream
- 100 ml vegetable stock
- 1 cup basil
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- 0.5 lemon juice only
- 1 teaspoon mixed herbs
- 4 tablespoon tomato puree
- 200 g sun dried tomatoes
- 235 g cannellini beans drained weight from 1x 400g tin
- 3 handfuls spinach
- 2 tablespoon vegan parmesan
- black pepper
- Parsley to serve
Instructions
- Add the diced onion to a hot pan with a little olive oil and a large pinch of salt.
- Cook for 5-8 minutes until they start to go translucent.
- Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add the tomato puree and sun-dried tomatoes and stir well.
- Pour in the cream, vegetable stock and add the herbs, nutritional yeast, mustard and lemon juice. Stir well.
- Add the cannellini beans and bring it to a simmer.
- Stir in the spinach beans and cook until wilted.
- Season with the vegan parmesan and a good crack of black pepper.
- Serve with a sprinkling of chopped parsley.
Nutrition
More cannellini bean recipes
Why not try some of these other vegan cannellini bean recipes.
Each of these recipes is made entirely from plant based ingredients. Enjoy.
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