Now, these are the SEXIEST white beans you'll ever try! It takes only 2 cans of cannellini beans, and 15 minutes or less to make this delicious white beans recipe with garlic, Parmesan, and cherry tomatoes. Serve it as an easy meatless dinner with your favorite crusty bread or as a side.
The sexiest creamy garlic white beans you'll try!
White beans cooked in extra virgin olive oil, garlic, cherry tomatoes, and a duo of Italian cheese, now this is the BEST (even sexiest) white beans recipe you'll try! And it's ready in just 15 minutes.
Using canned cannellini beans, which are tender and slightly nutty tasting, is a major shortcut that is worth taking (just like with butter beans, there's no overnight soaking or boiling required)! Garlic is essential here, but I also add warm Mediterranean spices including cumin and Aleppo pepper to flavor the beans. And a little grated parmesan and nutty Pecorino Romano add heft and creaminess, while a squeeze of fresh lemon balances the dish with just enough acidity.
This one-pan creamy white beans recipe is a true warm-your-belly meatless dinner that requires nothing more than your favorite crusty bread to serve. I can't wait for you to try it!
Types of white beans
White beans are a group of legumes that are easily distinguishable because of their white color and kidney-like shape. Some types of white beans include cannellini beans (also called white kidney beans), lima beans (also known as butter beans), great northern beans, and navy beans. Yup, plenty of options you can find in most supermarkets in dry and canned form. A quick guide on each of them:
- Navy Beans: Also called pea beans are smaller and have a mild flavor. They are great for mashed preparations.
- Great Northern Beans: These white beans are medium-sized and firm with a slight nutty taste.
- Cannellini Beans: Also called white kidney beans, are larger and heartier, but they do have a nice creamy texture when cooked. These beans are native to Italy and you’ll find them in many of my meals, like this orecchiette pasta, white bean shakahuka, vegetarian pasta fagioli, and ribollita. And I use them in this recipe as well.
- Baby Lima Beans: Also called butterbeans, are small and creamy with a buttery texture. I love them, especially, in a mashed white bean dip.
Like I said, I used canned cannellini beans here, but you can use any canned white bean variety you like! There will be a subtle difference in taste and texture, but you'll still have a delicious bean dish that is loaded with flavor.
Ingredients: What you’ll need to make this easy white beans recipe
With just a few pantry staples, you can have dinner ready in a flash! Here’s what you’ll need to make these white beans.
- Minced garlic – I like 3 to 4 minced cloves of garlic in this dish, but feel free to alter this amount based on your preference.
- Extra virgin olive oil – A generous drizzle of EVOO to finish the dish adds a nice silkiness to the sauce.
- Canned cannellini beans – You’ll need 2 cans of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed. Other white beans such as butter beans and great northern beans would also work well in this recipe.
- Halved cherry tomatoes – Just a cup of cherry tomatoes adds color and a hint of bright acidity.
- Aleppo pepper – I love the subtle tang and hint of sweetness that comes from Aleppo pepper in this recipe.
- Cumin – Its earthiness is the perfect base for the other flavors to balance on.
- Chopped fresh parsley – Few herbs elevate a dish as easily as fresh parsley does!
- Grated cheese - A combination of parmesan cheese and Pecorino Romano (which is a dense, nutty, sharp cheese) add tantalizing umami to this white beans recipe. If you can’t find one or the other, you can use just parmesan or Pecorino Romano, but the combination together is a good balance of salty tang and nuttiness.
- Fresh lemon juice – A squeeze of lemon juice instantly brightens this dish, enhancing its creamy, tangy flavors.
How to make this white bean recipe
My favorite thing about this dish is just how simple it is to make and all you need is one large pan and 15 minutes of time. Here’s how you make it:
- Sauté the garlic and beans. In a large pan, sauté 3 to 4 minced garlic cloves in heated olive oil over medium heat. Once the garlic is golden, add 2 15-ounce cans of cannellini beans that have been drained, and about ½ cup of water. Season with kosher salt, black pepper, 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper, and ½ teaspoon cumin.
- Add the tomatoes, fresh parsley, and cheese. Add 1 cup of halved cherry tomatoes, and cook for about 10 minutes, until the beans and tomatoes are warmed through and the tomatoes have softened a bit. Stir in the chopped fresh parsley, ¼ to ⅓ cup shaved parmesan, ¼ cup grated Pecorino Romano, and the juice of half a lemon.
- Serve! Drizzle extra virgin olive oil generously to finish the white beans dish, and serve immediately.
Can I make this recipe from dry white beans instead of canned?
If you have the time, and you’re looking for a way to use up those dry white beans that have been in your pantry for what seems like forever, you can make this white beans recipe from scratch.
Three quarters of a cup of dry white beans equals approximately 1 15-ounce can of beans. So start with 1 ½ cups of dry beans and add them to a medium to large bowl. Cover with water (there should be about 3 inches of water above the beans). Let them soak for at least 8 hours – overnight is ideal!
Drain and rinse the beans thoroughly, and then add them to a large pot on the stovetop. Cover with water once more and bring to a boil. Add some kosher salt (about 2 teaspoons) and reduce the heat to medium-low. Let the beans simmer uncovered. The beans are ready when they are tender, but not mushy. This can take 2 to 3 hours. Keep an eye on the beans as they cook and add water if they start looking dry.
Once the white beans are cooked, follow the recipe as is from step one!
What to serve with this cannellini beans recipe
These creamy white beans are delicious with pita or your favorite fresh crusty bread. I also like to start the meal off with a big salad.
How to store leftovers
These garlic parmesan white beans will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 4 days. To reheat, add the beans to a pan on the stovetop on medium heat. If the beans have dried out a bit in the fridge, add a small amount of water (no more than ¼ cup).
Other white beans recipes to try
Hungry for more? Here are all our Mediterranean Recipes!
Garlic Parmesan White Beans
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
- ¼ to ⅓ cup shaved Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup grated Pecorino Romano
- Juice of half a lemon
Instructions
- In a large pan, warm 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook briefly, tossing regularly, until just golden.
- Add the cannellini beans and ½ cup water. Season with kosher salt, black pepper, and the spices. Add the tomatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally until warmed through (about 10 minutes)
- Stir in the parsley, cheese, and lemon juice.
- Finish with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Serve immediately with pita or your favorite crusty bread.
Video
Notes
- If you don't have cannellini beans, feel free to use another kind of white bean such as butter beans or great northern beans.
- I used canned beans in this recipe to save time, but you can also prepare the beans from scratch if you prefer.
- Leftover tips: These garlic parmesan white beans will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 4 days. To reheat, add the beans to a pan on the stovetop on medium heat. If the beans have dried out a bit in the fridge, add a small amount of water (no more than ¼ cup).
- Visit Our Shop for quality Mediterranean ingredients including extra virgin olive oils and spices.
Absolutely great recipe. Your recipes have become my favorite healthy dishes. Can’t wait for your book to be available
Hey Suzy, are the canned beans supposed to be slightly on the crunchy side here or more silky and smooth? Cooked it tonight for the first time and the taste was great--beans were just a little bit crunchier than I would like though even when I used canned. Love your stuff!
Hi, David. No... usually the canned beans are soft. I've never experienced them being crunchy before. Hmmmm...
Dish is delicious. Too lazy to run to the store for tomatoes so used frozen squeezed spinach that I sauteed with the garlic. Note that the recipe reads 5 teaspoon Aleppo. Logic says that it should be .5 or 1/2 teaspoon and the lack of plural on the word teaspoon backs my thoughts up on that.
Hands down one of the easiest and most delicious meals I’ve ever made. Everyone from my mother in law to my 4 year old enjoyed and commented on how yummy this dish was. Thanks for sharing.
You are very welcome, Shelia. So glad you enjoyed it!
can you saute a little bit of chopped onion in this recipe?
Sure!
This recipe is so full of flavor and delicious! I used dried navy beans on hand, cooking them in an instant pot for 22 minutes, and substituted crushed red pepper and smoked paprika for the aleppo pepper. I love it and will be making it again very soon!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing, Betsy!
I have been making this recipe for the last 2months, almost weekly! So easy, cheap and delicious. I have shared this recipe with everyone.
If indont have pecorino, I add the extra parm, which is just as good. If you don't have Aleppo pepper, sub cayenne and paprika. I LOVE this easy, out of this world recipe. So good. You would have no idea this simple recipe could become your weekly staple. Thank you so much!!
Just wanted to add, I'm not a huge bean eater, just trying to do more meatless dishes. Dont forget to add the splash of lemon juice, game changer! If I don't have fresh parsley, dried it good too!
I have also done this with mixed white beans. Doesn't have to be cannelli, but they hold up better.
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing your substitution ideas, Erica!
I have been looking for delicious bean recipes (that aren’t soup) and this one is a keeper!
Aside from starting with dried beans (see my note below) and subbing cilantro for parsley, I followed this recipe exactly. The flavors are wonderful; the cheeses and lemon juice, in particular, help this dish shine.
Note: I didn’t have canned beans on hand, so I pressure-cooked ~10 oz. dried Great Northern beans with 5 cups of water, 1 Tbs olive oil, 1 tsp coarse salt, two garlic cloves and a bay leaf for 25 min. at high pressure + 30 min. natural release. I used 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid in lieu of the 1/2 cup of water called for in the final recipe. The beans were a tad softer than I would have liked after pressure cooking and did not hold their shape after I mixed in the cheeses and lemon juice (my dish looked more like refried beans) but they were still delicious and oh-so-creamy!
Thanks for sharing, Amy!
I needed something different and quick and healthy for dinner tonight but didn’t feel like running to the store again, so I was searching your videos and recipes and found this one, and luckily already had all the ingredients here and ready to go. The only changes I made were using fresh organic cilantro vs parley (which works nicely) and used only Parmesan. OMG!!!!! The end result was so amazing! I had no idea beans could taste this delicious! And Aleppo pepper gave it a wonderful kick. Very hearty and filling and nutritious…
Thank you Suzy for yet another healthy, easy Mediterranean and super delicious recipe that is not only beautiful to serve and easy to prepare, but also has the most amazing flavors. This one’s a keeper, for sure!
My pleasure, Alyne! Thank you for taking the time to leave such a great review!
This is one of my very favorites and I have made it many times. Easy and inexpensive side dish that is DELICIOUS. Also, IF you have any leftovers you can mash it up a bit and serve as a dip for pita chips.
Do you drain and rinse the beans?
Yep!
Thank You, Thank You! There was a mutual family friend who was Greek. He made this most delicious bean salad, I have looked and looked for this recipe for years, I said to myself as many times that I have stalked these pages and recipes, why didn't I look for the recipe here? I did and BAM! woohoo.....it's here! I've made it before but it never really tasted quite like his....secrets out now!! 😉
Again, thank you. Your recipes are so easy to follow and delish. I have been making them about a month now and I honestly haven't disliked any and so many will be repeats.
Jackie
Awesome, Jackie! Thank you so much!
So easy and delicious! The flavor was Amazing!!
Thanks, Whitney!
Wow, just wow - I saw a video of you making it a week or so ago on FB and finally made it - it was even better, than I thought it would be. For once, I didn’t change anything lol, well, ok, I added fresh cilantro and parsley, but that’s it. Perfect! Thank you!
Thank you so much, Nina!
Wow, just made this dish and it was amazing!! So tasty, creamy, and easy to make. Like others, I added some chopped kale, and it was so delicious! I have to admit, I was worried about adding a full teaspoon of Aleppo pepper, but I trusted you, Suzy, and it was perfect. I will definitely be making this again!
Yay! Thanks, Karen!
I made this as a side for Lemon Pepper Cod. I didn't have Aleppo Pepper. I substituted Paprika and Cayenne and they were still so good. My husband and I can't wait to have them again. Thank you for another great and quick recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it, Kristen!