There are very few things you can’t do with beans, which is part of why we love them so much. You can cook them in a pasta, throw them in all kinds of soups with all of your other vegetables, or stick them on top of a cheesy piece of toast. You can put them in cold or hot salads. You can even eat them for breakfast, because what better way is there to start your day? Fava beans, lima beans, Cannellini beans—we love them all. Check out some of our favorite bean recipes below.
Pasta e Fagioli
This version of the soup bean and pasta dish reverses the order of its stars turning it into a pasta dish laden with creamy beans and a creamy sauce. Get the recipe for Pasta e Fagioli »Simon Pearce
Cretan Bean Stew with Spinach
Dark leafy greens are the predominant vegetables in Crete, where more than 100 types grow and they are often paired with beans in sautés, stews, and pies. Get the recipe for Cretan Bean Stew with Spinach »Katherine Whittaker
Lobiani (Georgian Bean-Stuffed Bread)
A traditional Georgian recipe for spiced mashed beans in a simple flatbread. Get the recipe for Lobiani (Georgian Bean-Stuffed Bread)Matt Taylor-Gross
Fatback and Heirloom Bean Soup
You can serve this soup the day you prepare it, but after an overnight rest on the refrigerator, the beans will have absorbed some of the broth and the soup will have a deeper flavor. Get the recipe for Fatback and Heirloom Bean Soup »Michelle Heimerman
Green Chicken and White Bean Chili
This rich tomatillo- and green chile-based stew cooks much faster than versions made with red meat, but tastes like it cooked all day. Get the recipe for Green Chicken and White Bean ChiliJoseph De Leo
White Bean Soup
Finely ground ham infuses a simple soup with smoky richness in this recipe from Omaha’s Piccolo Pete’s. Get the recipe for White Bean Soup »Ariana Lindquist
English breakfasts, or fry-ups—hearty assemblages of meat, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, and baked beans—are traditional all over the UK. Get the recipe for Full English Breakfast »Food Styling by Maggie Ruggiero
White Bean and Lacinato Kale Soup with Smoked Ham Hock
In this stew, escarole (“shcadall”, as the Campos call it) is simmered with pieces of pecorino romano cheese, whose taste provides a nutty counterpoint to the spicy sausage and creamy beans. Get the recipe for Escarole, Sausage, and Cannellini Bean Stew »Joseph De Leo
Carla Capalbio’s traditional Georgian bean stew is enriched with pulverized walnuts and seasoned with sour plum sauce and dried marigold. Get the recipe for Beans with Walnuts and Spices
Cilantro and Lime Chicken with Grilled Corn and Black Bean Salad
Redolent of warm spices, deeply flavored Cincinnati-style chili, whether prepared two-way (chili over spaghetti), three-way (with cheese), four-way (with onions), or five-way (with a finishing flourish of kidney beans), is an enduring American classic. Get the recipe for Cincinnati Chili »Ingalls Photography
In this traditional Lucchese soup, vegetables and beans are slow-cooked until little to no bite remains, making it a rustic, comforting dish. Be sure to give any tougher vegetables all the time they need to scompare, or disappear. The quantities are flexible, so use whatever you have on hand. Get the recipe for Italian Bean and Vegetable Soup »Ryan Liebe
Irish Bean and Sausage Stew
At Gubbeen Farm, a 250-acre coastal plot of land in West Cork, an Irish twist on French cassoulet results in a flavorful, brothy stew of lima beans and thin Irish pork sausages. Get the recipe for Irish Bean and Sausage Stew »Matt Taylor-Gross
Brazilian Beans with Smoked Pork, Rice and Collards
Made with confit duck legs, pork belly, and two kinds of sausage, this meaty, resplendently rich cassoulet is worth treasuring all winter. Get the recipe for Dominique Ansel’s Cassoulet »Matt Taylor-Gross
