Slow-cook them with ham for a hearty stew or simply throw a handful on toast with broccoli rabe—beans can transform anything from a cold salad to a chunky soup to nachos. Here are our 26 favorite ways to eat black beans, white beans, kidney beans, fava beans—basically any legume except for chickpeas and lentils, which have cooking methods all their own.

Pasta e Fagioli

Dominique Ansel’s Cassoulet


Refried Black Beans

Cannellini Bean Salad with Radicchio and Celery

White Bean Soup with Fennel Seeds and Broccoli Rabe

Black Bean Nachos with Red Chile Beef

Barbecued Baked Beans

Veal and Kidney Bean Stew (Ghormeh Sabzi)

Fatback and Heirloom Bean Soup


White Bean and Lacinato Kale Soup with Smoked Ham Hock

Bread Crumb Dumplings and Bean Stew with Parsley-Speck Pesto

Tuscan Bean Soup

Mexican Fava Bean Soup (Sopa de Habas)

Broccoli Rabe, Cannellini Bean, and Ricotta Crostini

Navy Bean Pie

Frijolles de Olla (Stewed “Pot” Beans)

Ham and White Bean Soup

Hungarian Ham and Bean Soup

Sausage with Broccoli Rabe and Cranberry Beans

New England-Style Baked Beans

White Bean and Sardine Stew

Coconut Rice and Red Beans

Irish Bean and Sausage Stew
