One Pot Beans and Greens

Beans & greens – this dish was one of John’s favorites. His family used to make them with spicy sausage and loads of oil. We knew we needed to figure out an easy, yet delish vegan one pot beans and greens recipe that would satisfy that craving, but fit in our (mostly) whole food plant based lifestyle.

The Beans

We recently mastered cooking dried beans using a pinch (1/16 teaspoon) of kelp granules and salt… they are perfect every time – check out black beans here. So then it was to figure out to make the greens.

For this recipe we prefer Great Northern Beans, but you can use cannellini beans as well. We buy them dried and in bulk – always give them quick pick over to be sure you don’t have any stones. Then a quick rinse and into the pot they go with a little salt and kelp granules! Easy Peasy! They cook for about an hour and 15 minutes. You want them to be almost tender and then into the pot, add the spices and kale!

Kelp Granules?

This is our secret ingredient. LOL! The kelp granules help to penetrate the skin of the bean which allows the insides of the beans to cook producing a super creamy and tender bean. This method works for any beans – we’ve tried chickpeas, black beans, and now white beans. Yummy! And no, you can’t taste the kelp – which is a thumbs up from me!

One Pot Beans and Greens

We opted for a one pan method and we pretty much nailed it. Creamy beans, tender and flavorful kale, garlicky, a bit of spice thanks to the addition of a few red pepper flakes – you could totally add more to kick it up a notch. But if you follow us, you know I am a wimp!

After adding the spices (fresh garlic, fennel, red pepper flakes, and nutritional yeast) we cooked the kale until tender, about fifteen minutes. And then it was time to eat.

Prefer to watch me cook?