Quick Easy Bean Recipe Ideas

Whether it's pinto bean recipes, great northern bean recipes or black bean recipes, this is where you'll find the most current listing of bean recipe ideas. If you're like me, most of the time what I could use most is some inspiration -- a couple of ideas for 'what to make!'

Updated after each weekday recipe blog post, this current listing contains seasonal bean ideas based upon the U.S. Eastern time zone -- that means we're looking at springtime food inspiration until the summer solstice in June.

 

• California Black Bean Salad

• make 3-Bean Chili: use kidney beans, black beans and pinto beans and stewed tomatoes. Add some frozen corn during the last 10 minutes of cook time and top with shredded cheese. Serve with cornbread

• make a bean and potato curry: using a can of beans that you have on hand (lentils, pinto beans, white beans, etc.), pour them into a pan with some diced potatoes. Cover with water and add 2 to 3 teaspoons curry powder. Bring to a boil and then simmer until potatoes are tender and water has evaporated to make a thick stew. Add salt and pepper to taste

• Lentil (or Bean) Salad Recipe

• Taco Salad Bowl with dollops of refried beans (warmed in microwave) on tossed salad greens. Add sour cream, salsa and guacamole

• Salsa ideas: Green Chile Salsa Recipe or Mango Salsa

• quesadillas: refried beans, cheese, soft flour tortillas; serve with salsa and sour cream (easy how-to for bean & cheese quesadillas here)

• some more bean and lentil suggestions in this blog entry

 

More Quick Easy Bean Recipes:

Basic Bean Burgers (Black Bean Burgers & more)

This recipe works great with any beans--try pinto, navy beans, black beans and more. Whether plain, topped with gravy, or served alongside a dollop of sour cream, these burgers will turn economical into exciting!

 

Bean & Cheese Quesadillas  Mexican food doesn’t get much easier and quicker than this ... I always aim to keep a pack of soft tortillas (either flour or corn) in the fridge. Place several skillets on the stove at once and double-up on cooking time too. Don't have refried or black beans? Try pintos, white beans or even chickpeas!

 

Vegetarian Recipe Idea: Garlic-Tomato-Lentil Pasta

What to do with that little bit of leftover lentil soup? Turn it into a pasta dish that combines that kid-loving tomato sauce flavor with this popular vegetarian legume.

 

Lentil Tortilla Lunch  Thanks to Elizabeth Kaufmann for this easy lunch recipe based upon cooked lentils (use ready-to-eat canned or cook up a pot of dried to keep in the fridge all week). She served this on a whole wheat tortilla topped with shredded cheddar cheese -- sour cream would make an excellent topping too.

 

Three Bean Salad Recipe  Start with two cans of beans, add green beans and corn (go with frozen or canned--whatever you have on hand), and you’ll have a tasty salad in minutes. Choose white beans such as navy, cannellini or great northern. To add color, use pinto, kidney or black beans for the second can.

 

Check out more Quick Meal Ideas here (available on menu at top of the site too):

 

What's your favorite easy way to make beans? Please share on Facebook or twitter.


Need more quick bean recipe ideas? Search the entire site with the Recipe by Ingredient feature or browse all the recipes alphabetically here.

 


 

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