Greek-style bean recipes

Try these 2 healthy, tasty, Greek-style bean dishes

These super-healthy Greek-style bean recipes are winners.

Both are fairly similar but with a little twist here and there.

And they are perfect on their own as a healthy meat-free day.

Or alongside some Italian sausages or fish as a side dish.

Gigantes plaki (Greek baked gigantes) is a classic Greek recipe.

Usually made with giant butter beans.

But you can substitute them with haricot, cannellini or borlotti beans.

Greek-style bean recipes

1.Greek-style baked beans

Butterbeans, olives, sweet tomato sauce and fresh herbs in this Greek-style one-pot.

• SERVES: 2-3
• PREP TIME: 10 mins
• COOK TIME:  40 mins
• DIFFICULTY: easy

Ingredients

• 500g passata
• 2 tbsp tomato purée paste
• pinch of sugar
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• a garlic clove, crushed
• 1 x 400g tin butterbeans, drained and rinsed
• handful of pitted black olives
• 1 bay leaf
• handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• small handful of fresh dill, finely chopped
• generous pinch of sea salt and black pepper
• juice of ¼ unwaxed lemon, to serve

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
• Whisk together the passata, tomato purée, sugar, oregano and garlic in a bowl, then, stir in the butterbeans and olives until coated in the mixture.
• Pour the butterbean mix into a deep roasting pan and lay in the bay leaf. Cover loosely with foil, then bake in the oven for 35–40 mins.
• Remove from the oven and discard the bay leaf.
• Scatter in the parsley and dill, then season with salt and pepper. Squeeze over the lemon juice just before serving.

Recipe: Vegan Roasting Pan by Katy Beskow 

2.Greek-style giant bake beans

Flavoured with earthy herbs and greens but with the sweetness from the honey and cinnamon.

• SERVES: 4
• PREP TIME: 10 mins
• COOK TIME: 20 mins
• DIFFICULTY: easy

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ½ red onion, thinly sliced
  • (*If you’re not a vegetarian, add an anchovy fillet to the pan with the onion for extra savoury, salty flavour)
• 150g chard, spinach or spring greens, finely chopped
• 400g tin butter beans, drained and rinsed (or 250g dried beans, soaked and boiled; see pack instructions)
• 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp runny honey
• a small red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 10g fresh flatleaf parsley, leaves and stalks finely chopped

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan.
2. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof frying pan or casserole over a medium heat.
3. Add the onion with plenty of salt and pepper, then cook for 2-3 mins until softened. Add the greens and cook for another 3-4 mins, then add the beans, tomatoes, honey, chilli, cinnamon and oregano and stir to combine.
4. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then transfer to the oven and bake for 20 mins until the edges brown and the flavours intensify.
5. Remove from the oven, scatter over the parsley and serve.

 The Doctor’s Kitchen: Eat to Beat Illness by Rupy Aujla 

Looking for some more great meat-free dishes?

Then check out some tried n’ tested recipes, here