What can I use instead of cannellini beans?

[Distracted]

I want to cook a recipe I've got (a low fat diet recipe) for cassoulet tonight, but can't get canned cannellini beans. I've not used them before (and don't use pulses that much), so not sure if anything else would give a similar effect, that I could get hold of more easily?

[noddyholder]

kidney beans?

[Distracted]

They're a lot bigger though aren't they? Maybe they're similar texture (I don't know what cannellini beans taste like)?

[Blackduck]

flagolet (the small green ones...), or kidney, or berlotti (SP? - thou' these are 'meatier')...

[Blu]

You could use kidney beans perfectly well, but they are a bit less 'creamy' than cannellini - if there are flageolot beans, black-eye or even butter beans, they might be a bit closer. But kidney will be fine!

[Blackduck]

cannellini beans don't really taste of much (they are the beans used in baked beans....) so pretty much any pulse would do I would think.....I often switch between them depending on what I've got left...

[moondog]

I think they're haricot actually in baked beans (any white bean would do-wouldn't use kidney though-too different intexture.)

[Blu]

Are they? I thought baked beans were haricot. Hey ho - you can tell i'm not vegetarian

[Blackduck]

could be right moondog - its one of the other!....(never remember which...)

[Distracted]

Oh thanks for that, I do already have kidney beans at home, but maybe will nip to the supermarket and look for flageolet or black eye beans, as they're a more similar size, perhaps would soak up the flavour better?

I've looked up flageolet now on the internet and learnt from the Delia site that flageolet and cannellini are both types of haricot & good for casseroles(the other being the baked bean type - not sure you can buy those in any other form though can you)?

Thanks for all your tips, I feel a bit more confident now about just going ahead and making it - I'll try for flageolet or black eye beans - otherwise I'll just use kidney beans.

[Distracted]

You all type much quicker than me - 4 more posts since I started typing mine! Think the Delia site answers the issue about haricot & baked beans (Seems there are 3 types of haricot beans)

[Blackduck]

If you are getting into this whole pulse thing try getting hold of an (old) copy of Rose Elliot's 'The Bean Book' - tells you all about them and what can be swapped for what....has been updated (nice colour cover), but the text is as was, so look in a 2nd hand bookshop....

[CarrieG]

Buy cheaper than cheap baked beans. Put in colander. Rinse under tap for 5 minutes.

Works perfectly well in anything with a tomato or reasonably strong savoury flavour, should be fine in cassoulet, but may need slightly less cooking so add a bit later than you otherwise would.

Been (bean?) doing this for years, since I was a skint student, to replace haricot OR canellini beans in all sorts of recipes.

[Gwenick]

Can I recommend this website - I use an american recipe mailer and it's been invaluable for finding stuff

www.foodsubs.com/

[Distracted]

I did buy tinned black eye beans in the end AND tinned haricot (as needed 400g & tins were only 300g). I wouldn't have thought of rinsing baked beans - what a tip , I'll remember that.

The cassoulet was v. nice, by the way & both beans were fine.