Ideas for tasty veggie things with beans/pulses in

[CaptainWarbeck]

I like beans but could eat more of them, I know they're packed full of goodness and fibre and protein etc etc. But I never really know what to do with them! This goes for pulses too so chickpeas, lentils etc. I end up stockpiling tins and bags of them in the cupboards, idly bunging a few into a lasagne or something, then letting the rest fester in the fridge for a while before eventually chucking them out, all cold and sad. What does anyone make with them that's a bit hearty (we're not really a salad for dinner family) and tasty?

I use them where a meat eater would eat meat. esp. mince meat. Like shepherds pie with a lovely onion,garlic and tomato base mixed with lentils. Cook them all gently and for a little longer than meat to bring out the flavours, also herbs are great to add flavour too.

Make some falafel, also white beans cooked in a spicy tomato sauce, topped with cheese and baked in the oven and eaten with crusty bread is always a winner in my house

I make dips too with haricot beans (I don't like chickpeas) but the one I make is lovely and light using hand held blender a little water and olive oil and once again garlic and spring onion or onion powder.

I made a lovely sweet potato and black bean chilli (can also use black eye beans which are very tasty too) which was great in quesadilla and with rice. It was just a fairly standard chilli but I blended half the mix and left half of the mix chunky. A brilliant batch cook recipe - I will be making it again.

Red lentil and butter bean soup is good too. Add some fried chorizo if you're not veggie. You don't need much meat to make it nice and punchy. basically onion, garlic, Tim chopped tomatoes lentils, stock, some herbs of your choice, cook it all up then add a tin of butter beans. Warm through. Top with some olive oil and squeeze of lemon. And chorizo!

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/moroccan-haira

i have linked to this before.
just delicious

blackbean shepherds beany pie is ace
www.planetveggie.co.uk/shepherds-beany-pie/

This is lovely

Make a veggie soul with all of the sad veg in the fridge - the last one or two potatoes, carrots, parsnips, that last bit of red pepper you were meaning to use but didn't, those shrivelled mushrooms.... Fry up some onion and garlic, add the chopped veggies, tin of tomatoes, some stock (we always use veggie but any old stock cube/ powder will do) simmer until harder veg getting tender, add spices to taste (we like the smoked paprika) then throw in as many tins of beans as you want to use up. I like mixing chick peas with butter beans.

If you like heat then you can serve it with a swirl of yoghurt and a hot sauce, coriander on top is nice, or parsley - or spring onions.

Nothing nicer IMO :-)

It freezes well for reheating too.

Well you could have a go at a soul - but of course I meant SOUP!

Dahl - lovely stuff!

Black bean soup - really delicious, especially if served with homemade nachos, guacamole and salsa on the side. One of my favourite meals, not too difficult to make and always feels like a feast.

Veggie chilli

Beany burritos

Moroccan-chickpea cakes
Italian bean casserole
Lentil and spinach dahl
North African chickpea stew
Pinto bean chilli

This is building on a list I posted on another thread, focusing on things without tomatoes (so missing out obvious things like chili, brown lentils in a pasta sauce, white beans in a tomato sauce etc.)
Thyme & whitebean stew I add broccoli or kale, and make it all in one big pot served with garlic toast. You could make it like shepherd's pie with mashed potatoes.
Three bean salad
Black bean soup You can bulk this out with some quinoa (if you have a wholefood shop or somewhere to buy it in bulk) or brown rice.
Butter bean and kale burger A google for 'beanburger recipe' will bring up loads of interesting combinations.
Lentil biryani
Black bean & sweet potato stew I think everything is better with sweet potatoes... Especially when I was getting used to eating beans etc.
Cuban black beans We had these with brown rice and baked plantains this weekend & they were so good.
Samosa bake Add a cup/ cup & a half of red lentils just after the spices, and cook for 15 mins. I make this into a soup or just serve it with no pastry, green vegetables, and chutney.
Carrot and black bean sausages A bit of work but you can batch cook them.
Sweet potato & butterbean korma
Black bean brownies. You wouldn't know they have beans in, I promise.
Simple lentil soup
BBQ lentils I love these over sweet potatoes, and you can use them instead of baked beans in most things.
Lemony lentil, potato, and pea curry
Baked rice and lentils (comfort food)
Lentil curry
Another lentil curry You're probably getting the idea that there are lots of variantions on lentil curries. You could use your favourite recipe & just add brown lentils or a tin of beans.
Sweet and sour dhal
Spinach, sweet potato and lentil dhal
Potato & split pea curry This is even better with sweet potato

And also:
Spicy black beans with peppers
Quinoa & black bean casserole
Fried butterbeans & greens
Sweet & savoury beans These are delicious. You can use tinned beans instead, just add much less water.
Leek, potato, & butterbean gratin Or add a tin of beans to your favourite gratin/casseroles.
Jack Monroe especially creamy pasta sauce and carrot, cumin, and kidney bean burgers.

Hopefully something on there strikes your fancy :)

I thought what is this new food called soul? catsrus sound exciting compared to soup !!

This is marvellous, what a resource!

There, finished place marking...

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/mar/22/chickpea-recipes-10-best

this is the original harira I made, before the veggie one i linked to upthread. also delicious

Place marking too!

Ooh thank you for all these - have bookmarked page.

Some great ideas here, brilliant. I'll go through them all and add into my recipe stash of things to try. I especially like the sound of those beans baked with cheese and crusty bread, I can see that going down well.

Thread winner is the recipe for a soul though very exotic!

Time your list is absolutely epic, thank you for linking to so many things. We're going to have that black bean and sweet potato stew recipe over polenta tonight

Also came across a smoky white bean dip somewhere in these recipes... yum. My section of recipes with 'bean' tags is looking a lot healthier thanks to this thread!

Thanks Time, I'll be having a go at some of these!

amazing suggestions!
I must try them!
here is one I loved
www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/chickpea-and-eggplant-salad

Qaesadillas are good too.

The last ones I made were:

Roast some sweet potato and butternut squash (I bought one of those ready chopped mixed packets) with red onions and red pepper. Mix with some chilli, coriander and a small drained tin of sweetcorn. Stuff it between tortillas and fry. Served with soured cream and a mango salsa.

just had this
www.pan-to-mouth.com/recipes/sweet-potato-and-butter-bean-korma/
as recommended by Timeexperiencer
twas blooming gorgeous
i had no mango powder so put in some orange juice.
just lovely

Thank you OP, this is such a fantastic thread!

Can I ask a really stupid question? DH and I are eating less and less meat so I'm very keen to use beans and pulses more because they are so full of goodness. However I have hated beans since I was a child, specifically baked beans and broad beans. I hate the texture, so haven't tried any other types. Do white beans and any other types mentioned in this thread have the same texture or is there a magic bean that has all the goodness but doesn't have the same texture as the beans I can't stomach? TIA.

Bakeoff I would say that unfortunately most beans have a fairly similar flavour, but nicer beans are red kidney beans which have a firmer skin on them and are yummy in chilli, and are less 'mushy' than baked beans or broad beans (I like beans in general, but not really broad beans so much).

Or- chickpeas are also firmer and more nutty and not very bean like.

Hope that helps!