Recipes with beans
15 easy recipes with beans, our top pick and practical tips for cooking with beans.
Cooking with beans
Beans turn a few cheap ingredients into a filling meal. Canned beans are cooked and ready, so most of these recipes take 15 to 45 minutes; dried beans and samp take longer but cost less per plate.
This page has 15 recipes with beans: 10 dinners, 4 lunches and 1 breakfast. 5 are ready in 30 minutes or less, and the quickest is Cheesy Bean Quesadillas at 15 minutes. In these recipes, beans most often go with tomatoes, onion and garlic.
Short on time? Try Cheesy Bean Quesadillas (15 min) and Breakfast Burritos (20 min).
Chakalaka Bean Stew
It is a South African favourite that is built on two cans of baked beans, peppers, carrots and mild curry powder, and it is ready in 35 minutes. Serve it as a side at a braai or as a meatless dinner with pap or rice.
Tips for beans
- Dried red kidney beans must be soaked for at least 5 hours and then boiled hard for at least 10 minutes before you simmer them. A slow cooker alone does not get hot enough. Canned beans are already cooked.
- Drain canned beans and rinse them if you want less of the salty canning liquid in the dish.
- Beans stretch a meat dish: add a can of beans to mince, chilli or a stew to serve more people from the same pot.
- Mash leftover beans with a little spice for a quick filling for wraps and quesadillas.
- Samp and dried sugar beans for umngqusho are soaked overnight, then simmered for about two hours until soft.
All recipes with beans
Tomato Bean Rice Skillet
Tomato Bean Rice Skillet recipe with rice, beans, and tomatoes. A simple 25-minute dinner with clear, step-by-step instructions.
Black Bean Chilli
Black Bean Chilli recipe with black beans, tomatoes, and red pepper. A simple 35-minute dinner with clear, step-by-step instructions.
Cheesy Bean Quesadillas
Cheesy Bean Quesadillas recipe with tortillas, black beans, and cheese. A simple 15-minute lunch with clear, step-by-step instructions.
Garlic Herb Potato & Green Bean Skillet
Garlic Herb Potato & Green Bean Skillet recipe with potatoes, green beans, and garlic. A simple 25-minute dinner with clear, step-by-step instructions.
Mexican Rice Stuffed Peppers
Mexican Rice Stuffed Peppers recipe with red peppers, rice, and black beans. A simple 40-minute dinner with clear, step-by-step instructions.
Smoky Black Bean Sweet Potato Bowls
Smoky Black Bean Sweet Potato Bowls recipe with sweet potatoes, black beans, and red pepper. A simple 35-minute dinner with clear, step-by-step instructions.
Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas
Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas recipe with sweet potato, potatoes, and black beans. A simple 45-minute dinner with clear, step-by-step instructions.
Tomato White Bean Soup
Tomato White Bean Soup recipe with white beans, tomatoes, and onion. A simple 30-minute lunch with clear, step-by-step instructions.
Chakalaka Bean Stew
South African chakalaka made into a hearty bean stew with peppers, carrots and curry spices. A 35-minute vegetarian dinner for 4.
Bean Bunny Chow
Durban-style bunny chow with a thick sugar bean and potato curry served in hollowed-out bread. A 40-minute vegetarian dinner for 4.
Chilli Con Carne
Smoky chilli con carne with beef mince, kidney beans and peppers in a spiced tomato sauce. A 45-minute dinner for 4.
Breakfast Burritos
Hearty breakfast burritos with scrambled eggs, beans, cheese and avocado. A 20-minute breakfast for 4.
Umngqusho (Samp and Beans)
Creamy umngqusho, the classic Xhosa samp and beans, slow-cooked with onion and tomato. Serves 6; soak overnight.
Minestrone Soup
Hearty Italian minestrone with vegetables, beans and pasta. Serves 6 in 45 minutes.
Sousboontjies (Sweet and Sour Beans)
Sousboontjies: dried sugar beans soaked overnight (soaking not included in the time), cooked soft and finished in a sweet-sour sauce. A cheap South African side for braais and Sunday lunch. Serves 8.
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