These creamy one-pot sundried tomato white beans are a high-protein version of gnocchi and come together in just 15 minutes. Buttery soft white beans are swimming in a super garlicky, parmesan-loaded creamy sauce, laced with sundried tomatoes and topped with spicy chilli oil for the best quick, easy weeknight meal around.
Say hello to the ultimate comfort in a bowl! I’m treating this basically like creamy gnocchi and honestly, it is SO good and maybe actually BETTER than gnocchi…? Even my boyfriend, who would never consider a bowl of beans as a meal LOVED this dish and went back for seconds!
I even had someone tell me their 12-year-old son who is super picky about food loved this too, so if that’s not an endorsement, I don’t know what is.
If you’ve had creamy Tuscan chicken or ‘Marry Me’ chicken – think of these beans as a vegetarian version of that dish. All the flavours are there – that luscious, creamy, garlic-packed, sundried tomato sauce and all the umami from parmesan, plus some added greens from the spinach leaves. I love to top the beans with spicy chilli oil – it pairs so well with the creamy sauce and cuts through any richness, so I highly recommend it if you like a bit of heat.
Ingredients
This recipe started as a bit of a fridge raid, so the ingredients are all common and easy to find in the grocery store (if you don’t already have them in your kitchen!)
- White beans. Fibre-filled and delicious, these guys are a protein POWERHOUSE. You can use tinned beans because they’re cheaper, but I love jarred ones for superior flavour if you can find them. Bold Bean Co are my go-to in the UK. I’m using butter (lima) beans here, but you can use chickpeas (garbanzos), cannellini beans or Kidney beans if that’s what you can find.
- Cream. IRegular heavy cream is fine, or use sour cream for a little more tang. You can also absolutely use your favourite plant-based cream.
- Sundried tomatoes. This is such a wonderful ingredient to have in your cupboard. They last a long time, and always provide a real burst of flavour. Try and look for semi-dried tomatoes and ones in olive oil for their superior texture and flavour, but normal sundried tomatoes will be absolutely fine. I also love using the marinating oil from the jar to cook with and use it in this dish.
- Chilli flakes. Skip these if you’re worried about the beans being spicy, or reduce the quantity to 1/2 a teaspoon.
How to make them
Start by getting some of the oil from the sundried tomato jar into a pan over medium heat, then add the shallot and a little salt and let it cook, stirring until it starts changing colour (it’ll become clearer) and softens. Once that happens, go in with the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes.
Now you’ll add the sundried tomatoes, thyme, chilli flakes and cream, give it a mix, then add the white beans and the grated parmesan. Stir, then bring to a simmer for a couple of minutes. Add the spinach leaves and stir as they wilt into the sauce. Give it a taste, and add a little more salt if you like. Finish with a good drizzle of chilli oil and the rest of the grated parmesan.
PRO TIP: If you find it’s thickening up too quickly, just add a little water to loosen the sauce up again.
Watch how to make them
Have a question?
In the UK, I love using Bold Bean Co’s Queen Butter Beans – they’re soft, creamy and delicious and I think you can tell the difference. BUT, jarred beans are more expensive so you can use any brand of tinned butter beans here. You’ll need to use two tins to get the same quantity of drained beans as in the recipe.
You could use any other bean – chickpeas (garbanzos) would be delicious, as would any other white bean or even Kidney beans.
You can! Much like pasta, the beans will continue to absorb liquid when they’re sitting in the sauce, so if you’re reheating them you’ll need to add a little water to loosen things up – start with a couple of tablespoons. You can heat this in the microwave for a couple of minutes, stirring halfway through, or reheat it on the stovetop.
Like this recipe? Here are some other quick meals you might enjoy
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave me a comment below.
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Creamy One Pot Sundried Tomato White Beans (‘Marry Me’ White Beans)
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 3 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
These creamy one-pot sundried tomato white beans are a high-protein version of gnocchi and come together in just 15 minutes. Buttery soft white beans are swimming in a super garlicky, parmesan-loaded creamy sauce, laced with sundried tomatoes and topped with spicy chilli oil for the best quick, easy weeknight meal around.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon of oil from the sundried tomato jar
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
- 1/2 cup cream (regular heavy cream or your favourite plant-based alternative)
- 1 jar white beans (drained weight 450g/15oz – use two 400g/14oz tins if using tinned beans)
- 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan, plus another 1 tablespoon to garnish
- 2 cups spinach leaves, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chilli oil, to serve
Instructions
- Cook the onion and garlic. Heat 1 tablespoon of the sundried tomato oil in a pan over medium heat, then add the diced onion and 1 teaspoon of salt and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes until soft and starting to change colour (it’ll start looking transparent). Add the crushed garlic cloves and stir for another minute.
- Add sundried tomatoes and cream. Add the 1/2 cup of chopped sundried tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of dried thyme and 1 teaspoon of chilli flakes, stir it, then pour in 1/2 cup of cream. and stir again. Add a splash of water if it’s looking a little thick at this point (this depends on how thick your cream is).
- Add the white beans and spinach. Add the white beans and 1/2 cup of grated parmesan, then stir again. Bring the beans to a simmer for 5 minutes. You can add a little water if it’s thickening up too quickly. Add the spinach leaves, then mix them through the beans (they’ll wilt and reduce in size drastically). Give it a good grind of black pepper and then taste, and add a little more salt if it needs it.
- Garnish and serve. Finish by drizzling the chilli oil all over the beans, then scatter over the remaining parmesan.
Notes
INGREDIENT NOTES: You can use cannellini beans, chickpeas (garbanzos), haricot beans or even kidney beans. Leave out the chilli flakes and chilli oil if you’re cooking for kids or you’re sensitive to spice. Use sour cream if you like – you’ll want to add a little more water (or stock) if you do, as sour cream tends to be thicker than regular cream.
STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: You can make the beans in advance, but they’ll keep absorbing liquid the longer they sit in it. Add a little water (start with 2 tablespoons) when you heat them up – you can heat them in the microwave for 2 minutes, stirring halfway through or on the stovetop. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for three days.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: vegetarian
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: mediterranean
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 419
- Sugar: 9.3g
- Fat: 20.2g
- Saturated Fat: 7.7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12.5g
- Carbohydrates: 43g
- Fiber: 16.7g
- Protein: 20.4g
- Cholesterol: 35mg
Keywords: creamy white beans, parmesan white beans, sundried tomato beans
omg, this is sooo good! can’t believe I haven’t done that before! I switched to vegan options with almond cream and yeast flakes and I loved every bite. Thank you so much!
★★★★★
Yayyyyy I’m so happy you loved!! The flavour are just sooooooooo delicious right?? x
Hi! What do you serve with these? Thank you!
Hi Maria! Truly you don’t really need anything other than some bread to mop up the sauce with – it’s lovely and filling. I love focaccia, or flatbreads x
Hi. Do we have any nutritional info for this recipe??
Hi Judy, I will add it in now! 🙂
These are delicious Kate! A lovely comforting bowl of goodness!
★★★★★
Yayyyy, so happy you loved Anna-Marie xx
This is so good I made a second batch as soon as I finished the first! It’s so rich and satisfying and reheats well for later.
LOVE this!!! Right – it’s such a great one to make ahead for the week x
This was delicious! Could I sub Greek yogurt for the cream? Trying to b ❤️ healthy.
Yayyyy I’m so pleased you enjoyed!! You can – try to use full-fat yogurt if you can – it may split with the heat which will make the texture a little different, but it’ll still taste great x
Have you ever tried freezing these?
I’ve made them several times and love them! I’d love to make a big batch if it freezes well
★★★★★
I haven’t tried freezing them but I suspect they’d freeze well! I’ll have to give it a try to know for sure, but I think it’s worth the risk 🙂 So happy you’ve been enjoying them x
My wife can’t do tomatoes. Do you think roasted red pepper or pimentos could be substituted for the sun dried tomatoes?
Oh 100% you could use them! Would be a lovely swap x