Creamy, garlicky, and perfect for scooping up with warm bread, these ‘Marry Me’ white beans turn a couple of cans of beans into a gorgeous dinner. Buttery white beans are coated in a rich parmesan cream sauce with tangy sun-dried tomatoes and spinach, then get a drizzle of spicy chili oil to finish. Ready in 15 minutes, made in one pot, it’s quick, cozy comfort food for any day of the week.
Table of Contents
- ‘Marry Me’ White Beans, at a Glance
- For Anyone Who Thinks Beans Aren’t Dinner
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- How to Make ‘Marry Me’ Beans
- Watch How to Make ‘Marry Me’ White Beans
- ‘Marry Me’ Beans FAQs
- Like this recipe? Try these easy one-pot ideas next
- Creamy One Pot Sundried Tomato White Beans (‘Marry Me’ White Beans) Recipe
‘Marry Me’ White Beans, at a Glance
⏰ Time: 15 minutes
🍽️ Makes: 4 bagels
🛒 Key Ingredients: White beans, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, parmesan, cream, spinach
🧠 Skill Level: Beginner-friendly
👩🍳 Cooking Method: One pot, stovetop
💃 Perfect For: Busy weeknights, cozy lunches, meal prep, speedy dinners
For Anyone Who Thinks Beans Aren’t Dinner
I like to think of these very lovely beans as a higher-protein, creamy gnocchi dupe 👀 You get that same, lovely, comfort-food-esque vibe, with the buttery beans swimming in the most gorgeous sauce. And my boyfriend (who swears a bowl of beans isn’t a real meal) absolutely loves this recipe and always goes back for seconds.
I’ve even had someone tell me their super-picky 12-year-old loved it too, so if that’s not a solid endorsement, I don’t know what is.
If you’ve had creamy Tuscan chicken or the original, viral ‘Marry Me’ chicken, you’ll recognize the flavors here. You’ve got that rich, garlicky parmesan cream sauce laced with sun-dried tomatoes, and a handful of baby spinach for a pop of green. I always finish the beans with a drizzle of spicy chili oil – it cuts through the creaminess and adds just the right amount of heat. Highly recommend if you like a little kick.
And while the name ‘Marry Me’ will never be my favorite, there’s no denying the flavors. If you’re into these creamy, umami-packed, tomato-and-garlic vibes, try some of my other Marry Me-inspired recipes:
- One-pot ‘Marry Me’ chickpeas (super similar!)
- ‘Marry Me’ crispy rice salad
- One-pot ‘Marry Me’ chicken gnocchi
- One-pot ‘Marry Me’ orzo
- Oozy, creamy ‘Marry Me’ chicken dip
- Speedy ‘Marry Me’ chicken pasta
“I’ve made these twice now! Omg, I want to marry myself. Lol, I’m vegetarian so I use vegetarian Asiago with a rosemary and olive oil rind. I throw the whole damn slice in! Xoxo”
Ingredients You’ll Need
- White beans. Fiber-filled and delicious, these guys are a protein powerhouse. You can use canned beans because they’re cheaper, but I love jarred ones for superior flavor. I’m using butter beans, but you can use chickpeas, cannellini beans, or even Kidney beans if that’s what you can find.
- Cream. Regular heavy (double) cream is fine, or use sour cream for a little more tang. You can also absolutely use your favorite plant-based cream – I’ve had lots of readers tell me they’ve used oat cream, coconut cream, or thick coconut milk, and it’s worked perfectly.
- Sun-dried tomatoes. Look for semi-dried tomatoes in olive oil for their superior texture and flavor (they’re a little softer), but regular sun-dried tomatoes will be absolutely fine. I also love using the marinating oil from the jar to cook with in the recipe. You can also use sun-dried tomato pesto as a little shortcut.
- Chili flakes. Skip these if you’re worried about the beans being spicy, or reduce the quantity to ½ teaspoon.
How to Make ‘Marry Me’ Beans
This is a step-by-step photo overview of how to make the creamy beans – you’ll find the full ingredient quantities and directions at the bottom of the page.
- Cook your diced onion until it’s nice and soft, then add the garlic.
- Add the sun-dried tomatoes, dried herbs, and chili flakes. Stir them through the onion and garlic.
- Pour in the cream, white beans, and parmesan. Stir to combine.
- Simmer the beans for a few minutes to thicken up the sauce, then scatter your spinach leaves on top.
- Stir the spinach through the creamy beans so the leaves wilt into the sauce. Add black pepper and more salt if it needs it (taste to check).
- Drizzle with lots of lovely chili oil and more parmesan to serve.
Watch How to Make ‘Marry Me’ White Beans
‘Marry Me’ Beans FAQs
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. They also freeze brilliantly.
You could use any other bean – chickpeas (garbanzos) would be delicious, as would any other white bean (like cannellini, great northern, or Navy beans) or even Kidney beans.
Yes! I’ve had readers have fabulous results using coconut milk, coconut cream, oat cream, cashew, or almond cream for a dairy-free version. You could also skip the parmesan or use a vegan alternative (nutritional yeast works well too).
A non-negotiable for me is some lovely fresh bread on the side for dipping. I recommend this gorgeous no-knead chili cheese focaccia or no-knead rosemary parmesan bread, or you could quickly make some two-ingredient dough garlic flatbreads. They also pair well with more protein – try them with miso grilled chicken, honey harissa grilled chicken, sticky gochujang chicken, miso grilled salmon or even this juicy herb-roasted chicken.
Any other leafy green will work well – try kale or chard – or you can throw in other greens like chopped broccoli, asparagus, or even frozen peas.
Like this recipe? Try these easy one-pot ideas next
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave a recipe rating and a comment below. And remember to tag @DishedByKate on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok if you’ve made one of my recipes. Seeing your recreations really makes my day 😊.
Creamy ‘Marry Me’ White Beans (15 Minutes, One Pot)
Ingredients
Method
- Cook the onion and garlic.Heat 1 tablespoon of the sun-dried tomato oil in a high-sided skillet over medium heat, then add the diced onion and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring, for about five minutes or until the onion is soft and starting to change color (it'll look more transparent). Add the crushed garlic cloves and stir through the onion.
- Add sun-dried tomatoes and cream.Add ½ cup of chopped sun-dried tomatoes, 1 tablespoon dried thyme, and 1 teaspoon chili flakes or red pepper flakes. Stir, then pour in ½ cup of cream and stir again.
- Add the white beans.Add the white beans with their liquid (using the starchy bean juice is a great trick to create a luscious sauce – it’s like pasta water in that way – but if you want to drain your beans, you'll need to add roughly ½ cup of water or stock to loosen up the sauce). Add ½ cup of grated parmesan, then stir again. Simmer the beans for about five minutes to thicken the sauce slightly.
- Add the spinach.Scatter your spinach leaves into the pan, then mix them through the beans (they'll wilt and reduce in size drastically). Add a nice grind of black pepper and then taste and add a little more salt if it needs it.
- Garnish and serve.Finish by drizzling the chili oil all over the beans, then scatter over the remaining parmesan. Serve while hot, with fresh bread for mopping up the lovely sauce.
Thank you! Just made these tonight using vegan Parmesan and Oat Milk. Not quite as creamy as regular cream but DELICIOUS
Yesss I love oat milk!! It works so well, agree xx
So delicious, easy and full of protein and fibre. It’s on repeat in our house. A great option for a meat free dinner. Filling and satisfying. We had it with sourdough toast. YUM!
Excellent and easy. I think I will use less cream or sub in Greek yogurt in an attempt to lighten it up – but so yummy as written.
Délicieux!
I make this all the time. I add chicken to make it just a little harder for the guys.
Yayyy I’m so happy to hear that Crystal!! Chicken is a great addition xx Kate
Amazing recipe, so delicious. I have made these countless times, always a success. My secret ingredient is a little bit of white vinegar towards the end – I find it cuts through the richness of the cream and gives a little extra to the flavour profile.
Hi Anna! Ahhhh love to hear that 🙂 And brilliant tip re: the vinegar too x Kate
Wow, Kate, I made this tonight and it was so so good 😋😋😋 It was the first of your recipes I tried and now I want to make all of them 😄 Thank you so much and best wishes from Germany (where I’ll tell everybody about you ☺️)
Conni
Hi Conni! I’m so happy to hear this 😄 What a lovely message to read – let me know if you end up trying anything else xx
I have made this recipe a few times and swoon every time. Absolutely brilliant! Cannot thank you enough!
Ahhhhhh I love this so much Kim!! So happy you love it 💕 It’s such a fave in my house too xx
Made this according to the directions. Would use a bit less thyme (it muted the sun-dried tomato taste too much). Loved the red pepper flake; a nice punch. The cannellini beans are exactly right for this dish. Great Northern would be OK, but softer and would not hold their texture like the cannellini.
I made this recipe for dinner tonight. It was Delicious. My hubby had two helpings and kept praising the recipe.
Ahhhh I’m so happy to hear this Connie! That’s a brilliant testimonial for sure xx Kate
I think this might be my first time commenting, but my whole family loved this dish so much, I had to. I modified the recipe a little, by adding diced chicken breast before adding the beans, and by using cumin and a Garam Masala spice mix, because I didn’t have thyme, and it was DELICIOUS. It was so good, that even my picky 2 year old ate it. We served it with farro. Thank you for this delicious recipe!