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Yes, our editors love to cook, but sometimes we need to get dinner on the table ASAP. In these moments, we look to kitchen helpers, humble ingredients that can quickly form the base of full-on delicious meals. Each month, we’ll be giving you fuss-free recipe ideas to call upon any day of the week. This month, it’s all about beans.
Budget-friendly, protein-packed, and often requiring not more than a dump-and-stir, canned beans are the perfect ingredient for making something out of nothing. From trendy bean salads to chickpeas cooked piccata-style, here are all the ways our editors make a satisfying bean recipe out of a humble can and a few other odds and ends.
Smoky beans and rice
Black beans and rice. No more, no less. Okay, a little more. I heated some butter in a skillet, and added in chopped garlic, cumin, tomato powder, and cayenne pepper before plopping in smoky canned chipotle peppers and my trusty beans. Once the beans cooked down, I served them over a steaming bed of cilantro confettied rice with a few toppings—Trader Joe’s Sweet Ripe Plantains, creamy avocado, and a fiery river of Cholula. —Nina Moskowitz, associate editor, cooking
Bean salad forever
The ubiquitous bean salad. Trendy or not, I make one almost every week. Sometimes I start with a can of cannellini beans, add in some chopped celery and carrots, parsley, and farro, and toss it all together with a vaguely Italian vinaigrette. Other weeks it’s black beans plus thawed frozen charred corn, bell peppers, tomatoes, and jalapeños with a spicy dressing (I add in avocados when I eat it, but they don’t keep well, so they’re an à la minute addition.) Lately, it’s been chickpeas, lentils, and radishes with a preserved lemon sauce. But no matter what I’ve mixed up, it’s easy to toss a few scoops on crisp lettuce, eat directly from the bowl with salty tortilla chips or crunchy baked pita; or for a slightly more grown-up meal, serve it alongside seared tofu or grilled fish. —Kelsey Jane Youngman, senior service editor
Weekly quesadillas
For over a decade, I’ve had these black bean quesadillas in steady rotation. What started as a Meatless Monday option quickly filled in to pinch hit any day of the week. Using canned beans (something I always have in my pantry) means it comes together in a snap. When corn is in season, I might grab a few fresh cobs, but the frozen stuff works year-round too. This is great for cleaning out a few fridge bits and bobs: mushrooms, jalapeños, chickpeas, whatever seems good can go right into the mix. Just a few minutes in a hot pan sandwiched between a tortilla, and you have a perfectly filling snack or quick meal.