Healthy Bean Recipes

Parsnips lend a wonderful sweet and nutty flavor to this healthy white bean chili. Using an Instant Pot (or any other pressure cooker) means this hearty chili can be ready in under an hour, but it still tastes like it's simmered away for hours. Pureeing some of the chili gives the stew a nice creaminess, but feel free to skip that step to save time. Garnish the chili with cheese and sour cream for a richer meal, or serve it as-is to keep it vegan.

Grab your crock pot for this delicious and easy slow-cooker vegetarian chili with beans, fire-roasted tomatoes, bell peppers and sweet potatoes. The recipe requires just 20 minutes of active time: after a bit of chopping, you just dump the ingredients in the slow cooker and let it do the work. Adding a squeeze of lime juice and a sprinkle of cilantro just before serving brightens up the flavors. Top it with some shredded cheese, if you'd like, or serve it as-is to keep it vegan. Either way, this healthy chili is sure to become a go-to when you want a satisfying and healthy dinner.

For these meal-prep-friendly lettuce wraps, we swap the traditional warm filling for a cold plant-based bean salad filling loaded with fresh herbs and lemon. Topping each lettuce leaf with a little quinoa before adding the filling helps to keep the lettuce from getting soggy.

White beans mash seamlessly into a creamy protein-packed spread for a satisfying healthy sandwich that makes for an easy lunch or dinner. Mix it up by trying it with canned chickpeas or black beans. This vegetarian sandwich recipe is also a fiber superstar: avocado, beans, greens and whole-wheat bread team up to give it 15 grams of fiber, more than half of what most women should aim for in a day.

These hearty mushroom, black bean and quinoa veggie burgers are a healthy and satisfying homemade alternative to store-bought veggie burgers. And they take just 25 minutes of active time to prep, so while they're special enough for entertaining, they're quick enough for weeknight dinners.

This vegan burger recipe is one you'll want to make again and again. Savory chickpea and zucchini patties are topped with a creamy, herb-flecked tahini ranch sauce, juicy tomato slices and peppery arugula for a satisfying and healthy homemade veggie burger. Serve them on buns or stuff them in pitas. We recommend making extra sauce--it's a great dip for veggie sticks and, thinned with a little water, it makes a wonderful salad dressing.

The bright, fresh flavors of the Mediterranean come alive in these easy vegetarian pitas. Give yourself enough time to make the roasted vegetables called for in the recipe--or make them a day or two in advance for a healthy meal that takes less than 30 minutes to prepare. These pitas would also work well with whatever leftover cooked veggies you have on hand. No need to warm the roasted veggies up; this recipe tastes great chilled or at room temperature.

This easy pasta salad with smoked salmon and peas and a creamy buttermilk-herb dressing takes just 20 minutes to make. Frozen peas are cooked right in the same pot as the pasta, and the dressing is whipped up in the serving bowl, saving you time and dishes! It's the perfect fresh and healthy dinner to add to your weeknight rotation and would also be lovely for a luncheon or brunch. But given how easy it is, it could also be an elegant take-to-work lunch.

This healthy fish recipe is made with triggerfish, a tasty, versatile and plentiful species. We call for easy-to-find frozen baby lima beans for the succotash (called butter beans in the South), but if you can find fresh summer field peas, try them in this dish. Look for lady peas, zipper cream, white acre, crowder or pink-eyed varieties at your farmers' market. Cook 2 cups of shelled peas in boiling water with a pinch of salt until tender, 20 to 45 minutes.

Be sure to let these sugar snap peas get some at-the-edge-of-burnt color in the skillet. It's the secret to the knockout flavor of this easy and healthy side dish.

Guacamole meets chickpeas for a Cali-Middle East mashup in this healthy avocado hummus recipe. Jalapeños can be hot or not so much--taste and adjust for your palate.

Grilling pizza mimics the rustic flavor of a wood-fired oven. It cooks fast, though, so make sure you have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go for speedy flipping and topping. For this grilled pizza recipe we've topped the pie with classic taco toppings, including beans and salsa. Once you've mastered the method, you can use it as a template for how to grill pizza--just swap out the taco ingredients for your favorite toppings.

These egg, bean and cheese burritos are designed to be made ahead and frozen. They are perfect for busy days and make a satisfying breakfast or lunch.

A light and creamy green-salsa dressing highlights this easy pasta salad with Southwestern flavors.

This dish comes out of the oven sizzling and bubbling and is devoured as soon as it hits the table. Everybody loves nachos, but it's not typically a dish that offers much in the way of nutrition. We've taken these up a notch by loading them with kale, corn, beans and avocado. And yes, cheese too. The end result is addictive. Excerpted from "Mostly Plants" by Tracy, Dana, Lori and Corky Pollan. Published by Harper Wave © 2019.

For this refreshing and tart vegan gin fizz recipe, we've used aquafaba--the liquid from canned chickpeas--in place of egg whites to create the cocktail's signature frothy top. Even if you're not a vegan, you may prefer this recipe as it saves you the step of separating the eggs (and figuring out what to do with the leftover yolks). Save the chickpeas for another recipe, such as hummus or spiced chickpeas, to serve alongside your drinks!

Use your crock pot all year with this healthy slow-cooker chicken soup recipe with fresh spring ingredients. Adding the asparagus and peas to the slow cooker for the last 20 minutes of cooking and leaving the lid off ensures that the vegetables stay bright green and are perfectly done without getting mushy.

This healthy salad recipe calls for tiny carrots, harvested in spring when young, with their tops still attached. If you can't find them, use 2 cups julienned carrots and substitute arugula for the carrot tops. Pea greens, also known as pea shoots, are the leaves, tendrils and flowers of a mature pea plant. Look for them at farmers' markets or Asian markets.

Serve these vegetables and super-lemony hummus with warm pita bread and a sprinkle of fruity za'atar, and you'll be transported to the hustle and bustle of Tel Aviv, Israel's iconic Mediterranean coastal city. This is the perfect healthy appetizer or element of a party board for any gathering.

Masabacha is a thick stew that in this case serves as the backbone to a hearty and healthy breakfast bowl. But the real star here is the silky whipped tahini sauce, made by simply pureeing tahini and water with garlic and lemon juice until the mixture is transformed into a light, spreadable sauce. Serve with warm pita and some vegetables for dipping.