Healthy Bean Recipes

This hearty bean salad is packed with vibrant colors and contrasting textures. Center-cut boneless pork chops (also called pork cutlets), make a convenient and economical protein to round out the meal. This recipe makes one extra cutlet, which can be refrigerated for another use (see Associated Recipe).

This easy salad is great for using up any small amounts of leftover canned foods and produce you have on hand.

In Costa Rica, this popular breakfast bean dish is called gallo pinto, which means spotted rooster, referring to the dark beans amid the pale rice. We call for cooked barley here, but you can use whatever leftover cooked grain you may have on hand.

Pancetta (cured pork belly) is similar in taste and texture to bacon (which is cured and smoked pork belly). You can find it near the bacon at many grocery stores.

This sweet and spicy black bean and corn recipe features queso fresco, a Mexican cheese that is salty, crumbly, and perfectly meltable.

A flavorful combination of chickpeas, cashews, and garlic forms a protein-rich base for this homemade flatbread. Store-bought crust makes prep a breeze.

Lentils are a quick and easy protein. We like French green lentils, which hold their shape when cooked.

This dish is an easy way to turn grilled vegetables into a satisfying meal, thanks to hearty whole-grain pasta and a quick homemade pesto.

Think of this as a tabbouleh salad with staying power, thanks to the addition of protein-rich white beans. It also gains more complexity with freekeh in place of bulgur. Made from young green wheat that's been roasted and cracked, this whole grain has a toasty, nutty flavor. You can substitute regular bulgur if you'd like.

Bursting with nutrient-rich produce, this California-inspired salad is a delicious and satisfying way to get your vitamins. We love the unique combination of blueberries, edamame, and goat cheese.

In China, salt and pepper shrimp is traditionally made with tongue-numbing Sichuan peppercorns. If you have some in the pantry, feel free to use them here; we opted for a combo of easier-to-find white and black pepper. The white pepper adds earthy flavor, while black kicks up the heat.

Remember back when dousing some iceberg lettuce with ranch dressing was considered healthy? We know better now, but a lackluster vinaigrette makes us want to skip the salad altogether. Without the buttermilk and mayo, is it even worth it? This dressing, made with creamy avocado and tangy umeboshi vinegar, will show you the possibilities. You can make it as-is or substitute whatever herbs you have on hand: parsley, basil and cilantro are all great options. The salad itself is a colorful, texture-rich antidote to the stereotypical boring salad, and it's also customizable. Here we use a base of romaine because it's crunchy and sturdy enough to stand up to a creamy dressing, but you can use kale, mixed greens or any blend of greens your heart (and fridge) desires. Same for the add-ins: You can

This hearty vegan dish gets its earthy flavor from cumin and brown rice. If you can handle extra heat, try doubling the crushed red pepper for a bigger punch of flavor.

This one-pot dinner is like a deconstructed burrito bowl--especially when topped with salsa, sliced avocado or a dollop of Greek yogurt for a cool, creamy accent. You can also enjoy it as a meal on its own, or as a vegetarian taco or burrito filling or a side dish on taco night.

Dashi gives this vegetable rice recipe its savory depth. Rinsing the rice may seem like an extraneous step but it removes some of the surface starch for fluffier rice. And soaking the rice in seasoned dashi before cooking infuses the dish with more flavor.

These hearty veggie burgers have a touch of grated red beet as a nod to beef. Pile on your favorite toppings or skip the bun and serve with a big salad.

This fresh and spicy salad features fava beans, which besides adding heft to this radish salad are a main ingredient in the iconic chili bean paste of Sichuan province. Look for frozen favas with Hispanic foods or in the freezer section in your supermarket. If you want an even more substantial salad, just double the sauce and add cooked sweet potato glass noodles.

No one will guess that this moist, decadent devil's food cake is vegan. Aquafaba, the liquid from canned chickpeas, is the secret to whipping up the gloriously light buttercream-like frosting on this vegan chocolate cake.

Mapo tofu is extremely popular both in and outside of China, perhaps because it was meant to be adaptable. The type and amount of both tofu and meat is often varied and even the spicy sauce can be tuned to the desired level of heat.

This combo may seem wild, but trust us--it works. Indian-American chef and cookbook author Raghavan Iyer developed it to have everything he thinks a perfect recipe should: a balance of heat, sweetness, a little pucker and a hit of salt combined with a tango of textures.