Healthy Bean Recipes

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.

This play on the Derby Day favorite the mint julep uses the whole sugar snap pea plant: pea greens in the simple syrup and snap pea "juice," plus pea blossoms for garnish, if you're lucky enough to find them.

Add some flavor of the Caribbean to your weeknight dinners with this healthy and easy jerk chicken recipe. The chicken is cooked on a grill pan rather than an outdoor grill--make sure the pan is well-heated before adding the chicken to achieve the crisp char you would get from an outdoor grill. A simple side of coconut rice and peas completes this satisfying and nutritious meal.

Grab your crock pot for this hearty and easy vegan chili, which is chock-full of great-tasting and good-for-you ingredients, including pinto and black beans, red pepper, tomatoes and butternut squash. Once a little chopping is done, all you have to do is dump the ingredients in the slow cooker, making this colorful veggie chili the perfect weeknight dinner. A garnish of fresh avocado and chopped cilantro is a nice touch.

Barley and wild rice combine with sweet golden raisins and fresh snow peas in this simple and healthy side dish recipe. Serve it with chicken, pork, or beef.

This 25-minute pasta side dish goes well with chicken or fish and can be served either warm or at room temperature. Kale and basil create a fresh-tasting pesto that is packed with protein and taste, thanks to the addition of chickpeas. We like shaved Parmesan sprinkled on the top, but feel free to add toasted pine nuts or walnuts for some crunch.

The distinctive flavor of basil adds character to a low-fat cream sauce that coats the noodles in this easy pasta recipe. Adding a little prosciutto adds just the right amount of saltiness.

Take advantage of local fresh corn and whip up this 40-minute Mexican-inspired summer soup recipe. It's topped with creamy avocado slices and crispy corn tortillas, but you can make it next-level by adding a dollop of nonfat plain yogurt, a bit of grated Cheddar, and/or chopped scallions.