Heart-Healthy Bean Recipes

Find delicious heart-healthy bean recipes, from the food and nutrition experts at EatingWell.

Most Popular

Slow-Cooker Chicken & White Bean Stew

19
This load-and-go slow-cooker chicken recipe is perfect for a busy weeknight dinner. Serve this Tuscan-inspired dish with crusty bread, a glass of Chianti and a salad.
By Adam Dolge

Vegetable Weight-Loss Soup

38
A big bowl of this veggie-packed minestrone will leave you satisfied for hours without consuming a lot of calories, which is helpful when trying to lose weight. Plus, it's an easy way to boost your vegetable servings for the day—something all of us could benefit from. Top with a dollop of pesto before devouring this delicious vegetable soup and consider serving with a hunk of toasted whole-wheat bread to help round out the meal.
By Hilary Meyer

No-Cook Black Bean Salad

9
A classic black bean salad is a must for picnics and potlucks. This vegan version gets its creaminess from blended avocado. Any mix of salad greens will work well, but try arugula if you want to give this hearty salad a peppery kick.
By Hilary Meyer

Slow-Cooker Vegetable Soup

17
Make this low-calorie vegetable soup recipe with ease in this load-and-go crock pot recipe. After simmering away in the slow cooker, portion it into individual serving containers and store in the fridge or freezer for fast, healthy lunches or an easy, satisfying snack. This weight-loss vegetable soup fills you up without a lot of calories, plus it's an easy way to eat more vegetables.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Baked Beans with Ground Beef

4
Upgrade baked beans from classic side dish to a meaty main meal by adding lean ground beef. The final result, a hearty casserole, is an easy and fast dinner option.
By Carolyn Casner

Tomato, Cucumber & White-Bean Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

4
This no-cook bean salad is a delicious way to use summer's best cherry or grape tomatoes and juicy cucumbers for a light dinner or lunch. Fresh basil elevates an easy vinaigrette recipe that dresses up this simple salad into something extraordinary.
By Carolyn Casner

Tuscan White Bean Soup

4
A pound of dried beans is the inexpensive foundation for this simple, hearty meal. Serve it with slices of whole-wheat bread or a side salad for a complete and satisfying lunch or dinner.
By Lauren Grant

Chickpea, Artichoke & Avocado Salad with Apple-Cider Dressing

10
This delicious 400-calorie salad is a helpful tool for weight loss because it provides a good balance of fiber, protein and healthy fats from loads of veggies and beans, all tossed in a tangy apple-cider vinaigrette. To meal-prep these for lunch throughout the week, pack the dressing and the salad separately and make sure your veggies are thoroughly dried before packing them together.
By Hilary Meyer

Kale, White Bean & Pasta Soup

This veggie-packed kale, white bean and pasta soup is hearty and flavorful. Mashing beans into the soup gives it body and creaminess without actual cream. Serve this delicious vegetarian soup with a piece of crusty whole-grain bread on the side.
By Adam Dolge

Quinoa Chickpea Salad with Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Dressing

This hearty vegan salad is loaded with plant-based power ingredients: chickpeas, quinoa and hummus. We love the crunch of the sunflower seeds and the unexpected flavor of roasted peppers.
By Katie Webster

White Bean-Sausage Soup

5
Make this heart-healthy main-dish white bean and sausage soup with fresh onions. If you're really pressed for time, look for frozen chopped onions, which can be added to soups and stews in seconds.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Mashed Chickpea Salad with Dill & Capers

3
This creamy yet light vegan salad is full of bright, herby goodness. On its own, it's great to serve alongside a sandwich or veggie burger in place of potato salad or coleslaw. You can also make it into a light lunch by adding a handful of arugula to enjoy it as a green salad. Double the recipe and refrigerate to have on hand throughout the week.
By Carolyn Casner
Advertisement

Inspiration and Ideas

Bean & Barley Soup
13
This hearty bean and barley soup tastes like it has simmered for hours, but actually it's quite quick to throw together. Plus this recipe for healthy bean and barley soup freezes beautifully. If you have cooked barley on hand, omit the quick-cooking barley and stir in 1 1/2 cups cooked barley along with the broth in Step 2.
Spinach Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes, White Beans & Basil
2
Roasted sweet potatoes are paired with spinach, cabbage and white beans and tossed together with a bright basil dressing in this healthy main dish salad.
Couscous & Chickpea Salad
Bean & Beef Taco Soup
4

This taco soup is filled with quintessential taco ingredients and flavors—from two types of hearty beans, to corn and ground beef—but it's the toppings that really make this soup stand out. Better yet, this healthy soup is easy to make and leftovers freeze beautifully for later.

All Heart-Healthy Bean Recipes

Pumpkin & Black Bean Soup

2
This quick and easy vegan pumpkin black bean soup is filled with veggies. Convenient canned pumpkin, beans and coconut milk flavored with curry make it a hearty fall meal.
By Julia Levy

Smoky Black Bean & Pepper Soup

2
Unlike many black bean soups, this Cuban-inspired one is pepper-packed and leaves the beans intact for a more interesting texture. It's equally delicious served on its own or over rice.
By Lisa Holderness Brown

Black Bean Soup

15
This is a zippy Southwestern-flavored black bean soup. We make it with canned beans so it comes together in minutes. If you have leftovers, pack them up in individual serving containers for lunch the next day.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Sopa Tarasca

2
This famous soup from the state of Michoacán in Western Mexico is often made with a base of pureed beans along with tomatoes and dried chiles, which bring a lot of the character to the dish. Here we use ancho chiles, which are sweet, earthy and relatively mild. You could also use pasillas, which have a heat level similar to anchos--or, if you like it hot, gaujillos, which also bring some smoky notes to the pot.
By Lisa Holderness Brown

Green Beans with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

1
A much healthier take on the old-fashioned green bean casserole, this version thankfully skips the canned soup and fried onions! Fresh green beans are cooked until crisp-tender and topped with a garlicky-thyme mushroom sauce, shallots and crumbled chèvre.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Seasoned Black-Eyed Peas

To infuse peas with flavor, simmer them with dried spices, which pack a more intense punch than fresh. Smoked paprika delivers the essence of ham hocks or bacon while keeping this classic side dish vegan.
By Genevieve Ko

Linguica, Kale & Red Bean Soup

3
This vegetable-packed soup recipe is inspired by caldo verde, a Portuguese soup made with kale, potatoes and linguica sausage. We added protein-rich kidney beans, tomatoes and carrots to make it more substantial. If you can't find linguica, andouille sausage or chorizo makes a delicious substitute.
By Bruce Aidells

Herb Marinated Beans

These marinated beans are herbaceous and bright thanks to fresh dill, oregano, garlic and lemon juice. Use these versatile marinated beans on a salad, in a wrap or over a grain bowl.
By Adam Dolge

Falafel Burgers

4
Pureed chickpeas, seasoned with the characteristic flavors of falafel, make excellent veggie burgers. We use a two-stage method for cooking the patties, first browning them in a skillet and then finishing them in the oven. Garnish the burgers with tzatziki or tahini sauce (see associated recipes), pickled red onions, lettuce and tomatoes.
By Sylvia Fountaine

Southwestern Pinto Bean Soup

2
The flavor of this Mexican-style soup is kicked up a notch with a sprinkling of cilantro and a squirt of lime juice.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Super-Green Edamame Salad

3
Avocado, fresh chives and spinach are blended right into the creamy, bright-green dressing in this healthy edamame salad recipe. Pink beans are popular in the Caribbean, but you can substitute pinto beans or light red kidney beans if you can't find them.
By Katie Webster

Vegetarian Black Bean Soup

Packed with protein and fiber, this soup doesn't need meat to be satisfying. Soaking and cooking the beans yourself, rather than opening a can, ensures you'll have wonderful flavor and texture. (And the slow cooker does most of the work!)
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Steamed Green Beans with Rosemary-Garlic Vinaigrette & Fried Shallots

1
Here's a new way to delight your green-bean-loving guests. The genius of this easy green bean recipe is in the dressing, which is made with savory oil that has also been used to fry shallots and garlic.
By Breana Lai Killeen, M.P.H., RD

Better Three-Bean Salad

7
Traditional three-bean salad gets a healthy, fresh spin with the addition of black soybeans, snap peas and a tarragon-infused dressing. Find black soybeans near other canned beans; they're a sweeter, creamier relative of the green ones you're probably familiar with.
By Katie Webster

Gbegiri Soup (Honey Bean Soup)

Also known as ewa-olyin in the language of Nigeria's Yoruba people, which translates to "beans naturally coated with honey," honey beans, native to Nigeria, indeed have a hint of sweetness. They form the base of this popular Yoruba soup. Optional crayfish powder adds a smoky-sweet pleasantly fishy flavor.
By Simileoluwa Adebajo

Vegetarian Sliders with Black Beans, Chard & Poblanos

These vegetarian sliders are filling, flavorful and make for a great protein-packed main dish. Take your time patting the beans dry: it keeps the sliders from falling apart. You can make 8 larger patties, to fit regular-size buns, but try to keep them about 1/2 inch thick so they'll heat through under the broiler without burning. 
By Liana Krissoff

Crunchy Mexican Salad with Spicy Cilantro Vinaigrette

A spicy cilantro vinaigrette gives this black bean salad Mexican flair. We used the beans for protein, but if you have cooked chicken on hand, you can use that instead. Also, if you have it, finish the salad with a quarter of an avocado for a boost of healthy fats.
By Lauren Grant

Sautéed Green Beans with Tomatoes, Mushrooms & Garlic

This versatile and easy side dish is a tasty way to showcase green beans. We boil the beans briefly before sautéing for perfectly crisp-tender vegetables that don't get mushy.
By Betsy Andrews

Edamame Falafel with Lemon Aioli

A twist on the classic chickpea falafel, these tasty edamame falafels will not disappoint!
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Charro Beans with Chorizo & Kale Slaw

1
This dish gets its name from the Mexican cowboys (charros) who cooked these soupy beans over campfires as they traveled the open range. The kale slaw is a bright foil for this earthy dish. Enjoy a bowl as is or scoop it up with warm tortillas. Look for Mexican-style chorizo near other sausage in well-stocked supermarkets or Latin American markets.
By Liana Krissoff

Basic Mashed Black Beans

These simple mashed black beans can be used a filling in chiles rellenos or served on its own for a tasty side dish.
By Carolyn Malcoun

Slow-Cooker Baked Beans

Typically made with bacon, these vegetarian slow-cooked beans are the perfect balance of sweet and savory. Molasses and brown sugar provide sweetness, while tomato, mustard and Worcestershire sauce add savoriness. Serve these beans as a side at any potluck or barbecue.
By Wendy Lopez

Cabbage & White Bean Soup

1
This cabbage and white bean soup is easy and flavorful. Avoid browning the leeks and garlic, as it can make the soup bitter. If you want to make this soup vegan, use vegan-friendly pesto and omit the Parmesan rind.
By Julia Levy

Ribollita Soup

11
Ribollita, a traditional hearty Tuscan soup, typically uses day-old bread to add body and thicken the broth. This ribollita recipe uses a bean mash, which keeps the soup gluten-free and adds fiber. Garnish with extra-virgin olive oil or pepper and grated Parmesan.
By Lidia Bastianich
Load More
Advertisement
© Copyright EatingWell. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.eatingwell.com