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These Tuscan White beans have a luscious sauce made from sun dried tomato, Italian herbs, lots of caramelized onion, mushrooms, and nondairy cream such as cashew cream. These decadent beans are great for weeknight dinner, they need just a few minutes and few pantry ingredients! Soyfree recipe, option for gluten-free and nutfree
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This hearty recipe is based on the Tuscan chicken I’ve seen at restaurants. I decided to use that base sauce, because it’s all in the sauce! All the amazingly luscious flavor. I decided to add white beans to it instead! The sauce is creamy, decadent, and flavorful and pairs amazingly with the beans. Serve with some fresh garlic bread or sourdough for a meal to remember.
You can add anything to the sauce that you like, such as vegan chicken substitutes or soy curls. It can also be served over pasta or top a grilled cauliflower or baked potato or a pizza!
I add cannellini beans or any other large white beans, and it makes a fabulous lunch or dinner served with fresh bakery bread, sourdough, toasted garlic bread, or naan or other flatbread for dipping. Or serve these Tuscan white beans over toast or grilled cauliflower or any which way you like! Let me know how you served them.
Why You’ll Love Tuscan Beans
- hearty, creamy, and healthy
- versatile – use any beans or other plant-based chicken substitutes that you like!
- rich, flavorful sauce packed with mushrooms, onion, garlic, and sun-dried tomato
- naturally gluten-free (if you don’t use the flour option)
More Vegan Italian Recipes
Creamy Tuscan White Beans
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons vegan butter, or oil
- 1/2 cup chopped onion, or a mix of red onion and shallots
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 ounces sliced or chopped mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons chopped green onion
- 3 tablespoons sun-dried tomato, , chopped if the pieces are too large
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Italian herb blend
- 1 1/2 cups of cashew milk, , which is a scant 1/2 cup of cashews blended with 1 1/2 cups of water and optionally add 1 teaspoon flour while blending, to help it thicken even more
- 15- ounce can of cannellini beans, or white beans or other beans of choice
- 3 tablespoons vegan Parmesan , plus more for topping
- 1 cup frozen spinach, thawed
- red pepper flakes or black pepper,, parsley, and more vegan Parm, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and add the vegan butter. Once the butter is melted, add the onion and garlic and a good pinch of salt and cook until the onion is starting to turn golden. 5-6 mins. Stir frequently, so the garlic doesn't burn.
- Once the onion is turning golden, add in the mushrooms and green onion and another good pinch of salt and continue to cook. If the pan is drying out too much, you can add another teaspoon of butter or a splash of water and continue to cook until the mushrooms are somewhat golden on most of the edges. This can take anywhere from 7 to 9 minutes. You want the garlic to also turn nice and golden, but evenly and not get too brown in any one particular place, so stir often.
- Add in the sun dried tomato, salt, pepper, and Italian herbs, and mix really well. Then add in your non-dairy cream, the white beans, and Parmesan, and mix well. Bring the cream to a boil. If the mixture is thickening too much, add another 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water and mix and bring to a boil.
- Then then fold in the spinach and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes . Taste the mixture carefully, and adjust the salt and flavor. Switch off the heat. Garnish with some parsley, pepper flakes or black pepper, and some more vegan Parmesan, and serve along with some good sourdough, fresh bakery bread, naan or other toasted bread or garlic bread.Store for 3 days in a covered container in the fridge
Video
Notes
You can add in just a little bit of lemon zest to change up the flavor profile, and you can also add in some black pepper or red pepper flakes to add an element of heat. Nut-free: use other non dairy cream or thick nonDairy milk such as full fat coconut milk or oat milk. Or blend 3/4 cup silken tofu with 1 cup water and 1 teaspoon flour and use.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- vegan butter – To sauté, this gives the sauce a rich flavor!
- aromatics – Onion and garlic bring lots of umami to the Tuscan beans sauce.
- mushrooms – Adds a meaty texture and even more flavor.
- sun-dried tomato – Savory-sweet sun dried tomato makes this sauce so special!
- Italian herb blend – Also called Italian seasoning.
- cashew milk – A blend of cashews and water. You can add 1 teaspoon of flour to your cashew milk blend for a thicker sauce.
- cannellini beans – Large, white beans. You can use other canned or cooked white beans or butter beans or even other bean varieties, such as chickpeas, if you like.
- vegan Parmesan – Adds salty, creamy profiles to the sauce.
- frozen spinach – Some green veggies to balance out the richness of the sauce.
- garnishes – red or black pepper adds some heat to balance the creaminess. Parsley adds a fresh flavor, and more vegan Parmesan makes this dish feel so decadent!
Tips
- When you’re cooking the onion and garlic, make sure you’re stirring frequently. The garlic can burn if you don’t keep it moving around in the pan.
- Cashew milk thickens a lot when it’s cooking, especially if you use the optional flour. If it’s thickening more than you want, add splashes of water to thin it back out. If you want it thicker, just keep simmering.
How to Make Tuscan Beans
Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and add the vegan butter. Once the butter is melted, add the onion and garlic and a good pinch of salt and cook until the onion is starting to turn golden. Stir frequently, so the garlic doesn’t burn. 5-6 mins
Once the onion is turning golden, add in the mushrooms and green onion and another good pinch of salt and continue to cook.
If the pan is drying out too much, you can add another teaspoon of butter or a splash of water and continue to cook until the mushrooms are somewhat golden on most of the edges. This can take anywhere from 7 to 9 minutes. You want the garlic to also turn nice and golden, but evenly and not get too brown in any one particular place, so stir often.
Add in the sun dried tomato, salt, pepper, and Italian herbs, and mix really well. Then add in your non-dairy cream, the white beans, and Parmesan, and mix well.
Bring the cream to a boil. If the mixture is thickening too much, add another 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water and mix and bring to a boil. Then fold in the spinach and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
Taste the mixture carefully, and adjust the salt and flavor. Switch off the heat. Garnish with some parsley, pepper flakes or black pepper, and some more vegan Parmesan, and serve along with some good sourdough, fresh bakery bread, naan or other toasted bread or garlic bread.
Frequently Asked Questions
As long as you don’t add the optional flour to the cashew milk, this recipe is gluten-free as written.
Cannellini beans are probably the most well-known Italian beans. They’re large white beans that come from Southern Italy. Rotondo and Sorana beans are other types of Italian white beans.
Yes, use other non dairy cream or thick nonDairy milk such as full fat coconut milk or oat milk. Or blend 3/4 cup silken tofu with 1 cup water and 1 teaspoon flour and use.
I’ve already made this recipe 2-3 times. I’ve used silken tofu blended with some nooch instead of the cashew cream for a boost of protein. It’s delicious, nourishing and super quick to make!
Good to hear!
This recipe is SUPERB. I used cashew cream instead of cashew milk/flour and just thickened with a little extra water. I made my cashew cream by soaking 1.5 cups raw cashews overnight and blending with 3/4 cup water. I also had fresh spinach on hand (5 oz) and sauteed it down for 2 minutes before adding the cream. Super thick and creamy, thank you!
So glad you liked it!
So delicious!! Such a comforting and simple recipe with so much flavor. Will be making many more times!
glad you enjoyed!
This is delicious. I have made it twice in the last 5 days. My husnabd said it is amazing. The first day we finished all of it. This is going to be a regular dish for us!
yay! thank you!
Great and delicious recipe!
yay! thank you!
These are just so comforting. I add a little pea protein powder, which just disappears into the decadent yet healthy dish. I need to try putting it on grilled cauliflower like you mention in the video.
I’ve been trying to cook more and eat less processed food and your IG is my ticket to loving to cook.
thank you! 🙂
This was very good! Ended up eating it more like a dip. perfect summer dish.
yay!
I didn’t have any vegan parm but it was still delicious! Vegan and the non vegan skeptics all loved it! Big hit!
Also, used fresh spinach.
🙂 thank you!
Delicious!! Even pleased my kid-critics. So creamy and the flavor profile was spot on!
love when the kids enjoy as well! thank you
Absolutely loved it! We used fresh dino kale instead of spinach and added some fresh rosemary and its was AMAZING. Even my 5 year old loved it 🙂 thank you!!
Yay