How to Cook Tastier Canned Beans Without Spending a Dime

How can you make that ho-hum can of white beans more mouthwatering? It’s all about when you add the seasoning.

I’m a big canned white bean fan, especially when I’m trying to save money. I’ll combine good old cannellini beans with garlic and shallots about once a week, layering them into packed lunch salads alongside tuna and greens, or spiking them with smoky Polish sausage, finishing them with whichever fresh herbs I have handy. They’re cheap and cheerful, so I always keep a few cans on hand.

Related:12 Quick, Delicious Dinners to Make with Canned Cannellini Beans

My technique, typically, was to caramelize the onions and garlic a bit, then add the drained cannellini beans, finishing with salt, lemon zest, sherry vinegar or lemon juice, red pepper flakes, and fresh herbs. And if I’m honest, they were good, but not great. The beans were never quite the right texture, and never seemed to get seasoned all the way through, no matter how much salt I added.

Recently, though, I found this smart recipe from Seattle-based chef Jerry Traunfeld, in which he simmers the onions with the red pepper flakes and olive oil, seasons them with salt and pepper, and confits them (in other words, cooks them slowly over low heat) for a good 15 minutes. It was, quite simply, a game changer.

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I rarely seasoned my onions and garlic when building stews or any sautéed dish — although I should have, because I know I should season every ingredient as I build pretty much any dish in order to reduce the need for salt at the end.

By salting the aromatics at the start of cooking, the seasoned, spicy base notes permeate the entirety of the dish when I added in the white beans and cooked the whole together for just five minutes. The confited onions and garlic spiked the whole dish with sweet, salty, spicy notes. (And the quarter cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano added to finish sure doesn’t hurt!)

Related:10 $5 Dinners That Start With a Can of Beans

So consider spending time carefully seasoning, confiting and heating your garlic and onions the next time you work with plain-Jane beans. It’s a great way to get the absolute most out of an already-frugal meal.