I’m just leaning in to the pandemic lifestyle with this month’s special ingredient.
I bet it’s one that all of us have leaned into, as well. Because when you’re shopping worried about having enough food or grabbing essentials, canned beans are almost always on the list.
Whether pinto, garbanzo, black, kidney or cannelini, you’ve made a good choice because there are plenty of ways to make them delicious! Just don’t fight anyone in the aisles for the last can, please. And please don’t hoard 50 cans of beans.
Tell me more about canned beans:
As I named above, there are a wide variety of canned beans in your average grocery store, though perhaps less variety these days. Black, kidney, garbanzo/chickpea, pinto, Great Northern or cannelini, and they’re all a little different.
The beans inside these cans are fully cooked, so you can even eat them straight out of the can…though I don’t recommend this unless there’s a zombie appocalypse or something.
Canned beans are a good source of fiber, protein and folate, too!
Where can I buy canned beans:
Pre-pandemic: Any grocery store. Mid-pandemic: Some grocery stores, depending on how picked over they are. You might have to get a different brand than you’re used to, as well, but I wouldn’t be too worried about brands when you’re buying canned beans. Or you may be forced to buy tiny cans of garbanzo beans like we were with the above. Post-pandemic: TBD.
Pro Tip: If your grocery store has an international or Mexican food area, then you may find canned beans (like Goya brand) there, too.
How do I store canned beans:
Tote your canned beans home and shove them in your pantry or cupboard where they will last for about 3-5 years — which means they’ll outlive this pandemic. You may find that comforting to consider.
How do I cook with canned beans:
Again, I wouldn’t recommend sticking a fork in a can of beans before cooking, but to each his own.
There are lots of recipes where you can highlight the taste and creamy texture of beans, but these are a few of my favorites:
- Make tacos — I especially like these BBQ bean tacos
- Add canned beans (after draining and rinsing) on your green salad
- Nothing wrong with some rice and beans
- Or impress with this bruschetta
- Bean soups are amazing — white bean soup, soup with black beans, garbanzo bean soup, red bean soup
- Stuff your baked potato with beans
- Get all your beans in a bowl for this 5 bean salad
- Easy enchiladas or nachos with these quick refried beans
- Make a quick curry with your beans
- Make your own hummus
Just make sure you’re mixing up beans with other fruits, veggies and proteins in your diet because we are stuck inside, after all.
Happy eating!