BBQ Braised Kale and Beans Skillet! Simple, hearty beans with a fun southern BBQ twist.

Bursting with sweet, smoky, and tangy flavors, this BBQ Braised Kale and Beans Skillet recipe is a great way to get in your greens. Plus, this nourishing dish is not only easy to make, it’s budget-friendly; we call that a win-win.

Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.

Hi there, Ameera here!

We are all about trying to come up with easy, budget-friendly recipes.  This tasty skillet dinner hits the spot perfectly.

You gotta give this one a try!

Tips for Success:

• Flavor Profile: This dish is a great way to get in your greens. It is an easy and budget-friendly dish that is full of deliciously sweet, smoky, and tangy BBQ flavors with kale and white beans.
• Maple Syrup/Apple Cider Vinegar/Sea Salt Preferences: Our family was totally divided over the sweetness from the maple syrup, the tang from the apple cider vinegar, and the amount of sea salt.  Feel free to start on the low side and taste test along the way, increasing the amount of each of these items until you reach the desired flavor.
• Low-Fat Dish Expectations: This dish was designed to be low in fat. Because it is low in fat, you are not going to experience that endorphin rush associated with eating high-fat foods when eating this dish. It is very tasty for what it is, and that is a low-fat dish. We just want to make sure that our Readers recognize this when contemplating making this recipe.
• Amount of Beans: We did several kitchen tests using 1 and 2 cans of cannellini beans. We had varying family member opinions on what is the perfect amount of beans for this dish. It actually falls somewhere in the middle.  Feel free to use 1 or 2 (or somewhere in between) to suit your families’ preferences when it comes to the amount of beans used.
• Cannellini Beans Substitutions: We used cannellini beans; however, feel free to use your favorite white bean, black, beans, or kidney beans. We also tried navy beans and great northern beans; both were excellent choices.
• Baby Kale (or regular Kale): Chop the kale into small pieces for a better mouth feel.  Feel free to substitute for your favorite greens. We kitchen tested both baby kale and regular kale, both types of kale work well in this recipe.
• Greens: Greens such as spinach and kale are natural spice/herb neutralizers.  A soup/stew/dish can taste perfectly seasoned before adding the greens, then once the greens are added, the flavor mellows and may require more seasoning.
• Molasses: We used Grandma’s Unsulfured Original Molasses.  Feel free to use your favorite molasses.  We do not recommend black strap molasses. You can leave the molasses out of the dish if you wish.  The molasses adds excellent depth of flavor and is reminiscent of brown sugar.

Leftovers and Freezing:

Leftovers will generally keep 5 days in the refrigerator.  Store in a covered container.

This dish can be frozen.

Pantry Products:

• Tamari: We used San J Tamari Soy Sauce, Gluten Free, Reduced Sodium. You can substitute the tamari with reduced sodium soy sauce, Braggs Liquid Aminos, or Braggs Coconut Liquid Aminos.
• Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.  Feel free to use your favorite vegetable broth.
• Molasses: We used Grandma’s Unsulfured Original Molasses.  Feel free to use your favorite molasses.
• Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

Kitchen Products:

• Large skillet or similar stockpot

If you try this flavorful dish, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.

BBQ Braised Kale and Beans Skillet

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• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 10 Minutes
• Cook Time: 20 Minutes
• Total Time: 30 Minutes
• Yield: 4 Servings 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American Inspired
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

Bursting with sweet, smoky, and tangy flavors, this BBQ Braised Kale and Beans Skillet recipe is a great way to get in your greens.

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Ingredients

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Skillet Ingredients:

• 1 cup yellow onions, fine dice
• 1 green bell pepper, small dice
• 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 – [ 8 oz. can ] tomato sauce
• 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth *
• 1 to 3 teaspoons pure maple syrup *
• ½ teaspoon molasses *
• 1 Tablespoon reduced-sodium tamari *
• 1 to 3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar *
• 1 to 2 [ 15.5 oz. can(s) ] cannellini beans, drained and rinsed *
• 3 ½ to 4 cups chopped baby kale *

Spice/Herb Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon ground mustard powder
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *

Serving Ideas:

• Boiled, baked, roasted potatoes
• Steamed rice
• Crusty bread/flatbread

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Instructions

1. Place the Spice/Herb Ingredients in a small bowl, mix well, set aside.
2. In a large skillet, add the finely diced onions and green bell peppers, sauté over medium-high heat for 7 to 9 minutes to soften, add a splash of water, if needed to avoid burning. Then lower the heat to medium, add the minced garlic and tomato paste, sauté, stir constantly for one minute.
3. Then add all the remaining Skillet Ingredients (except the beans and kale) and the Spice/Herb Mix to the skillet, stir to incorporate, bring the mixture to a boil, then immediately lower to a simmer. Add the beans and kale, stir to incorporate, then simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to marry.
4. Serving ideas: Serve with steamed rice, boiled or baked potatoes, or with crusty bread or flatbread.

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Notes

*Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.

*Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

*Servings:  4

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