When healthy meets flavorful, you’ve got a dish that just won’t quit!  This beautiful dish combines wholesome greens and hearty beans with delicious Italian flavors!  The best part is how versatile it is, topping all your favorites:  mashed potatoes, pasta, rice, and more!  Don’t miss this yummy way to get in those nutrient-packed greens!  Whole Food Plant Based recipe, no oil, no refined sugar, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.

Hi!  Robin here.

Italians love their greens and beans!  Well, who doesn’t, right?  I’ve been making Italian greens and beans for decades as this dish is one of TP109’s most beloved dishes.  He absolutely loves sautéed greens and beans over pasta.  The hardest part was converting this dish to Whole Food Plant Based as oil was a major component as it was used as a flavor balancer which also carried the spices.  When I “Whole Food Plant Based” this recipe, I was a little challenged to find a way to replace those flavors without losing the beauty of this dish.

Italian Creativity

I know I’ve talked about this before in past blog posts, but I just gotta say it again, Italians are super creative when it comes to what they put over pasta.  My husband’s family would put just about anything over pasta. One of TP109’s aunts put hard boiled eggs in her sauce and another one put raisins in hers.  I was like “saaaaay what?”   While greens are not crazy creative they are indeed tasty and super easy to incorporate into just about any pasta dish.  They are inexpensive and a great way to get those healthy greens in!

Spinach vs other greens

My favorite way to make this dish is with baby spinach; however, TP109 loves Swiss chard and Monkey is all about the escarole.  Those two choices are great, but for some reason swiss chard and escarole taste a little too earthy to me.  Baby spinach has this beautiful flavor that compliments the white beans perfectly. But we will change it up, and make this dish with escarole or Swiss chard (or mix and match) to keep everyone happy. Plus, it’s great changing up greens to get in different nutrients.

Garden

We planted our garden over Memorial Day weekend, and we made sure we planted plenty of greens, along with a lot of other veggies.  TP and Monkey worked in the garden all weekend.  TP109 has his portion of the garden and then Monkey has a section of the garden so she can plant what she likes.  TP likes to stick to traditional veggies while Monkey planted a bunch of fun salad greens and assorted peppers.  She also planted an herb garden in containers near the house so the rabbits, chipmunks and deer don’t eat them all.

This post contains affiliate links, and I may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here

Ameera here!

I love to garden!  It was blazing hot this weekend.  I nearly feel asleep at the dinner table afterwards since I was outside in the sun all day working in the garden.  But after all that work, it’s so worth it because I know within a few short months the fruits of all that labor will show itself.  There is nothing like a tomato straight from the garden.  Pure deliciousness!  I simply can’t wait for that first tomato!  Additionally, we just put some new topsoil and sphagnum peat moss in the garden last week and my feet sunk down in the soil about 4 inches just walking on it.  It was like walking on a cloud.  It’s the little things, dontcha know.

We are really looking forward to growing some delicious greens this year, especially so we can make this tasty Italian greens and beans dish!  We hope you try it and love it as much as we do.

Products Used:

• Ceramic/Enamel lined skillet or similarly large non-stick skillet

Italian Greens and Beans

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews

• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 4-6 Servings 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Cuisine: Italian

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

When healthy meets flavorful, you’ve got a dish that just won’t quit!  This beautiful dish combines wholesome greens and hearty beans with delicious Italian flavors!  The best part is how versatile it is, topping all your favorites: mashed potatoes, pasta, rice, and more!  Don’t miss this yummy way to get in those nutrient-packed greens!  Whole Food Plant Based recipe, no oil, no refined sugar, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 large yellow onion, fine dice
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 ½ cups low-sodium vegetable broth *
• 1 ½ cups water
• 3 Tablespoons tomato sauce
• 3 Tablespoons unsweetened, plain plant milk *
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon pure organic maple syrup
• 2 – [ 15.5 oz. cans ] cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 8 to 10 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

Spice/Herb Ingredients: 

• 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• 3 Tablespoons dried minced onion flakes
• 1 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
• Pinch of crushed rosemary
• Pinch red pepper flake (+/- )
• 1 teaspoon sea salt (+/- ) *
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper (+/-)

Other Ingredients:

• Fresh Greens: 1 large head of escarole – or –  6 cups of fresh baby spinach – or– large bunch of swiss chard – or – other combined greens of choice, chopped

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. Place the Spice/Herb Ingredients into a small bowl, mix. Set aside.
2. In a large ceramic/enamel lined Dutch oven, sauté the diced onions over medium heat until tender, approx. 6-9 minutes. Add a splash of water if the onions start to stick.
3. Then add the minced garlic and sauté for one minute.
4. Add the Spice/Herb Mix and all the remaining ingredients except the greens. Stir well to combine. Increase the heat to boil, then immediately lower to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Taste test the mixture and add additional seasonings of choice.
6. Once the flavors have married, add the greens of choice and simmer until the greens reach the desired tenderness.
7. Serving ideas:
   • Mashed potatoes, oven roasted potatoes, baked potatoes
   • Steamed rice
   • Pasta of choice

---

Notes

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

*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.

*Plant Milk: The plain, unsweetened plant milk (we used almond milk) is used to balance out the acidity from the vegetable broth.  If you are using a very mild vegetable broth, it may not be needed at all.  Taste test the flavor of the broth after it has cooked for 5 minutes to test the acidity.

*Maple Syrup: The maple syrup is also used to balance with the vegetable broth.  If using a very mild vegetable broth it may not be needed at all.  Taste test the flavor of the broth after it has cooked for 5 minutes to test the acidity.

Fat Content = 1.3 g

Storage:  Refrigerate, use within one week.   

This post contains affiliate links, and I may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here