Spanish Poor Man’s Beans and Potatoes! Perfect for meal prep, this budget-friendly recipe thrives on pantry staples while delivering satisfying protein and fiber.
This Spanish Poor Man’s Beans and Potatoes is a hearty, wholesome weeknight winner that is humble and satisfying. Savory Spanish flavors mingle with creamy pinto beans and tender potatoes, delivering a comforting stew-like dish that’s reminiscent of refried beans but with a soulful, rustic twist. Each bite carries a kiss of paprika, garlic, and cumin, balanced by a bright touch of lemon that lift the beans from ordinary to irresistible. Serve hot with crusty bread or a fresh green salad for a complete, comfort-filled Spanish feast.
Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Hi there, Ameera here!
This dish was inspired by Spanish Poor Man’s Beans and Potatoes, a simple reflection of pantry ingenuity. We crafted a Whole Food Plant Based nod to Albert Bevia’s Alubias con Patatas a lo Pobre from Spain on a Fork, blending plant-powered ingredients with traditional flavors you know and love.
We devoured this healthy, fuss-free meal—creamy beans, tender potatoes, and a kiss of spices. If you’re chasing a satisfying, budget-friendly dinner that’s easy to whip up and loaded with wholesome goodness, you’ve gotta give this one a try!
Tips for Success:
- Flavor Profile: This Spanish Poor Man’s Beans and Potatoes dish was inspired by Spain on a Fork is both hearty and delicious. Savory Spanish flavors blend perfectly with pinto beans and tender potatoes where the flavors are reminiscent of refried beans in a stew-like dish. If you love refried beans, then you will love this stew-like take.
- Broth: The broth is full of refried beans notes. This dish is a cross between a soup and a stew.
- Spices: The spices are earthy and mellow; however, you can easily ramp up the spices if you wish to suit your own personal preferences.
- Cube/Dice the Potatoes: We used a small dice, slightly larger than ¼-inch.
- Amount of Diced/Cubed Potatoes: We used 3 cups of small diced (peeled) potatoes. The amount was approximately 4 to 6 medium-sized potatoes.
- Potatoes: We used all-purpose potatoes. Feel free to use your favorite type potatoes that you would typically use in a soup or stew that can hold up its shape.
- Cooking Potatoes in a Stew/Soup: The key to cooking potatoes in a soup or stew is using a very low-percolating boil and not a full rolling boil. Using a full-rolling boil will cause the potatoes to disintegrate. Also press the cubed potatoes down into the broth to ensure they are fully submerged to ensure even cooking of the potatoes.
- Baking Soda: Baking soda is often used as a neutralizer for dishes that contain a lot of acidity, typically from tomatoes. We use it in this dish to remove some of the tomato acidity (from the tomato paste) without losing the tomatoey flavor. When you add it, the mixture may bubble up, then settle down as it neutralizes the acidity. The baking soda also speeds up the cooking of the potatoes.
- Almond Butter: The almond butter is used to lightly balance the flavors by adding a little fat to the dish. You can leave it out if you wish, but you may need to add other ingredients to compensate.
- Pinto Beans: Feel free to substitute the pinto beans with black beans or kidney beans.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
- Table Salt: If using table salt, you should use less table salt than the amount listed in the ingredients as sea salt crystals are larger than table salt crystals. Since table salt crystals are very fine, less table salt is required to season a dish. We would suggest starting with about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of sea salt listed. You can always add more salt but cannot take it away. We recommend using sea salt as it is less refined than table salt.
Leftovers and Freezing:
Leftovers will generally keep for 5 days in the refrigerator. Store in a covered air-tight container.
This dish can be frozen.
Pantry Products:
- 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.
- Almond Butter: We used Artisana Organics Raw Vegan Almond Butter. Feel free to use your favorite raw almond butter in this recipe. Read the label, make sure the only ingredient is raw almonds. Do not use a salted or sweetened almond butter.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Kitchen Equipment:
- Large skillet
If you try this comforting 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.
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Spanish Poor Man’s Beans and Potatoes
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Cook Time: 35 Minutes
- Total Time: 50 Minutes
- Yield: 6 Cups 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Spanish Inspired
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Spanish Poor Man’s Beans and Potatoes is a hearty, wholesome weeknight winner that is humble and satisfying.
Ingredients
Skillet Ingredients:
- 1 medium yellow onion, fine dice
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth *
- 1 cup water
- 3 cups diced potatoes, peeled, 1/4-inch cube *
- 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda *
Spice/Herb Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (+/-) *
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika (+/-) *
- ½ teaspoon cumin (+/-) *
- ¼ to 1 teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper (+/-)
- 1 bay leaf
Other Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon almond butter *
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 – [ 15.25 oz. cans ] pinto beans, drained and rinsed *
Optional Toppings:
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- Crushed tortilla chips
Instructions
- Peel and cube the potatoes, place in a bowl of cold water, set aside. When ready to use in Step 5, drain well and discard the water.
- Please all the Spice/Herb Ingredients (except the bay leaf) into a small bowl, mix well, set aside.
- In a large skillet, add the diced onions, 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.
- Next add all the remaining Skillet Ingredients (except the baking soda and cubed potatoes) and the Spice/Herb Mix, stir well. Increase the heat, bring the mixture to a boil, add the baking soda, stir well, then immediately lower to a simmer; add the cubed potatoes stir well, tuck in the bay leaf, and simmer with a low-percolating boil over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the beans and potatoes from sticking to the bottom of the skillet.
- After 10 minutes, then add the pinto beans, simmer with a low-percolating boil for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are perfectly tender.
- Then add the almond butter and lemon juice, stir well to incorporate, making sure to dissolve the almond butter into the broth, heat on medium-low temperature and cook for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from the stove and allow to sit undisturbed for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to marry and the sauce to thicken. After 10 minutes, remove and discard the bay leaf.
- Serve topped with freshly chopped cilantro and/or with crushed tortilla chips or with a simple salad.
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 (makes 6 cups)
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