White Beans
White beans cover a family of mild, creamy legumes -- including navy, great northern, and cannellini-style beans -- widely used in soups, stews, and purees across Mediterranean and American cooking.
How to buy
Dried white beans should look uniformly pale and smooth, without cracks, holes, or shriveling. If buying canned, check for dents or bulging, and give the can a shake to confirm the beans move freely rather than clumping.
How to store
Dried beans keep in an airtight container in the pantry for a year or more. Canned beans keep well past a year unopened; once opened, rinse and refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 4-5 days, or freeze for a few months.
Culinary profile
- Flavor
- Mild, creamy, and slightly nutty, with less assertive flavor than kidney or black beans, which makes white beans a good neutral base for soups and purees that lean on other seasonings.
- Texture
- Tender and creamy when cooked through, with a softer, more delicate skin than kidney beans; they break down more readily if simmered too long, which is useful for thickening soups.
- Aroma
- Mild and faintly earthy, taking on the aroma of whatever broth, garlic, or herbs they're cooked with.
How to prepare
- Simmered into soup — Cooked low and slow in broth, sometimes mashed partway to thicken the liquid.
- Pureed — Blended smooth with olive oil and garlic into a simple dip or spread.
- Baked in sauce — Slow-baked in tomato or herb sauce until the beans soften and the sauce thickens.
- Tossed into salads — Used cold with vinaigrette, herbs, and vegetables for a quick protein-rich salad.
Classic dishes
American
- Senate bean soup — A simple, smoky soup of white beans and ham, famously served in the U.S. Senate dining room.
- White bean chicken chili — A lighter-colored chili built on white beans, shredded chicken, and green chiles.
- Southern white beans with ham hock — White beans simmered low and slow with a smoked ham hock until thick and tender.
Italian
- Pasta e fagioli — A thick Italian soup-stew of white beans and short pasta in a garlicky tomato broth.
- Ribollita — A thick Tuscan bread soup built on white beans, kale, and day-old bread.
- Fagioli all'uccelletto — Tuscan white beans simmered gently in tomato, garlic, and sage.
- White bean and tuna salad — A simple cold salad combining white beans, tuna, red onion, and olive oil.
French
- Cassoulet — A slow-baked French casserole of white beans with duck, sausage, and pork, finished with a crisp crust.
- Soupe au pistou — A Provençal vegetable soup thickened with white beans and finished with a basil pistou.
Mediterranean
- White bean hummus — A lighter, milder spin on hummus using white beans in place of chickpeas.
Greek
- Fasolada — Greece's hearty national soup of white beans simmered with tomato, carrot, and olive oil.
- Gigantes plaki — Large white beans baked in a thick tomato sauce with herbs until tender and jammy.
Spanish
- Fabada asturiana — A rich Asturian stew of large white beans simmered with chorizo, morcilla, and pork.
Middle Eastern
- Fasolia — A Levantine white bean stew simmered with tomato, garlic, and olive oil.
Cajun & Creole
- Louisiana white beans and rice — White beans simmered with andouille and the holy trinity of onion, celery, and bell pepper, served over rice.
Substitutions
- Canned Chickpeas — Firmer and nuttier than white beans, good in salads but less creamy in purees and soups.
- Cannellini Beans (Canned) — Essentially interchangeable, since cannellini beans are themselves a type of white bean.