on a plate or in a hill?

April 25, 2017 9:08 AM

Often for lunch I rinse a can of beans and throw them in a container with some other ingredients to make a salad, like chickpeas + lemon juice + Parmesan. It is quick and easy. What other simple can of bean "recipes" should I try? No dietary restrictions.
posted by chaiminda to Food & Drink (24 answers total)

Can of bean --> plate of beans. How?
Almost-fine-chop an onion and half a red pepper, and cut a tomato into cubes, the latter in a separate heap. Prepare some grated cheddar-style cheese. Grate some extra, because cheese.
Medium-heat-fry the chopped onion in 2 tablespoons (or more, actually) of olive oil, soon add the red pepper. Stir around and fry for a minute, add beans.
Add paprika, oregano, black pepper, garlic powder and if you like it, cumin, and/or some heat (Cayenne, pepper flakes...), and/or a little ground-up chipotle.
Add tomato cubes and salt. Let it bubble for a short while, stirring, until tomato starts dissolving.
Add cheese, stir. Check for salt. Eat. (max. 15 minutes)
posted by Namlit at 9:18 AM on April 25, 2017

Best answer: Goya Adobo (seriously, don't be snobby, SO GOOD ON BEANS) + cilantro + queso fresco or panela!
posted by Juliet Banana at 9:19 AM on April 25, 2017 [4 favorites]

Check out this AskMe from a couple of weeks ago.
posted by kevinbelt at 9:22 AM on April 25, 2017

Can of beans + egg + breadcrumbs = veggie burger patties or meatballs, just mash together with your hands and then pan fry or bake. Add whatever veggies & flavorings you like, there are infinite varieties. You can also sub leftover grains (rice, quinoa) for the breadcrumbs.
posted by veery at 9:28 AM on April 25, 2017

Best answer: We eat this (another bean salad) a lot in the summer:

can red kidney beans
can white kidney beans
1/3 cup olive oil? (these measurements are from memory, so YMMV)
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1/8 cup finely chopped red onion
Mix the spices in with the oil and juice, then pour over the beans. Top with red onion. Refrigerate.
posted by getawaysticks at 9:31 AM on April 25, 2017 [4 favorites]

You can make an extraordinary lazy version of chili/bean soup by combining a can of your choice of beans + a jar of your choice of salsa in a saucepan and heating (or microwaving likely works fine). Garnish as you see fit (green onions, sour cream, cheese, chips, etc) or don't, it's good plain! For a recipe that requires only that you open two containers, it's surprisingly delicious — I'm especially partial to Trader Joe's shelf-stable Garlic Chipotle Salsa. It's smoky and flavorful.
posted by the thorn bushes have roses at 9:38 AM on April 25, 2017 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Your chick pea/lemon juice/parmaesan salad is halfway to being a French salad I swooned over: leave out the parmaesan, drizzle some olive oil in, and throw in some chopped shallot, chopped black olives, and a little chopped herbs (preferably rosemary, orgegano, or tarragon, or some combination thereof).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:39 AM on April 25, 2017 [5 favorites]

Oh, I also made a Lebanese bean soup once that was so easy to make that I was literally able to cook it at 6:30 am: I think it was like one can each of kidney beans, chick peas and white beans, and some lentils I'd done the night before. I sauteed up some onions and garlic in the saucepan first, then dumped all the beans in with enough water to cover them over, and threw in a little cinnamon and cumin and salt and pepper. Simmer 20 minutes, done.

the original recipe also called for a grain too - I just went to the supermarket and picked out something fancy - but that is optional. If you want to add that, you can either do what I did or just throw in a handful of barley.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:43 AM on April 25, 2017 [1 favorite]

Orangette published something very similar to your recipe, just with the addition of a good olive oil and some salt. It's been one of one of my "too busy to make real food" standbys for years.
posted by peppermind at 9:47 AM on April 25, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Cannelini beans (or other white beans) + pesto + sliced cherry tomatoes = yum.
posted by mudpuppie at 9:49 AM on April 25, 2017 [4 favorites]

Goya Adobo (seriously, don't be snobby, SO GOOD ON BEANS)

So ... not-secret-secret for the best black beans, which are great over rice or on salad or however you eat them. Fry maybe a tablespoon of jarred Goya Sofrito in a little olive oil, add a can of lazily-drained black beans, mix well, "cook" until hot. I usually add a little extra garlic powder and oregano, but the Sofrito is such an MSG bomb that it's not entirely necessary.

If you don't want the texture of the goopy bean juice, you can rise the beans and add a third of a packet of Sazon or something equally salty / glutamate-y to bring the flavor back in.

(And yes, these are, in some ways, better than beans made the "right" way.)
posted by uncleozzy at 9:58 AM on April 25, 2017 [4 favorites]

Best answer: Kidney beans, small chop one stalk of celery, a couple tablespoons of pickle relish. Splash of half and half. Done.
posted by freezer cake at 10:15 AM on April 25, 2017

Can of black beans, cottage cheese, salsa. Mmmmmm.

nobeagle kibble: can of black beans, can of chick peas, can of lentils, 1lb of mixed frozen veggies thawed/drained, salsa (likely 1/2 jar to a full jar depending upon size). Either mix in freshly cooked brown rice, or add a second jar of lentils. Mix this all up, and you've got several days worth of foodage. Alternately try pasta sauce, but I'm a salsa person.
posted by nobeagle at 10:31 AM on April 25, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Black beans, bell pepper, avacado, corn. Lime juice and oil (olive or peanut). Cilantro, red chili flakes or cayenne, maybe cumin. Great on chips.
posted by mai at 10:35 AM on April 25, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Beans + olive oil + soy sauce + nutritional yeast. Amazingly delicious and easy.
posted by newsomz at 10:42 AM on April 25, 2017 [2 favorites]

Best answer: My favorite easy can-of-beans recipe is can of chili beans, can of diced "Rotel" style tomatoes, can of corn, a little oil, a little lime juice, and some cumin, and minced garlic or garlic powder. Dump, stir, and go!
posted by drlith at 10:51 AM on April 25, 2017 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Oh yes, my second favorite no-cook bean recipe is can of white beans, can of french style green beans, can of tuna, can of diced tomatoes with basil and garlic, some black olives, olive oil, red wine vinegar, maybe some diced mozzarella if you're feeling fancy. Both of these make enough for a couple main course bean salad servings.
posted by drlith at 10:57 AM on April 25, 2017 [1 favorite]

Can of cannellini beans drained, bag of baby spinach, low-fat kielbasa sliced, 2 cloves of garlic minced, splash of chicken stock. Heat a little oil in a large skillet and add the garlic, cook until fragrant (about a minute). Add the kielbasa slices and cook until they are heated through and/or lightly browned (5 mins). Add beans and a little chicken stock, heat through, stirring and mashing up a few of the beans in the process (but don't make things too mushy). Add the spinach and cook until the spinach has wilted. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

This is what I am making for dinner tonight.
posted by briank at 11:59 AM on April 25, 2017

Best answer: With stuff I pretty much always have: Black beans, salsa, corn, oil & vinegar.
Fresher version: Black beans, tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil.

Present at 99% of salad bars where "country" is in the restaurant name, but I like it: can green beans, can chickpeas, can kidney beans, bottled Italian salad dressing. Fresher green beans and good vinaigrette are acceptable, encouraged, even, when you leave the Midwest.

Wraps/burritos(bowl if you're gluten-avoidant) with some combination of leftover rice, sweet potato (8 - 10 mins in the microwave), black beans, salsa, onion, scrambled eggs, corn, arugula, cooked meat, cilantro, avocado, roasted veg. I don't eat dairy, but a little cream cheese, sour cream, and/or cheese would be pleasant. For a while, I made breakfast burritos ahead. Wrap in waxed paper, nuke, and eat while driving. Don't use *all* the options, pick 4 or 5
posted by theora55 at 12:01 PM on April 25, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: When I was canning my own beans I often made bean salad for lunch. Black or Kidney beans, a few splashes of red wine vinegar, chopped tomatoes, seasonings (salt and pepper or adobo). If you have chopped peppers add those, or some cilantro. I would usually mix it the night before or morning before lunch so the vinegar sets into the beans.
posted by perrouno at 12:20 PM on April 25, 2017

If you like black-eyed peas, I recommend my Texas Hummus. Skip the purée step and call it Texas Caviar.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 10:46 PM on April 25, 2017

Chopped cucumber, white beans, feta cheese, lemon.

I like the texture contrast of canned beans and canned hominy, and hominy goes pretty well with any seasoning that beans go well with, so you can use that to stretch a lot of these types of recipe.

Goya black bean soup is weirdly good as a sauce for other beans. I like one can of the Goya soup plus one can of regular (whole, not-soupy, drained) black beans or pinto beans.

If you don't mind like 30 seconds of cooking, melt some butter, fry some cumin seeds in it, and dump it over top of your beans. Also good with mustard or fennel seeds or some combination. If you're using mustard seeds, you get a built-in timer: they're done cooking when they start to pop like tiny popcorns.
posted by nebulawindphone at 3:15 PM on April 26, 2017 [1 favorite]

Variant on freezer cake's kidney beans:

Kidney beans, celery, onion, pickle relish, mayo. Best if you can let it chill for a few hours before eating. (IMHO, the onion is essential; I prefer red onion.)

This salad is a famous side at White Fence Farm, a long-running tradition in the suburbs of Chicago.
posted by kristi at 1:02 PM on April 29, 2017

Super basic recipe: Take half a cup of instant or rolled oats and put a serving (1/3 or 1/2 can) of beans in them. You can mix the bean liquid with the oats to flavor them more or you can just use water. Microwave the oatmeal like you would normally.

You can add your own savory toppings. For example with black beans I've used greek yogurt and a little bit of salsa. You can also treat it like a congee and eat it with a bit of green onions, dried seaweed, furikake, or wilt some spinach in there with a bit of soy sauce.
posted by FJT at 3:50 PM on May 17, 2017 [1 favorite]