This Tuscan White Bean Pasta is definitely my type of recipe. It’s quick, uses a lot of fresh ingredients, is very filling, and flavorful. This pasta packs protein (white beans and parmesan), veggies (tomatoes and spinach), and carbohydrates (pasta), making it a great one-dish meal. You can serve it up as is for a lighter main dish, or add some sliced grilled chicken to make it a bit more filling.
Can I Substitute the Tomatoes?
If you can’t find fresh tomatoes and spinach for a good price, you can substitute one can of diced tomatoes (with juices) in their place. Make sure to let them simmer a bit so the juices reduce and concentrate in flavor.
Can I Use Frozen Spinach?
Yes, if needed, you can use frozen chopped spinach, although the texture of fresh spinach is far better for this recipe. Kale can also be substituted for the spinach, just make sure to tear it into very small pieces and it will take slightly more time to wilt down in the skillet.
What Kind of Pasta Should I Use?
I prefer a long pasta for this dish, like fettuccine or linguine, but you could also easily do this with a shorter pasta like penne or bowtie pasta.
Tuscan White Bean Pasta
Servings 4Ingredients
- 8 oz. linguine or fettuccine ($0.63)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.13)
- 1 Tbsp butter ($0.13)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced ($0.24)
- 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes ($1.99)
- 10 cranks freshly ground pepper ($0.03)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp dried basil ($0.05)
- 1 15oz. can cannellini beans ($0.69)
- 4 oz. baby spinach ($0.65)
- 3 oz. shredded parmesan ($1.89)
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with water and place over high heat to bring it to a boil. Once boiling, add the pasta and cook according to the package directions (boil for 7-10 minutes). Drain the pasta in a colander.
- While you’re waiting for the water to boil, mince the garlic. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and sauté for about a minute, or until it has softened and become very fragrant.
- Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper and basil. Sauté the tomatoes until the skins burst and the tomatoes begin to release their juices. It’s important to not have the heat under the skillet too high here or the garlic may burn before the tomatoes break down. You want the garlic to brown and caramelize a bit, but not burn.
- Once the tomatoes begin to break down, add the spinach and stir it into the tomatoes until it is about half way wilted.
- Rinse and drain the can of cannellini beans. Add the beans to the skillet and stir until they are heated through. The tomato juices will have created a thick sauce-like mixture on the bottom of the skillet at this point. Taste the mixture and add a bit more salt if needed. It should be slightly on the salty side in order to properly flavor the pasta.
- Add the cooked and drained pasta to the skillet. Toss until the pasta is coated in the sticky sauce and everything is combined. Top with shredded parmesan, plus add a bit of Parmesan to the top of each bowl.
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How to Make Tuscan White Bean Pasta – Step By Step Photos
Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Once boiling, add 8 oz. fettuccine or linguine and cook according to the package directions. Drain the pasta in a colander. As the water is heating, mince 3 cloves of garlic. Add the minced garlic to a large skillet along with 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter. Sauté over medium-low heat for 1-2 minutes, or just until the garlic is soft and fragrant.
Add 1 pint grape tomatoes, 1/2 tsp dried basil, some freshly cracked pepper, and 1/2 tsp salt. Continue to sauté until the tomatoes pop open and begin to break down. The juices will begin to create a thick, almost jam-like sauce. The garlic will caramelize and turn a bit brown, just make sure the heat is not so high that it begins to burn before the tomatoes begin to pop open and release their juices.
Add 4 oz. fresh spinach and sauté for a couple of minutes, or until it’s mostly wilted.
Rinse and drain one 15oz. can of cannellini beans and add them to the skillet. Continue to sauté until they are heated through. Taste the mixture at this point and add a bit of salt if needed. You want it to be slightly on the salty side in order to flavor all the pasta.
Add the cooked and drained pasta, then toss until everything is coated in the tomato juices.
Top with Parmesan cheese and enjoy!
This Tuscan White Bean Pasta is hearty enough to stand alone as a one dish meal, or you can pair it with some grilled chicken and maybe some homemade garlic bread. Enjoy!
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I was wondering if you could clarify how much a ‘crank’ of pepper is, or how many teaspoons of freshly cracked pepper I should be using? I use a pepper grinder, but always measure my pepper. I plan on making a double portion of this recipe (8 servings), which looks like will call for ‘20 cranks’ of pepper. Around how many teaspoons would that be equal to? Unfortunately I can’t seem to find much of an answer anywhere on Google, and am afraid I’m going to drastically over- or under-pepper my dish! Many thanks in advance! x
Hi Cassidy-
I would start with 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, taste it, and adjust to your taste. xoxo -Monti
This was fantastic – just what I was looking for. I only strayed from the recipe when I used canned great northern beans instead of cannellini beans and I used a spinach/arugula mixture instead of just spinach. Delicious and easy.
Easy, yummy, quick! I added chicken breast to increase the protein. Very delicious! Will be adding this to the rotation.
One of my favourite things about BB recipes is how the final result is always so much more amazing than the sum of its parts, and this is no exception. I used more beans (19oz) since that’s the size they sell bean cans in Canada, and less spinach (2oz) since that’s what was left in my container. I salted the pasta water and added some extra salt to the sauce at the end. I also used penne instead of a long pasta, because I find it holds up well for leftovers. Great flavour, great assortment of textures, and now all the vegetables about to go bad in my fridge have found a home!
We make this often! Easy, quick, cheap, and healthy! We typically double the beans and tomatoes.
Excellent recipe! Very satisfying and moreish. I used fresh dill in place of basil as that’s all I had and it was amazing too. I appreciate the tip to really caramelise the garlic (also added a pinch of chilli flakes).
I don’t know what I did wrong! We always LOVE budget bytes but this one had no flavor
This is such a great recipe and so easy. The flavour is amazing. I could eat this every day.
Easy peasy. I’ve made this often –
In summer I choose a lighter pasta and it is so good with all of those cherry tomatoes off the vine.
Tonight I added: sauteed mushrooms, crushed red pepper and at the end zucchini which I steamed a bit.
Such a versatile dish and very satisfying.