Saucy. Spicy. 20 minutes – yes please!
Put away your baked beans. This combination of creamy butter beans, rich tomato base, harissa spicy-ness and fresh herbed yoghurt works so well to make this impressive, yet simple meal. Served with crusty bread, this is the perfect recipe for a speedy weeknight dinner, meal-prepping lunches, or a lazy Sunday breakfast.
Saucy Harissa Butter Beans Ingredients
Here is what you will need to make these delicious butter beans:
- Butter beans – a.k.a lima beans.. I prefer to use the canned variety, purely for convenience!! I also add some of the liquid from the butter beans in this recipe which adds to the lush, rich texture of the sauce base. You could also swap out the butter beans for any other white bean (or chickpeas!) if you prefer
- Chopped tomatoes – again, I generally use tinned tomatoes, mostly because I never really have enough tomatoes to use for sauce bases. You could most definitely substitute this with chopped fresh tomatoes OR passata if you prefer a smoother consistency
- Harissa paste – made from a combination of chili peppers, spices and herbs, this paste packs a punch! If you’re not into spice, you could substitue this with a tablespoon of tomato paste and some dried herbs and spices (garlic powder, cumin, coriander, and smoked paprika would work well)
- Onion and garlic – this recipe uses brown onion and minced garlic. Feel free to swap out for red or white onion – whatever you have on hand
- Seasonings – the harissa paste creates so much flavour in this dish, so minimal extra seasoning is needed
- Fresh herbs – adding in fresh herbs are totally optional here, but really do elevate the flavours in this dish. I’ve used parsley and dill, but any herbs you have would work
- Greek yoghurt – I might be biased, but this makes the dish. It complements the flavours really well, balancing the tangy tomato and cooling the spicy-ness. If your’re not into yoghurt, or lactose, try sour cream or a dairy-free alternative. Don’t skip it!
Saucy Harissa Butter Beans
Saucy. Spicy. Twenty minutes – yes please! This tomatoey, harissa spiced butter bean dish is so quick and simple and incredibly delicious.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ brown onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 2 tbsp harissa paste
- 400 g finely chopped tomatoes
- 800 g butter beans, with the liquid
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ⅓ cup greek yoghurt
- generous handful fresh herbs, finely chopped (parsley and dill work well)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- crusty bread, to serve
- lemon, to serve (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and saute until fragrant and onion is just softened. Add the harissa paste and stir through for another minute.
- Add the finely chopped tomatoes and oregano, and season with salt and pepper. Allow to simmer, stirring frequently, for a good 5 minutes. You should feel the sauce starting to thicken slightly.
- Add the butter beans to the pan, along with the liquid from ONE of the cans of beans and stir well. Bring everything back to a simmer, and allow to cook for 10-15 minutes. The sauce should reduce a little more and thicken.
- While the sauce is simmering, combine half of the fresh herbs in a small bowl along with the greek yoghurt.
- Once the beans are ready, stir through the remaining fresh herbs. Top with a generous dollop of yoghurt, a squeeze of lemon, and plenty of crusty bread.