As much as I love making gourmet recipes and challenging my culinary skills, I also love simple meals like this Creamy White Beans with Kale and Wild Rice. When I’m not eating leftovers from recipe testing (which, to be honest, is very often), I gravitate towards fuss-free meals like this.
Plus, this meal is healthy, vegan, gluten-free, and has no added oils, but it’s still creamy and flavorful. Best of both worlds!
Oh, and if you are into beans more generally, be sure to check out my round-up of 40 fantastic bean recipes from around the internet.
Why this recipe will become your new go-to weeknight dinner
Easy. This recipe is so easy to make that even the most beginner cook can make it! Plus, you likely already have most of these ingredients in your pantry!
Quick to make. Including prep time, the beans and kale take about 30 minutes total. And during that time, you can have the wild rice cooking. You can easily cook the wild rice in your Instant Pot or on the stove before starting on the beans and kale.
Wholesome. This recipe is packed with plant protein and fiber, and is vegan, gluten-free, and has no added oils. It’s the kind of nourishing meal you can eat every day of the week!
Creamy. Despite being wholesome, these beans get so creamy and dreamy, so it feels like a comforting hug in a bowl.
Ingredient Rundown
Cannellini Beans. They are one of the creamiest beans that are widely available in canned form. I absolutely adore them. If you cannot find them, you can substitute another white bean, but the end result won’t be as creamy.
If you also love cannellini beans, my Creamy White Bean and Kale Soup with Gremolata is a must-make!
Aromatics. I opt for my go-to onion + garlic combination, and the softened onions pair nicely with the creamy sauce. I also add fresh thyme, which brings a subtle woodsy yet floral, sweet yet peppery taste.
Lite coconut milk. The lite coconut milk enhances the natural creaminess of the cannellini beans and turns this into a delightfully saucy dish.
Miso paste. A little white miso paste goes a long way towards boosting the savory flavors in this dish. Typically, I rely on building a lot of flavor in savory dishes through sautéing aromatics in oil, but since this recipe is oil-free, I wanted to amp up the flavors in another way.
Tomato sauce and tomato paste. The tomato sauce helps thicken the sauce up a bit, while the tomato paste brings a concentrated tomato flavor. Both ingredients also help tame the coconut flavor of the coconut milk, so that this recipe doesn’t taste like coconut (I promise!).
Lacinato / Tuscan Kale. To bring in some extra nutrition, I throw in a generous amount of shredded kale. If you find it hard to incorporate leafy greens into your diet, this creamy dish is a great way to “sneak” them in.
Wild Rice. I serve the creamy white beans and kale over wild rice, and wild rice’s earthiness is a nice complement to the creaminess of the beans. Plus, the heft of the wild rice gives this plant-based dish a substantial feel, making it feel like a hearty main course.
How to make Creamy White Beans and Kale
If you follow my recipes, you know that I am definitely not oil-free, as I think oil is often necessary to achieve the right texture and to bring out certain qualities in food. For instance, it’s crucial in browning vegetables, as well as creating light and fluffy cakes.
That said, I am totally open to experimenting with oil-free cooking where possible. And I made a special effort to keep this recipe oil-free because I get a fair amount of requests for oil-free recipes.
Typically, I would sauté the aromatics (in this case, onion, garlic, and thyme) in a bit of olive oil, but here the use of a nonstick pan + salt + water to make oil unnecessary.
First, dice the onion and mince the garlic and fresh thyme leaves.
Then heat a deep nonstick pan over medium heat. Once the pan has heated up, add the diced onion (no oil) and cook for just a minute. Add a bit of salt to help release the natural moisture (and flavor) from the onions. Then, to prevent onions from burning, add in the water. That way, the onions get cooked in a hybrid sauté/steam method.
Typically, I do love to get some browning on the onions to maximize flavor, but there is plenty of flavor in the rest of this dish that I felt comfortable with this method. Of course, if you prefer to cook with oil (or don’t have a nonstick pan and are worrying about it burning), I’ve included a modification in the recipe.
Tips for Making this Recipe
To keep things efficient, start cooking the wild rice before you cook everything else. There are stovetop and Instant Pot instructions for wild rice in the recipe below.
While cooking wild rice doesn’t require much work, it does have a relatively long cook time compared to most grains. It’ll take about 45 minutes depending on your cooking method. So if you want to keep dinner under 30 minutes, you have a few options
- (a) use another grain with a shorter cook time (e.g., farro or quinoa)
- (b) slop these creamy beans on top of a hearty whole grain baguette or a baked sweet potato!
Substitutes for this Recipe
Wild Rice. As mentioned above, you can serve the creamy white beans over any grain you like, but I really liked it over wild rice. If you want to use wild rice but it’s a bit too earthy for your taste, try a blend of wild rice and brown rice.
Coconut Milk. If allergic to coconut, you can try another creamy plant-based milk, such as cashew milk or oat milk. Just be sure to use the unsweetened + plain variety.
Miso paste. If you don’t have miso paste, you can add a tablespoon of nutritional yeast and/or a teaspoon of tamari with a tablespoon of tahini.
That’s all I have to say about this easy yet flavorful recipe for Creamy White Beans with Kale and Wild Rice, so I hope you’ll enjoy it! If you make it, be sure to leave me a comment below with your feedback and tag me with your recreations on Instagram!
Big Vegan Flavor
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Creamy White Beans with Kale and Wild Rice
Ingredients
- 1 cup (~180g) wild rice (I used a wild rice + brown rice blend)
- 1 1/2 cups (360 mL) vegetable broth or water for Instant Pot method (use 3 cups (710 mL) vegetable for stovetop method)
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1/3 cup (80 mL) water*
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, minced
- 1 (13.5-ounce/400 mL) can “lite” or reduced-fat coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon white or yellow miso paste
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) tomato sauce
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 (15-ounce/440g) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon hot or sweet paprika (not smoked)
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes (add more to taste if you want it spicy)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt + more to season
- Black pepper to taste
- 6-8 cups (400-540g) shredded Tuscan (lacinato) kale, tough stems removed
Instructions
- Make the Wild Rice (Instant Pot method):Add the wild rice and 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth to the inner pot of the Instant Pot. Secure the lid and select the Pressure Cook/Manual setting for 25 minutes. Allow a natural pressure release and drain off any remaining liquid.
- Make the Wild Rice (Stovetop method): Place the wild rice and 3 cups of vegetable broth in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and cover. Simmer for 40-45 minutes, or until the kernels have burst open. Drain off any remaining liquid.
- While the rice is cooking, make the Creamy White Beans and Kale. Heat a deep nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the diced onion and a pinch of salt and stir together for 1 minute. Then add the water and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the onion softened and the water is mostly evaporated.
- Add the garlic and thyme leaves to the pan. Stir frequently for 2-3 minutes to prevent the garlic from burning.
- Stir in the coconut milk, miso, tomato sauce, tomato paste, cannellini beans, cumin, paprika, pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine and coat all the beans in the sauce. Then add the kale and stir again to incorporate.
- Bring the bean mixture to a simmer. Continue to cook at a simmer for 10 minutes until it has thickened and is creamy.
- Serve the beans and kale on top of the cooked wild rice.
Notes
This has to be one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. The recipe is easy to follow and very simple. Yet the taste is complex, layered, and oh so comfy. I love these recipes. They challenge me to combine tastes I never would have tried before. Miso and cumin together? They lived in separate worlds for me before this. Definitely my favourite. Except for the mushroom stroganoff…….and the Tuscan stew….. :)
Hi Chelle, thank you so much for your amazing review! Comments like yours are why we do what we do. :)
Hi, i like all your recipes . but, it will be great if you mention the nutrition value of each recipes .
Hi Sravanthi, thanks for the kind words! The nutrition facts can be found at the bottom of the recipe card :) Cheers!
This was great for a lazy Sunday dinner. Followed the recipe as written except used plain oat milk instead of coconut milk to cut down the saturated fat. It still looked just like the recipe picture consistency. It was awesome. My 11 year old even liked. Will make again.
We’re over the moon to hear everyone enjoyed the recipe, Mia. Thanks for your kind words!
I usually love Nisha’s recipes, but this one was WAY too salty. I used coarse kosher salt and was conservative with the “pinch” in step3. It ended up so salty that I couldn’t really taste anything other than saltiness. So I strongly recommend starting with maybe half the salt and work your way up from there.
Hi Michele, sorry to hear you found the recipe too salty.
The only sources of salt are the veggie broth, kosher salt, beans and miso paste.
Did you wash and rinse the beans? Maybe your veggie broth could have been too high in sodium as well, as the sodium content in veggie broths varies across brands.
If you try this recipe again, we hope you get it just right! :)
Hi! Sounds super yummy. Does it freeze well? I am wondering if the bean change texture after being frozen. Thanks!
Hi Gicela, yes the beans will freeze well! :) We like using these souper cubes to freeze soups/curries/bean dishes like this. We hope you enjoy!
Super easy and tasty. All of the Rainbow Plant Life recipes exceed my expectations, thank you for all the hard work you put into creating easy, healthy foods for us!
Hi Stacie, Thank you so much for such a fantastic review! Appreciate you taking the time!
Absolutely delicious! The blend of flavours was perfect, so hearty and nourishing! Quick and easy to make as well. I’ll definitely make this one again!
Awesome, Anne. Thanks for your comment and for taking the time to review!
I’m not a great cook, but this turned out awesome. I had to make a few substitutions based on what I had (which normally turn out disastrous!). I swapped savory for the thyme, a whole tomato for the sauce, and left out the kale, because I was out of greens. And it was fabulous. So happy, thank you for sharing!
We’re over the moon to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Becky. Thanks for your kind words!
This is such a delicious and nutritious meal. A new favorite to our vegan household. Thanks so much! 🫶💚🌱
Your positive feedback is the best reward for our hard work. Thank you, Cynthia!
I have been making this dish for a while now. It’s creamy and comforting. You specifically say not to use smoked paprika but I didn’t have regular paprika one day and used smoked. I have been making it with smoked paprika ever since, It’s delicious! It pairs well with rice and broccoli or even a salad.
Thank-you for another great recipe!
Hi Isabelle, we’re thrilled to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Great to hear you’re a fan of the smoked paprika sub :)
Next time, would you mind leaving a rating alongside your review? Star ratings are big help to readers who are thinking of making the recipe. Thanks!
Soo delicious and came together so quickly! Will be keeping this in my rotation for quick weeknight meals :) I served this with millet/brown rice instead of wild rice, and topped with a little shredded vegan parm. Yum!!
Your positive feedback is the best reward for our hard work. Thank you, Angela!
I had a family friend spend a weekend with us, and she’s vegan so I was looking for things to make that we could all eat together.
This was so good it’s been added into my regular dinner meals! It’s so good, do not forget the miso paste! It’s the best part of it. I might or might not add sweet Italian sausage to mix. Either way! 5/5.
We’re over the moon to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Suzette. Thanks for your kind words!
Hi Nisha.
Recipe looks great. I’m yet to try it.
I wonder if U could leave some tips or recipe links to help us use up left over ingredients. E.g. what to do with the left over tomato sauce, kale etc. I hate wasting food.
Hi Natalie, we are excited for you to try it as well! And as for the suggestion, I will pass it along! In the meantime, feel free to go to the website search bar and type in the name of an ingredient to find other recipes that use certain ingredients.
And a suggestion from me: I love using any leftover veggies in soups, curries, stir fries and salads!
Honestly, I was so completely shocked at how incredibly yummy and satisfying this was. I needed a quick lunch, and had some great northern beans I had cooked up and needed to use. I also had pretty much everything else in your recipe on hand. My measuring was super sketchy, but it didn’t seem to matter, as it turned out deliciously. The main differences—I used curly kale instead of Tuscan, I didn’t use any tomato sauce (just the paste), and instead of the wild rice, I used some saffron basmati that I had already cooked up. So fast, so easy, so good!!! Thank you!
Alison, Thank you for your thoughtful review! We’re so happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe.
Hi Kaitlin, don’t know how to ask a question without using the stars. So hope it’s ok to put 5 stars because it looks and sounds delicious 😊
I’ve got to get my cholesterol down so trying not to use coconut milk. Could I sub with another plant milk?
Thanks for all your beautiful recipes 🌻
No worries, Avril! :) Thanks for the compliment!
It will be soupier since other plant milks are not as creamy/thick as coconut milk. If you don’t mind that, you can try plain-flavored oat or soy milk. For a creamier texture, though, we suggest cashew cream but a relatively thin version (use a closer to 1:1 ratio for cashews to water).
Thank you so much. I used oat milk and it was delicious. Cooked it off a little so it wasn’t too thin. Will be definitely making it again and will try cashew milk next time. Maybe make my own. Definitely a 5 star recipe, thank you 🌻
Great to hear, Avril! :)
I didn’t have any coconut milk and swapped it for 1/3 cup cream cheese. Also hard farro instead of wild rice. It’s delicious! Don’t skip the miso.
Erika, so glad to hear you loved this recipe even with the substitutions!
Can I swap out the coconut milk? Not a fan of coconut in savory dishes. Thank you!