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!
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
I just made this tonight. Did smashed potatoes instead of rice. Used full fat coconut milk bc I had it. Omg so good. My husband said immediately: this is a keeper! Seriously the best thing I’ve made in a while, he said. Thanks!
I wish you would add a function that made it easy to print this recipe.
I made this tonight for my family of 8 and it was a hit! Thank you!
My hubby is not a fan of coconut, with all the other yummy ingredients in this recipe, can you really taste the coconut flavor? (I’m definitely still going make this, just wondering if I need to maybe sub out some of the coconut milk) Thank you!
I made this tonight and you really can’t taste the coconut. My family of 8 really liked it :)
These were amazing!! Definitely going to add this recipe to my regular meals.
Nisha!! I thought adding vegan meals to our rotation at least 1-2x weekly would be great for the environment AND my waistline, but your recipes are SO GOOD that I keep having too many portions for dinner! This was another great one that we’ll be repeating often
This turned out so good!! I also added a squeeze of lemon before serving. Didn’t have miso paste so I substituted Trader Joe’s umami seasoning. Also substituted spinach for kale. Great recipe!
I would also like to know how to adjust the recipe using dried white cannelloni beans. Looks delicious!
This was incredibly delicious. I didn’t have wild rice so I made black rice and it tasted so good together. So quick and easy; will definitely make again!
This was SO delicious. All of the flavors work perfectly together. Added a squeeze of lemon just before serving – perfection! Will definitely make this over and over again.
So nice to hear that, Arielle :) thank you for sharing. A squeeze of lemon is always a good idea just before serving!
My son and I made this the day after we made the Vegan Carmelized Onion Pasta, which is a great way to use up the extra tomato paste if you use canned paste for the Onion Pasta. ;o)This recipe didn’t look appetizing, but it tasted amazing! Even my daughter loved it! There were NO leftovers! Definitely a keeper recipe and a great way to get kale into your diet.
Hi Melanie, that’s so wonderful to hear you were able to get more use out of that tomato paste :) I’m so glad you and your kids enjoyed this meal (and yes a great way to get those healthy greens into your diet)!
This looks so delicious ! I never buy canned beans, however, I only have dried beans. Do you have a recommendation on how to adapt this recipe using dried beans ? Thank you!
I LOVE this recipe. I made this last night for my boyfriend and I. Super flavorful. I subbed about 3/4 cup of almond milk with a tablespoon of arrowroot starch for the coconut milk because I was out and it tasted great!
So good and easy to make!
I’m low on white beans… can I include garbanzo beans?
Definitely!
Hi, is there a miso substitution?
Hi Megan, the miso adds a nice but subtle touch of umami to the dish. You can try a tablespoon or two of nutritional yeast or a couple splashes of tamari/soy sauce. Or leave it out and just add a tad more salt to taste – it’ll still be good!
Delicious! I find many beans & rice recipes bland but this one is so good, savory and filling. Thank you!
Hi Aurora, I’m glad to hear that! I always try to incorporate lots of flavor into my dishes so I’m glad you thought it was so good :)
This was so delicious :) thank you for such an inspiring recipe Nisha!
Hi Jessie, so happy you loved this recipe! Thank you for letting me know!
I made this for dinner and really loved it! I love white beans but don’t use them enough and the miso paste added great flavor. I’ll definitely make this again!
I’m so in love with this recipe Nisha! You have combined some of my favorite flavors and ingredients. This is on my menu for the week and I’m so excited to try it :)
This recipe was really easy and delicious! We eat a lot of black beans and chickpeas, so this was a perfect way to mix it up. I think the coconut milk & miso combination works well (I’ve never tried it before)