I view this Broccolini Beans recipe as a take on aglio e olio (spaghetti with garlic and olive oil), but just add broccolini, and of course, beans! It’s a simple recipe, and you can absolutely make it with canned beans or beans cooked from dry. I add tinned fish for extra flavor and depth to the recipe – I find it works wonders.
What inspired these beans was a podcast, funnily enough! In the podcast, the hosts were making a broccolini pasta for their guest. The pasta had garlic and toasted anchovy, and all I could think about was how good it would be as a protein-packed bean dish. You can even swap the toast for pasta, and it would be an equally excellent beans and pasta situation.
I chose broccolini because similar to kale, it holds its color longer than other greens. You can of course substitute it for regular broccoli. The color might be less green but the flavor will still be delicious.
Table of contents
Ingredients you will need for these broccolini beans
I give options for how to make this recipe with dried beans vs. canned beans. If you are using canned beans, skip the brothy bean portion and go straight into the broccolini part of the recipe!
Here are the ingredients you will need:
For the brothy beans
- 1/2 pound of dried white beans (if using canned beans, skip this whole portion)
- 1 tablespoon and 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt, divided
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small (5 oz) yellow onion
- 1 small (2 oz) lemon
- 5 garlic cloves
- 6 cups of water
For the broccolini
- 3/4 pound of broccolini
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 flat-packed anchovy fillets
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 6 garlic cloves
- 4 Calabrian chilies
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 (4.2 oz) tin of mackerel, anchovies, or sardines. Tins with lemon flavor, caper flavor, olive flavor or chili flavor will work best. here.
- 1 lemon
- 1 cup (1.5 oz) chopped parsley
Tips on how to use the oil the tinned fish is stored in
I am a huge advocate of minimizing waste. You’ll notice that I call for a tin of fish in this recipe, which is not cheap! But you’ll also notice that tinned fish is packed in oil. I like to use that oil along with olive oil as the start of my recipe, AKA the base I’ll cook all my spices and vegetables in.
I highly recommend this method – just measure out how much oil is in the tin, then add enough extra-virgin olive oil so that you get to 1/2 cup.
The one very important thing to note: As oil heats up, it will pop and fizz out any water/moisture that is combined with it. If your tinned fish has a lot of lemon juice or excess water along with the oil, just look out and be safe, because you may have some popping on your hands. To stay on the safe side, make sure you have a lid nearby in case you need to cover the pan for a few minutes as the moisture evaporates away and the oil remains.
Storage tips
These rich, savory beans luckily store very well. Be warned they will lose a bit of color, but you can store them in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
You can also freeze them in individual servings. They will last in the freezer for six months.
To thaw, move them to the fridge and let them fully thaw over 48 hours. Then reheat either in the microwave or on the stove top. To keep them feeling fresh, garnish with lemon zest and parsley. Then you are good to enjoy!
Watch the recipe here
Looking for similar recipes?
We love beans in this house. Here are a few favorites:
Saffron Oil Tomatoes & Beans
Brothy Beans
Sweet Potato Beans
And that’s it for these Broccolini Beans!
If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3
Equipment
Ingredients
For the brothy beans
- 1/2 pound dried white beans, see Note* for how to use canned beans
- 1 tablespoon and 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt, divided
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 (5 oz) small yellow onion
- 1 (2 oz) small lemon
- 5 garlic cloves
- 6 cups water
For the broccolini
- 3/4 pound broccolini
- 6 garlic cloves
- 4 Calabrian chilies
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, see Note**
- 4 flat-packed anchovy fillets
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 (4.2 oz) tin mackerel, anchovies or sardines, Tins with lemon flavor, caper flavor, olive flavor or chili flavor will work best.
- 1 lemon
- 1 cup (1.5 oz) parsley, chopped
Instructions
If using canned beans skip, jump ahead to step 7.
- Make the brothy beans. Add 1/2 pound of dried beans to a very large bowl. Cover them with water until they are submerged by at least 2 inches. Season the water with 2 teaspoons of kosher salt. Let them soak for 6 hours up to 24 hours. The longer the soak, the quicker the beans will take to cook.
- When you are ready to cook your beans, place a large stock pot over medium heat. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pot, about 1/4 cup.
- Let the oil heat up for a few minutes. Peel and halve the onion, leaving the root intact. Clean and halve the lemon lengthwise, peel the 5 garlic cloves. Add the onion, lemon and garlic cloves to the oil, cut sides down. Sear for 6-8 minutes or until charred, then flip.
- Drain the soaked beans. Add the beans to the pot and season with 1 tablespoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Pour in six cups of water. Bring this to a simmer, cover, and let simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.
- When it has been 45 minutes, start testing the beans for doneness. I like to try 2-3 beans, because sometimes beans can cook unevenly in the pot.
- When the beans are done, strain out most of the bean broth, leaving about 1/2 cup of broth in the pot with the beans. You can discard the lemon but keep the onion and garlic in with the beans. Reserve the broth for other recipes (use it like vegetable stock – only it's much more delicious!). Set the pot of beans aside while you do the broccolini portion.
- Make the broccolini. Finely chop 8 ounces of broccolini and set aside. Thinly slice the 6 garlic cloves and 4 Calabrian chilies and set these aside as well.
- Add 1/2 cup of olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the 4 anchovy fillets, 1 teaspoon fennel seeds and 1 teaspoon oregano. Cook for 30-60 seconds, or until the fillets have melted into the oil.
- Add the chilies and garlic and let the oil simmer for 3-4 minutes, or until the edges of the garlic are beginning to turn golden.
- Add the finely chopped broccolini and stir to coat in the oil. Cook for 6-8 minutes, seasoning with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and freshly cracked pepper, plus more to taste.
- Pour in everything in the bean pot into the broccolini mix (this includes the onion, garlic cloves and 1/2 cup of bean broth), or if you are using canned beans, add those here. Stir to coat in the broccolini.
- Break in a 4.2 ounce tin of anchovies, mackerel or sardines. Stir to combine, breaking up the chunks into smaller pieces.
- Squeeze in the juice from half of the lemon. Let simmer uncovered for 5-6 minutes. The beans should be thick with a bit of liquid and oil pooling at the sides.
- Taste and season with more salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste, then stir in 1 cup chopped parsley.
- Serve with crusty bread.
Comments
I can imagine how amazing this will be with Rancho Gordo Royal Corona butter beans, oh my YUM
nOw if I could just find a calabrian chili source.
Ugh I am sorry that your grocery stores don’t carry it! Mezzetta has great options if you can find them (they are usually in most grocers!)
I unfortunately had to sub chickpeas for beans and we don’t have broccolini in season here (I added spinach and beet leaves) but my goodness. This was the most delicious food ever and I can’t believe I keep saying this with every single recipe you post. The sweetness of chickpeas paired with chili, savour taste of tinned mackerel and (preserved) lemon at the end…This is simply divine and it goes into my cooking repertoire. Thank you Justine!
Gosh this made my day!! I’m so sorry it took me so long to see it, but truly thank you so much!
Could you use preserved lemon here instead I made the preserved lemons from your book and am wondering where else to use them all!
Preserved lemon would be WONDERFUL here! I’m so glad you made them from the book!
Took inspiration from this to clear out my own pantry and made it with canned butter beans, shallot, broccolini, arugula, and lots of red pepper flakes. So delicious and I cannot wait to add it to my regular weeknight rotation. Thank you, Justine!
This is an excellent, simple but hearty recipe! I used my canned salmon and I will def make this again. Well done and thank you!
Love this recipe, it’s so unusual yet comforting and full of flavor!
This was SERIOUSLY DELICIOUS!!!! So easy but the flavours were incredible. I had sardines in tomato sauce and so added a glob of tomato paste in with the fennel and oregano. Truly divine!!!!
Girl POP OFF with this recipe. I am literally, currently, eating this and had to put my spoon down to tell you that you are my recipe muse. Thank you for creating a master piece yet again!
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