Greek baked butter beans (gigantes)
Giant butter beans baked in a thick, oregano-scented tomato sauce with plenty of olive oil until jammy at the edges, the Greek taverna classic that’s even better the next day.
- 65 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.00 a serving
- 460 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 carrot, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- 3 cans butter beans, drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped, divided
- ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled (optional)
- ½ French bread, for serving (optional)
From your pantry
- ¼ cup olive oil, divided
- 1½ tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 460 calories, 19 g protein, 67 g carbs and 15 g fat, and costs about $2.00 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No crushed tomatoes? Diced tomatoes work.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
- No feta cheese? Goat cheese works.
- No French bread? Sourdough bread works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 375°F.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook, stirring, 8 minutes, until soft.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium heatTimer: 8 min
Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook 1 to 2 minutes, until the paste darkens a shade.
Medium heat
Add the crushed tomatoes, oregano, sugar, salt and pepper and 5 minutes.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Stir in the beans and half the parsley, pour it all into a 2-quart baking dish, and the rest of the oil over the top.
Drizzle. Drizzling means pouring a thin, slow stream over the top of something. A thin stream spreads a little flavor a long way.
How you’ll know: You see thin lines across the food, not a puddle collecting underneath.
Dolly’s tip: The olive oil on top is what makes this taste Greek instead of just tomatoey. Don’t skimp.uncovered 35 to 40 minutes, until the sauce is thick and jammy and the beans on top are a little .
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Timer: 35 min
Let it rest 10 minutes, then scatter feta and the rest of the parsley over the top and serve warm with bread.
Timer: 10 min
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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