Nourishing meals need not cost a fortune or be boring. I love those dinners where you can chuck everything in a pot and at the end have a heaping pan full of deliciousness. This Braised Broccoli and Beans dish has all the familiar flavors of cheese, onion, broccoli, and creamy white beans. Plus this dish has a few special ingredients to keep it from being plain. Instead it’s full of rich flavor that makes it a great side or even a main dish.
The first step is to cook some chopped onion and then add your broccoli on top of that. We’re using fresh broccoli here so that it doesn’t get mushy. Some liquid in the form of broth added to the pan is where the braised part of the recipe comes in. The broth helps cook the broccoli and infuse it with flavor without it getting soupy. If you love one-pot dishes, but aren’t really looking for a soup then these beans fit the bill.
The next step is to add the beans and cover the pan to let everything cook together. For simplicity we’re using canned white beans (cannellini) here, but if you want to use dry beans you can. In that case you would basically soak and cook the beans first and then combine them with the half-cooked broccoli and other ingredients. But, canned is so much easier and they come out perfect every time with this recipe.
The beans add a creamy element to the dish that makes it super comforting, as well as filling.
At the end add in some cheese and some lemon zest to really set the whole dish off. Lemon is one of my very favorite ways to flavor both veggies and meats and it does an amazing job to make this a stand-out in terms of flavor.
Serve this with some chicken for a really hearty meal, or with some bread for a lighter dinner. The flavors of this Braised Broccoli and Beans dish are so good. And, it’s so easy to make- the perfect weeknight dinner dish with minimal clean up.
Braised Broccoli and Beans
Diet: Diabetic
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil, plus extra for serving
- 1 white onion, diced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 lbs broccoli (3 small crowns), chopped
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup vegetable stock
- 2 (15 oz) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 4 oz shredded parmesan cheese
Preparation
- Heat olive oil in stockpot over medium high heat. Add onion and reduce to medium. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sauté for 6 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add broccoli and sauté for 2 minutes. Add Italian seasoning, thyme, red pepper flakes, Worcestershire sauce, vegetable stock, and beans to the pan.
- Cover and cook for 4 minutes or until broccoli is for tender and beans are warmed through. Add more stock if beans get too dry.
- Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, and parmesan cheese. Drizzle extra olive oil over each serving and enjoy while piping hot.
Recipe adapted from Bon Apetit and 101 cookbooks.