White Beans and Escarole Recipe

Italian white beans and escarole, also known as beans and greens, is a delicious recipe that uses a lesser known leafy green vegetable! It’s typically served like a thick stew with crunchy bread and can be a main dish, side, or appetizer.

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Are you familiar with beans and escarole? Growing up in a part-Italian family and in a region with really good Italian food, I was lucky enough to be exposed to this delicious recipe!

White beans and escarole is a stew-like dish with a creamy texture and plenty of garlic and red pepper flakes. Even though it can be eaten like a soup, I like to keep it thick by using less broth and adding the white beans with their juices (instead of draining them). This makes the liquid super creamy and the whole dish easier to spoon over crunchy bread, which is the best way to serve it in my opinion!

What is escarole?

If you aren’t familiar with escarole, it’s a leafy green vegetable that looks like lettuce but with wider, wavy leaves. Escarole belongs to the chicory family, which also includes Belgian endive and radicchio. These veggies typically have a bitter taste, but they taste delicious when cooked with the right seasonings.

Escarole, in particular, has a bittersweet flavor. Its taste becomes milder when cooked, and it’s commonly used in soups and stews, such as Italian Wedding Soup. Escarole is actually one of the best greens to use in soups, since it doesn’t lose all of its texture or get slimy.

How to Make Beans and Escarole

1. Warm olive oil in a large skillet, add chopped escarole, minced garlic, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper, and cook for a few minutes. Add vegetable broth, and let the greens simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Add a can of cannellini beans with their juices and some more broth if desired. Let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes to bring out the flavors. Taste, and adjust salt and pepper as desired. Serve with crunchy bread!

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Expert Tips

Even though making sautéed escarole and beans is SO easy, these tips will be helpful to you the first time you make it.

• You can find escarole near the other heads of lettuce at the grocery store. My local store nearly always carries it, but some stores may not. If you can’t find escarole at the store you usually go to, it’s worth looking around to see if you can find it somewhere else. White beans and escarole is THAT good! 😉
• To prepare escarole for cooking, slice off the root, peel apart the leaves, and thoroughly rinse them under cold running water. Escarole can be pretty dirty, so it’s important to remove all of the dirt before cooking.
• For serving, seeded Italian bread is the best choice if you can find it. You can also serve escarole and beans over pasta. Add freshly grated parmesan cheese before you dig in!
• This dish is best served right away, and leftovers won’t keep well in the fridge. Serve it as a side dish to fish or meat or as a vegetarian main dish or appetizer.

More Italian Vegetable Recipes

Check out some of my other recipes that are inspired by Italian dishes like these white beans and escarole. Reader favorites include the Mushroom and Lentil Ragu, Grilled Panzanella Salad, and Baked Italian Zucchini Balls. For another warm dish using leafy greens, try the Garlic Lemon Creamy Kale Pasta.

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📖 Recipe

Have a great weekend! – Lizzie