I love any dish where I can sneak in some kale without complaints from the haters; there’s just something so fun about sneaking them in and hearing the good ol’, “I usually hate kale, but this is SO good!” These Buffalo beans and greens pack in a whole lot of nutrition and flavor on a shoestring budget. Creamy white beans, rich kale, and wholesome diced veggies all tossed in spicy buffalo sauce. Drizzle it with some blue cheese dressing, and I just can’t get enough! One of my favorite Nashville institutions recently closed (I sob) and they had a killer Buffalo beans and greens dish on their menu, so this tip of the hat goes out to my friends at The Wild Cow.
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What Are Buffalo Beans and Greens?
If you’ve made our Saucy White Beans with Spinach, then you know how good stewed beans can be. These buffalo beans and greens are a fun riff on the classic “Buffalo chicken” that all Americans know and love, but we’ve turned it into a veg-friendly complete meal. It’s a balanced, comforting, and wholesome meal with just the right amount of spice.
Ingredients for Buffalo Beans and Greens
Here’s what you’ll need to make buffalo beans and greens:
- Unsalted Butter: Helps sauté the veggies without burning and adds richness to the dish. Dairy free? No problem, olive oil is a suitable substitute.
- Vegetables: Yellow onion, celery, and carrots create a sweet, earthy, and crunchy base of flavor for this dish.
- Garlic: Adds an earthy and savory element to the dish.
- Cannellini Beans: These creamy white beans are a great meat replacement and are packed full of fiber and protein.
- Buffalo Sauce: Adds a touch of spice to the dish.
- Blue Cheese Dressing: You can use as much or as little as you like. It’s just for a drizzle on top at the end. Blue cheese can be polarizing, so if you’re not a fan, you can leave it off or try a drizzle of Homemade Ranch Dressing instead!
- Fresh Kale: Wilts into this dish to create a delightfully earthy flavor and texture.
- White Rice: Serve these beans and greens over rice for a complete, filling meal.
What Else Can I Put In Buffalo Beans and Greens?
This is a great recipe for fridge cleanout day since it’s easy to add any number of leftover veggies, meats, or cheeses to it. Try:
- Broccoli or cauliflower florets
- Diced zucchini or summer squash
- Cut green beans or asparagus
- Frozen peas or corn
- Cooked bacon, Italian sausage, or pancetta
- Leftover shredded chicken
- Crumbled blue cheese
What to Serve with Buffalo Beans and Greens
We love the simplicity of this dish served over white rice, but of course, brown rice is a great healthy alternative. You could also serve it over some Mashed Potatoes, Deruny, Oven Roasted Potatoes, Creamy Polenta, or Cheese Grits. And if you hate blue cheese, try serving these buffalo beans and greens drizzled with Homemade Ranch Dressing.
Buffalo Beans and Greens
Servings 4 (about 1.5 cups each)Ingredients
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter ($0.75)
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced small ($0.39)
- 3 celery stalks, diced small ($0.26)
- 2 medium carrots, diced small ($0.26)
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced ($0.42)
- 2 15oz. cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed ($2.56)
- 1/4 cup Buffalo-style hot sauce* ($0.52)
- 2 tbsp water ($0.00)
- 2 cups fresh kale, chopped ($0.50)
- 1/4 cup blue cheese dressing ($0.31)
- 3 cups white rice, cooked ($0.64)
Instructions
- Cook rice according to package directions. (1 dry cup will yield about 3 cooked cups of rice.) Drain and rinse the cannellini beans.
- Dice celery, yellow onion, and carrots to make a mirepoix.
- Add the butter, celery, onions, and carrots to a large skillet. Sauté over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, or just until the veggies begin to soften. Add the garlic and sauté for an additional 1-2 minutes.
- Add the white beans, Buffalo-style hot sauce and water to the skillet. Stir and cook over medium heat until the beans are heated through.
- Add the kale to the pan and stir until bright green and wilted. No need to cook for too long. Serve a heaping spoonful on top of rice, drizzling blue cheese dressing over the top. Add salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Enjoy!
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Equipment
- Deep Stainless Steel Skillet
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!
how to make Buffalo Beans and Greens – step by step photos
Cook rice according to package directions. (1 dry cup will yield about 3 cooked cups of rice.) Drain and rinse the cannellini beans. Dice 3 stalks celery, 1/2 of a yellow onion, and 2 medium carrots to make a mirepoix.
Add 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, celery, onion, and carrots to a large skillet. Sauté over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, or just until the veggies begin to soften. Add 6 cloves of minced garlic and sauté for an additional 1-2 minutes.
Add 2 cans of drained and rinsed cannellini beans, 1/4 cup Buffalo-style hot sauce, and 2 Tbsp water to the skillet. Stir and cook over medium heat until the beans are heated through.
Add 2 cups chopped fresh kale to the pan and stir until bright green and wilted. No need to cook for too long. Serve a heaping spoonful on top of rice (about 3/4 cup cooked rice per person), drizzling blue cheese dressing over the top. Add salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
This rich and filling buffalo beans and greens is sure to become a weeknight staple!
I had never tried blue cheese before, so it was a risk when I bought a jar of litehouse blue cheese dressing at the grocery store. Absolutely delicious, no regrets here! I plan to use the rest of the jar to accompany other foods with buffalo sauce (we use it a lot at our house) and to dip raw veggies 😋
Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought him back!
Loved. Added extra kale, and because I hate celery, I used three stems of leek. I added plant-based caesar dressing on the top! So good. Next time, I will make it with quinoa for extra protein. I’d say, don’t skip the creamy dressing, whether it’s blue cheese, ranch, or caesar, as it really takes it to the next level (I bet you could even use greek yogurt or sour cream!). Mine was vegan-excited to have a new meal in the rotation for 2025!
Outstanding!!! I didn’t change a thing!
Thanks, Lizzie! Glad you loved it!
A few things went wrong for me here. I bought cheap bleu cheese and buffalo sauce and probably shouldn’t have done that. Also I followed the instructions and thought it needed more flavor so I added more buffalo sauce and then it tasted fine but when I heated up the leftovers it was way too much.
Only thing I could think of was to throw it in the pan with a bunch of cottage cheese. HONESTLY, made it so good. Thick and creamy and protein-y. I am not saying to do this before tasting your recipe.. it was completely because I had way too much sauce and like rly had to fix my mistake. So for those who do what I did.. try the cottage cheese!
Nice pivot, Sophia! I’m glad it worked out!
I had to cook the veggies on my gas stove quite a while longer than called for to get them to soften up, but it didn’t matter once we tasted it. I used buffalo wild wings buffalo sauce (possibly the best bottled sauce out there), and I added a bit more than called for since we like a lot of zing in our meals. It was a big hit and we loved it. We’re excited to have the leftovers tomorrow. Will definitely add this to the repertoire!
Awesome, glad you enjoyed!
Just made this for lunch & it was amazing!!!!! Super duper easy & felt really healthy & filling
Yay, Emma! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I have made this several times now. It’s great! Like others, I did make some changes. I use chopped spinach instead of kale. And chickpeas instead of the cannellini beans.
Yum! Perfect substitutions.
I made this because I had some kale to use up…we planted it in the garden because it looks pretty, not because we like it. I was surprised to find this is delicious. Really delicious! It’s going on my list of favorite recipes. I made a couple of changes. I cooked 1/2 the recipe (and wish I’d made the full one). I used salted butter. I used the BudgetBytes recipe (linked in one of the comments) for Buffalo sauce using Aldi’s version of Frank’s hot sauce – and I’m glad I read the comments as I thought Frank’s hot sauce was Buffalo-style sauce; I kind of feel that needs clarification on the ingredients list. I had a ton of sofrito rice leftover from another recipe so I served it over that instead of plain rice. One question, instruction number 3 in the recipe includes adding salt; I didn’t see salt on the ingredient list.
I’m so glad you loved it! Salt and pepper at the end is optional. I found the buffalo sauce to be plenty salty on its own, so I took additional salt out of the recipe. Thanks for catching that!
Okay, I’m on my second day of leftovers from this dish and it just keeps growing on me. It’s just beans and veggies and a teeny bit of cheese and somehow I’m just inhaling it. I knew I wouldn’t use a whole bottle of bleu cheese dressing, so I subbed ranch, and added a few bleu cheese crumbles because those’ll freeze till doomsday. Used spinach for my greens, but would love to try this with something a little heftier (collards, mustard, or bok choi would probably be GREAT). And, as mentioned, it leaves over just really really well. Might actually be better on the third day than it was on the first.
Yum! I love hearing this! It seriously makes the best leftovers.
Great recipe! My husband is a meat & potatoes fan, but he really enjoyed this meal. Thank you!
Awesome! I love hearing about meat and ‘taters folks (like my family!) giving veggie recipes a try and being pleasantly surprised. Thanks so much.
This is great! Quick and filling, lots of flavor, and it’s a “clean the pantry” inspiration. Had half a bottle of buffalo wing sauce and half an onion in the fridge, a lone can of chickpeas in the pantry, and diced up a couple lingering slices of turkey bacon to toss in as well. My partner is not a fan of kale so I used collard greens which are a good texture for this too
LOVE collard greens. Excellent choice!
Looking forward to trying this? Would this recipe be ok to freeze?
I think they should freeze just fine! :)
Loved this recipe. Great fridge clean out, as you guys said. Super fast, versatile, nutritious, and filling.
I’ve never tried blue cheese, and I know it’s a love it or hate it kind of thing, so do you have any recommendations for substitutions for the dressing?
Ranch would be a great substitute. Thanks for your comment, Abigail!
My partner opted for ranch :)
So glad you liked it, Brittney!
I do not like kale so I switched to spinach (yes I know, but kale is not happening, it’s just too bitter and chewy) but outside of that one alteration, I loved this recipe. Was delicious, filling, and I used leftover beans to make it a fantastic way of using up leftovers.
It’s ok if you don’t like kale! I actually tell people all the time, “Just pick a green you like!” (Also, I am a horse girl as well, love your user pic!) Thanks for your feedback.
Can I use frozen kale? If so, when should it be added? Thanks!
Yes, you can! I would just stir it in at the same time you would fresh.