Hooray for simple dishes! I came across this post for Tomato and White Bean Stew with Chicken Sausage on Domesticate Me the other day and thought, “What a wonderfully simple and delightful dish! I must make that immediately.” It reminded me of my favorite Penne Pasta with Sausage and Greens, but with beans replacing the pasta. I never thought about using beans in place of pasta, but it works so seamlessly with this dish that I might try it in more recipes in the future. Less carbs, more protein, and more fiber! White Beans with Tomato and Sausage wins!
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I made a couple of small changes to the Domesticate Me recipe, most notably the type of beans used. Cannellini beans are awesome because they’re large and hold their shape well, but they were ridiculously expensive at my grocery store and I didn’t have time to cook them from dry. My other two options were Navy beans and Great Northern. Both are smaller than Cannellini, with Great Northern being the larger of the two. Navy beans are great for soups and stews where you want the beans to thicken the mixture up because they tend to break down and release their starches. Great Northern broke down a bit too, but not quite as much as Navy, so I went with the Great Northern.
I used two links of leftover mild pork Italian sausage that I had stashed in my freezer, but you could use hot Italian sausage, sweet Italian sausage, or even chicken sausage like the original recipe. I used frozen spinach in place of the fresh (because I had it and it’s less expensive), and decided against adding any broth. I wanted my White Beans with Tomato and Sausage to be a thick, saucy compote-like mixture, so I avoided adding extra liquid. If you want it more like a stew, you can add some broth (chicken or vegetable would be best).
I ate this in a bowl with a chunk of good crusty bread to sop up the sauce, but you could also pile it over toast and maybe even add a fried egg (I did! See photos below). The White Beans with Tomato and Sausage is great with a little cheese sprinkled over top, if you have some.
White Beans with Tomato and Sausage
Servings 4 (1.25 cups each)Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 2 links Italian Sausage (about 8oz. total) ($1.99)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 28oz. can crushed tomatoes ( $1.49)
- 1/2 tsp dried basil ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper (optional) ($0.02)
- Freshly cracked black pepper ($0.03)
- 2 15oz. cans Great Northern beans ($1.38)
- 4 oz. frozen chopped spinach (1/4 of a 1 lb. bag) ($0.40)
- Salt to taste ($0.02)
Instructions
- Add the olive oil and sausage links to a large pot and cook over medium-low heat until golden brown on the outside and slightly firm (about 5 minutes). Remove the sausage to a cutting board and slice them into rounds. Return the sausage slices to the pot.
- Continue to sauté the sausage until fully browned. While the sausage is cooking, dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add the onions and garlic to the pot and continue to sauté until the onions are soft and transparent. The moisture from the onions should dissolve any browned bits of sausage from the bottom of the pot.
- Once the onions are soft, add the can of crushed tomatoes, dried basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, and a healthy dose of freshly cracked pepper (15-20 cranks of a pepper mill). Stir to combine.
- Empty the two cans of Great Northern beans into a colander and rinse with cool water. Let the excess water drain away, then add the beans to the pot along with the frozen chopped spinach (no need to thaw). Stir the contents of the pot and allow them to heat through, stirring occasionally
- (about 10 minutes). Taste and add salt if needed (1/4-1/2 tsp). If a thicker mixture is desired, let the pot simmer longer until the sauce has reduced. Serve hot with crusty bread for dipping.
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Nutrition
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(Served over toast and topped with a fried egg.)
How to Make White Beans with Tomatoes and Sausage – Step by Step Photos
Start off by browning two links of Italian sausage in a large pot with one tablespoon of olive oil. I did this over medium-low heat to make sure the outside didn’t brown too fast. The reason you’ll want to do this first is to firm the sausage up enough to slice it into rounds. When the sausage is raw it’s soft like ground beef, so once you slice through the casing, there’s no holding it together. Cooking it slightly helps make it firm enough to slice.
Once it’s browned on the outside, remove it to a cutting board and slice it into rounds.
Return it to the pot and continue to sauté until it’s browned on all sides. It’s okay if little bits start to stick to the bottom of the pot and turn brown. That will give the dish flavor (and will dissolve off in the next step). While the sausage is browning, dice one onion and mince two cloves of garlic.
Add the diced onion and minced garlic to the pot and continue to sauté until the onions are soft and transparent. The onions will release moisture as they cook, which will help dissolve all that delicious flavor off the bottom of the pot (that’s why they look so brown).
After the onions have softened, add one 28oz. can of crushed tomatoes, 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, a pinch of crushed red pepper (optional), and a healthy dose of cracked pepper. Stir to combine.
Rinse two 15oz. cans of Great Northern beans in a colander and let the excess water drain away. Add them to the pot along with 4oz. of frozen spinach (just estimate about 1/4 of a one pound bag). Stir them into the tomato sauce.
Let the pot simmer for about 10 minutes, or until heated through. Stir occasionally to help break up the chunks of frozen spinach and help distribute the heat. Taste and add salt if needed (1/4-1/2 tsp). You can serve the beans immediately, or let them simmer a little longer and let the sauce thicken up even more. That’s just personal preference.
I love to eat it with a chunk of crusty bread to soak up that yummy tomato sauce!
It made about 5 cups, or four servings of 1.25 cups each. It’s pretty filling!
I was pretty skeptical of this recipe at first but I decided to give it a try. I mostly followed the recipe except I subbed in breakfast sausage and fresh spinach. This turned out so delicious! I took it to work an all my coworkers said it smelled great! I like that this recipe doesn’t have pasta but is still really filling. It kind of reminds me of spaghetti flavored chili if that makes sense. The breakfast sausage was actually really good I would recommend it! I will be making this again. Just give it a try you won’t be disappointed!
Really warm and filling on a day when we’re under an ice storm warning locally. This is similar enough in flavour to a spaghetti dish (in my hands) that I can imagine it being an easy sell to any generally bean-hesitant family members (or people who need to go gluten-free?). Great way to add some extra fiber/nutrients for little palates that don’t stray far from pasta ;) I won’t be rushing to prepare it for company (I’d go with Shashuka in that case) but this is a great, quick workhorse for the everyday. Thanks again!
Great! I’ve made this twice now. The first time exactly as written, and I loved it! I just made it again and added a third sausage link. After I started cooking I realized I only had 1 can of beans, so I added some frozen cauliflower to bulk it up. It’s so good!
As with all Budget Bytes recipes this was extremely tasty, quick to make, and healthy. I started mine about 2 hours before dinner was to be served as it felt like something that could simmer on the pot for awhile to really let the flavors meld together even more, and it wouldn’t dry out or scorch.
I only made two small changes as it’s what I had on hand. I used ground Italian sausage, and fresh spinach. I added maybe a 1/2 cup of chicken broth so it was a little more soupy than stewie.
With it now being fall, I can see this being an quick weeknight, I don’t feel like cooking, but take it is horrible for me, recipe.
Great recipe thank you! My little changes were I used chorizo and cooked the onions and veggies in the chorizo fat, an amazing addition of flavour. I also subbed in red peppers for one can of beans as well as added a little sugar because my tomatoes were quite tart and it turned out delicious! Definitely keeping this recipe and trying out more
Yum!! Such a delicious, hearty recipe with very little effort, and easily modified if needed. I squeezed the sausage out of the casings so I’d have more sausage chunks throughout. I made this with the 2 cans of beans the first time a few weeks ago, but last night I made it with some sliced baby bella mushrooms subbed in for 1 of the cans of beans. It was super tasty! I added them with the sausage so they had time to really cook down. I’m also a huge oregano fan so I added extra – in the future I may add more sausage to get more of that flavor as well. I served this with some toasted & buttered ciabatta, and it would also be great with a sprinkle of parmesan or shredded mozzarella. It was a delicious dinner for a cold, rainy day.
Hi! I’ve made this before and loved it and would love to try to make vegetarian as I’m eating less meat. Any ideas for sausage substitution in terms of getting thay flavour? Perhaps using tomatoes that have chilies like rotel? Thanks for your help!
I would use 2 packages of muchrooms and saute them in oil, chipping into smallish peices and season them with this mix. (this mix makes 8 servings of spice, but just use 2 servings)
2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed (we use whole, but you can crush the 1/2 teaspoon of whole seeds if you’d like)
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon minced garlic (we use fresh if not making a big batch)
1 teaspoon minced onions (we use fresh if not making a big batch)
How much broth would you recommend adding for a more stew like consistency?
I would say about 1.5-2 cups. Maybe start with one and see how much that loosens it up, and then add more to get it to the consistency that you’re looking for.
You also could drain only one (or neither) of the cans of beans, adding their liquid to the pot. That liquid serves as an effect egg-replacement if need be, so adds liquid but also thickens the sauce slightly. Just be aware it might increase the sodium levels depending on how your beans are preserved.
Tastes as good as it looks. No wonder why it is such a great recipe, loaded with taste and health, plus no calories. Thanks so much for sharing this amazing recipe. If anyone is looking so for such great low-calorie recipes, please check this amazing healthy recipes hub.
A good, simple dish. I used chicken sausages, chickpeas and a bunch of Italian parsley (didn’t have spinach). I like this site. It’s tasty and it’s practical.
I feel like I need to whisper this- Everyone ate it. My 6 year old, my one year old and my 42 year old. It was amazing. Loved it. I did use extra sausage as I only had one can of beans.
Hi Beth – loved this recipe!! My crushed tomatoes were pretty tart so I added a little brown sugar. I’m making it again – Any suggestions for more veggies to add? I saw carrots, zucchini, and kale in the comments, wondering if you had any other ideas. Thanks!
I almost feel like potatoes would also make a good addition! You might have to boil them separately then add them, though, so they don’t soak up too much moisture.
This dish was a wonderful hearty dinner, thank you! I doubled everything in the recipe with ease. I did have to swap the white beans for chickpeas because that was what I had on hand. The chickpeas did have a more dominant flavour than I would have liked, so next time I will use white beans. I also didn’t have enough spinach, so I added chopped zucchini when the onions were just starting to become translucent. I can definitely see this being a great with pasta or roasted potatoes!
I added a splash of red wine to this and it was absolutely delicious! I could definitely see adding some pasta to it, but we like the lower carb count. This was also enough to serve about 3 people for us. I could stretch it to four with a pasta in it, or a side dish.
This is now one of our favorite meals! So much so we’re tripling the recipe to make for our family on Christmas Eve! I’ve made it word for word, and also made some variations: we like it with more sausage and such. But so good!
Just made this, more or less word for word, except wanted more sausage than bean. One can of beans and three sausages. Really easy, clean-up easy, slurping it down even easier. Thank you!