Take Canned Beans Up A Notch With These Ingredients

Finely chopped and sauteéd garlic can save your boring canned beans without overpowering them. It pairs beautifully well with cannellini, garbanzo, navy, and borlotti beans.

When you sauteé garlic in olive oil, you unlock the flavor of the garlic in a more nuanced way and also introduce olive oil to the beans, which makes them even tastier.

The addition of bacon, lard, or pork can yield a richer flavor for kidney or red beans. The fat will merge with the beans, adding saltiness, richness, and savoriness.

If you're using bacon, cook and crisp the bacon up before adding it to your beans for a better flavor and a crunchier texture. Salt pork can be cooked right into the bean mixture.

Stirring a chunk of cheese into canned beans gives them a necessary kick and a rich creaminess. You can then add the cheesy beans to other ingredients and make simple meals.

The earthy black, pinto, and red beans go well with cheddar, Cotija, and Manchego. The nuttier and mellower garbanzo and cannellini beans shine with Parmigiano, pecorino, and feta.

To make earthier beans shine, add spices like chile powder, paprika, turmeric, cumin, and ginger to them. For nuttier ones, use fresh rosemary, sage, thyme, and mint.

To incorporate spices into canned beans, you can use powdered spices or crush up whole seeds and sauté them in olive oil. You can also toast the spices before crushing them.

Tomato paste can add depth and savoriness to canned beans. If you want your beans to be saucy (but not soupy), tomato paste should be your first choice.