This delicious Tuscan Bean Stew is such an easy one-pot dinner. Packed with flavours of Italy, it can be made on the hob or slow cooker.
🍴 Why you will love this recipe
This rich and hearty bean stew is so easy to make, but packed with flavours of Tuscany. Using basic storecupboard ingredients and fresh vegetables, it is cheap, straightforward and packed with nutrients.
Serve it in the sunshine with a crisp green salad, sourdough on the side to mop up the juices. Or for a cozy winter supper it would be perfect with a baked potato and steamed green vegetables.
There are instructions either to make this on the stovetop in a large saucepan or casserole dish, or if you prefer, you can make it in a slow-cooker and leave it to cook low and slow throughout the day.
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📝 What you need
Ingredients
Olive oil Every Italian stew begins with a good slug of olive oil. Make sure you use a cooking olive oil, not extra-virgin which burns at a lower temperature. And, quite frankly, it is a waste of good-quality, peppery extra-virgin stuff to cook with it - save it for dipping your bread in and drizzling over the finished stew.
Red onion, leek, carrot, celery An aromatic mix of onion, celery and carrot known as 'soffrito' is often called the 'Holy Trinity' of Italian cooking - a traditional base for many soups, stews and sauces. I've added leeks and garlic here too, for a bit more oomph. Another nice touch is to add finely chopped parsley stalks, then chop the leaves into the stew right at the end.
Any Italian grandmother would tell you that you must cook your soffrito gently - low and slow. You are aiming to soften the vegetables and release their flavours, not to brown them or make them at all crisp or browned.
Garlic As usual in my recipes, it is entirely up to you whether you peel and crush fresh garlic cloves, or use a jar/tube of ready-chopped garlic. Just don't skimp on it - the garlicky flavour is one of the heroes of this simple Tuscan bean stew.
Borlotti beans and Cannellini beans I use tinned beans here as I'm never organised enough to soak and cook them myself. But if you are - fantastic! Give yourself a pat on the back and adjust cooking times accordingly.
If you can't find borlotti and/or cannellini beans, any other type will do - haricot, butter beans, kidney, black-eye or black beans. Or you could use one tin of lentils and one tin of beans if you prefer.
Brown sugar When cooking with tomatoes I always add something sweet to offset the acid, and round off the flavours. If you don't want to use brown sugar, use whatever your preferred sweetener is - maple syrup, date syrup or agave would all work fine too.
Balsamic vinegar is entirely optional but does add a lovely deep, savoury flavour to this stew.
Equipment
It up to you whether to make this beany stew on the hob / stove or in a slow cooker.
If you're making it on the hob, a good, sturdy casserole dish with a lid is ideal. My trusty Le Creuset casserole gets used almost every day in our house, and twelve years later (it was a wedding present!), it looks just the same as it did the day we got it. (I can't say the same about me or Mr F, sadly!!).
If you're thinking of making this in a slow cooker instead, my favourite is this Crockpot with a hinged lid and digital timer. You can pick up a basic slow-cooker very cheaply these days, or look out on second hand sites as they are often being given away hardly used.
🔪 How to make your Tuscan Bean Stew
For a full, printable recipe with ingredients and detailed instructions, scroll to the bottom of this page.
Finely chop red onion and leek and fry gently until soft. Add finely chopped celery and leek and peeled and crushed garlic. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
Trim and slice the pepper and add to the pan.
Drain and rinse borlotti and cannellini beans and add to the pan. Add passata and water, then stock powder, oregano, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar. Simmer for 20 minutes covered then 10 minutes uncovered, until the sauce has reduced and is thick and glossy.
For instructions on how to make the stew in a slow-cooker, see the instructions at the end of the printable recipe below.
🍅 Variations
There are all sorts of ways you can vary this Tuscan stew to keep it interesting every time you cook it! How about....
- Make it spicy by adding ½ teaspoon chilli flakes in step 6, or else using a fresh chilli at the same time as the red pepper. Smoked paprika would be a lovely addition too, for some smoky flavour.
- Make it herby by stirring through a big handful of chopped fresh herbs just before serving. I think parsley and basil together are just perfect with this, but experiment with your own herb combinations.
- Make it lentil-y by replacing the cannellini beans with a tin of green or brown lentils.
👩🏽🍳 Expert Tips and FAQs
You can't over-cook this stew! Leave it bubbling slowly at a low temperature for as long as you like, or pop it in a low-ish oven to keep warm if you're serving it to guests.
Adjust the consistency to suit your taste. If the finished stew is too runny, turn up the heat and bubble off a little liquid until it has thickened. If it is too thick, stir through a splash of water at a time until it is just right.
This is rustic food so don't stress at all if you don't have all the correct ingredients. Improvise, use what you have, substitute whatever you need to.
I batch-cook this stew all the time, it is such a lovely thing to have on standby in the freezer and an easy batch-cook project for a rainy weekend. In fact I think the stew is even better when the flavours have had a chance to mellow - a portion saved in the fridge for the next day's lunch is always better than first time around!
The stew freezes well in individual portions, however I would suggest leaving out the spinach or kale as they can go a bit slimy when defrosted. But if you have some to hand, just stir through the stew as you are defrosting it.
Freezing can also affect seasoning, so taste before serving as you may need to add a little more salt and black pepper.
Yes - the recipe gives instructions to make this either on the hob or in a slow cooker.
Regular readers will know that I use a lot of tinned beans in my recipes - they are so cheap, versatile and packed with nutrients.... what's not to love?!
Some of my favourites tinned bean recipes include:
Kate's Kidney Bean Curry from Veggie Desserts
My Butter Bean Hummus from The Veg Space
Christine's Butter Bean & Roasted Vegetable Stew from Happy Veggie Kitchen
My Black Bean & Jalapeño Burgers from The Veg Space
Dan & Jess' Creamy Vegetable Pasanda from Vegan Punks
This can be served in a rustic way with some crusty bread and a crisp green salad, or for a more hearty meal you could serve it with something like Vegan Dauphinoise Potatoes or Easy Cauliflower Mash, and perhaps some steamed green vegetables.
Or I sometimes have it on its own for lunch like a thick soup, or as a delicious jacket potato filling!
Loved this recipe? ⭐️ Leave a star rating below! 📸 Snap a photo of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram, tagging me @thevegspace or #thevegspace 📩 And get all my latest recipes in a weekly e-mail by subscribing to my newsletter.
🍴 If you liked that...
.... you might also enjoy these vegan recipes from The Veg Space:
📖 Recipe
Tuscan Bean Stew with garlic & oregano
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red onion
- 1 leek
- 3 cloves garlic (or 2 teaspoon ready-chopped garlic from a jar or tube)
- 1 large carrot
- 2 sticks celery
- 1 red pepper
- 400 g tin borlotti beans
- 400 g tin cannellini beans
- 500 g passata
- 250 ml water
- 1 teaspoon vegetable stock powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano (and/or dried thyme)
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar (or maple syrup, date syrup or agave)
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (optional)
- handful baby spinach or curly kale
Instructions
To make on the hob / stovetop:
- Heat the olive oil in a deep lidded frying pan or casserole.
- Finely chop the onion and leek and cook gently for 3-4 minutes until starting to soften.
- Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the carrot, trim and chop the celery, and peel and crush the garlic cloves. Add to the pan and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
- Trim and slice the red pepper and add to the pan. Season well with salt and black pepper.
- Drain and rinse the borlotti beans and cannellini beans, and tip both into the pan.
- Add the passata and water (you can just refill the empty passata carton half way with water, to save measuring this separately). Then add the stock powder, oregano, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar. Bring to the boil then cover with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer for a further 10 minutes or until the sauce has reduced and is thick and glossy.
- Remove any thick stalks from the spinach or kale, then stir through the stew for the last two minutes of cooking. Taste and adjust seasoning if required. Serve with steamed green vegetables or a crisp side salad and sourdough bread.
To make in a slow cooker:
- Follow instructions 1-4 above, then tip the softened vegetables into your slow-cooker.
- Drain and rinse the tinned beans and add to the slow-cooker, followed by the passata, water, stock powder, oregano, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar.
- Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 5-6 hours, adding the spinach or kale as above for the last 10 minutes of cooking time. Taste and adjust seasoning as required.
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Cat says
Tried this tonight, absoloutly delicious. I added a tables spoon of guacamole to the finished dish, was lovely.
Kate Ford says
Great to hear - thanks Cat!
Savita says
This Tuscan bean stew is definitely going to be on my booklist, it is the perfect comfort food for me and my family.
Maria beswick says
It's absolutely delicious! I didn't have celery so put in zucchinis but still yummy! Thank you.
Dana Sandonato says
Absolutely loved this hearty and cozy recipe! And I, for one, enjoyed the presentation with photos 😉
Julia says
Such an easy super tasty receipe. I love that I can easily add greens like Kale to and actually enjoy it! Thank you for the great receipe.
Kate Ford says
That's great to hear, thanks so much Julia!
mike muse says
A great recipe, thoroughly spoiled by unbelievably tedious presentation; essential details all over the place when they could have fitted on a couple of pages. The prep is more like 30 minutes btw. A singl photo would have sufficed and for us grown ups, we're capable of devising oiur own variants thank you.
Kate Ford says
Glad you liked the recipe Mike, and sorry you're so upset by the presentation of my site. Have you spotted the 'Jump to Recipe' button at the top of the page which allows you to skip past all the information that others find helpful? Best wishes, Kate
Faye says
Well, that was rude. Especially considering the fact that this is a free recipe! You don't sound all that grown up when you complain on the internet about having to scroll too far. Especially when the author has been kind enough to add a "jump to recipe" button. I've just finished this and it was delicious. So glad that I've made double what we need so that future me gets to enjoy it again!
Sue says
Easy to make, very tasty. Had with baked potato Topped with toasted pine nuts.
Kate Ford says
Glad to hear it, thanks Sue!
Julie says
This is such a hearty and flavor packed stew. I can't wait to make this for my family.
veenaazmanov says
Love the combinations and vegan sounds healthy. Definitely a comfort meal.
Heather says
What a savoury and satisfying slow cooker treat to come to!
Nathan says
This bean stew is absolutely delicious, so rustic and hearty! I love the suggestion to use lentils too, I'll definitely have to try that next time. Thanks for the recipe!
Alison says
This is super warm and comforting and full of healthy ingredients! It's perfect for this cold and rainy day!
Sisley White - Sew White says
This looks so inviting and warming. A perfect dish for this spring weather. Thank you for linking up to CookBlogShare
Eb Gargano says
Yum - I love Tuscan bean stew. I spend 6 weeks studying at language school in Florence when I was in my 20s. I stayed with an Italian host family who had this dish pretty much every single day (with pasta stirred into it) as their pasta course... I've been making it ever since. Delicious! Eb 🙂
Rosemary says
Wow, this looks delicious. Simple and quite tasty. I can't wait to try this!
Kate - Gluten Free Alchemist says
LOVE a bean stew. Always so comforting and vibrant. Even better if it can be made in a slow cooker. Delicious x
Sara Welch says
Served this for dinner last night and it did not disappoint! So hearty and bold; easily, a new favorite recipe in my home!
Nathan says
I'm a sucker for almost any kind of soup, especially one with such classic flavors. Love the suggestion to make it a little spicier too with the chili flakes and smoked paprika, that sounds fantastic! Definitely going to give this a try!
Jenny says
I'm always looking for vegetarian slow cooker recipes and this one looks delicious. I have a bunch of fresh oregano in my garden and this soup looks like the perfect way to use it.
Shadi Hasanzadenemati says
My family is going to love this, thank you for the recipe!