How Adding Beans To Pasta Brings An Easy And Tasty Protein Boost

Beans may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a delicious serving of pasta, but consider that multiple traditional Italian pasta dishes also contain beans. If you think about it (or better yet, try it), legumes are the perfect addition to most pasta dishes. In addition to the protein boost, beans also bring texture and heft to the dish. A creamy bean variety such as cannellini can even be used as a substitute for cheese, making beans a great option for vegan dishes. Protein is also more filling, making the dish more satisfying.

Dietary restrictions and health aspects aside, such legumes can actually make your pasta more toothsome. Cooking them in pasta sauce or stock infuses flavor. The starch from beans, in turn, improves the consistency of the sauce and can make it smooth and velvety. 

There are lots of bean types, each with their specific characteristics, to choose from. You can look to classics like pasta e fagioli (literally "pasta and beans" in Italian), which can be made with red kidney beans or buttery white beans. The added heft from the beans also lets you play around with the dish's format. A pasta with beans can be soupy enough to eat in a bowl, or cohesive enough to serve up on chic chunky pasta plates or "blates."

White beans like cannellini are most common in pasta because of their soft, creamy texture and relatively neutral flavor. Cranberry beans are similar but have a pretty pink tinge. For a more hearty sauce, use kidney beans, which are smaller and offer more texture as well as a pronounced flavor. When using kidney beans, consider adding a bay leaf or two to complement their flavor. Chickpeas and fava beans are somewhere in the middle, both in terms of firmness and flavor intensity. They both have specific tastes, so use them only if they appeal to you.

The easiest way to incorporate beans is to use the canned variety that doesn't need to be soaked and boiled. While you can play around with the beans-to-pasta ratio (and make sure to adjust the quantity of sauce accordingly), an easy rule of thumb is to use a similar amount by weight of dry pasta and canned beans. The pasta boils and expands, so you'll still get more pasta in every bite, but still with enough richness from the beans.

To ensure the beans don't remain bland, make sure to simmer them in the sauce until they are tender and bursting with flavor. You should also season the sauce liberally, as nutty, creamy beans taste best when punchy flavors complement them. Consider using onion, garlic, paprika, anchovies, and rich tomato paste to build a bold and hearty sauce, and feel good about its additional protein kick.