It’s about time I came out with another white bean dish. I don’t know what it is about white beans — whether they’re cannelini or great northern — I love them all! They’re creamy, satisfying, and filling. This recipe features slightly sweet, tomato-ey, smoky white beans simmered then topped with poached eggs. It’s a rich dish, but cut beautifully by the pickled red onions and cilantro for some much needed freshness. You can eat it as is, right out of the bowl, or serve it with some toasty sourdough or pita.
Table of Contents
How do we make this dish?
First, you’ll make a super quick pickled red onion — it’s as easy as mixing together some sliced red onion and lime and salt. It won’t give you the full depth of flavor as a longer pickled onion, but it still does the job. Next, saute some garlic and onions until soft and sweet in olive oil. To this flavor base, we’ll add tomato paste and chipotle peppers, which will give a sweet smoky flavor to the dish. You can add as much or as little of the chipotle peppers as you’d like. Finally, the base will simmer with the beans until all of the flavors come together.
What substitutions can I make?
Spices: I kept the flavor profile pretty simple here to let the chipotles shine — but you can absolutely add garlic powder, onion powder, and/or chili powder to amp up the spice levels.
Eggs: Poached eggs add a bit of a luxurious finish to this dish, but fried or soft-boiled eggs would also be great.
Smoky Beans with Eggs and Pickled Red Onion Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 red onion, 1/4 of the onion sliced into thin rings, and the other 3/4 finely chopped
- 1 lime
- Salt and pepper
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 large chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, finely chopped, some chipotle chilies are much spicier than others, so taste yours and adjust as needed — and feel free to add more too!
- 1 15.5-ounce can cooked white beans, rinsed and drained, cannellini works great here; pinto beans would also work
- A teaspoon of sugar, optional
- 2 poached eggs, poaching recipe here
- A handful of minced cilantro, for garnish
Instructions
- First, prepare the pickled onion. In a small bowl, add the sliced red onion. Squeeze the juice of a lime into the bowl, season with salt and pepper, and stir to incorporate. Let sit for at least 20 minutes, preferably 30 minutes, before serving.1 red onion, 1 lime, Salt and pepper
- Meanwhile, prepare the beans. Add olive oil and garlic to a medium skillet or frying pan. Turn heat on to medium, then saute garlic until aromatic and very lightly golden in color, about 1 to 2 minutes.3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 4 garlic cloves
- Add finely chopped red onion, and saute at medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes, until onions soften and turn translucent. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add tomato paste to the skillet, and mix it into the onions to fully incorporate it. Add the chipotle pepper (with adobo sauce) and mix to incorporate. Cook for about 3 minutes at medium heat until the paste darkens slightly and caramelizes.3 tablespoons tomato paste, 1 large chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, finely chopped
- Fill up a measuring cup with 3/4 cup of water. Stir in the white beans and water into the skillet. Season with salt and pepper and add any additional chipotle if you'd like for a spicier sauce. Bring the skillet up to a boil, then simmer on medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.1 15.5-ounce can cooked white beans, rinsed and drained
- While the beans are simmering, prepare the eggs. At this point, you can poach your eggs (or rewarm them). To rewarm poached eggs, gently place them into a bowl of hot water until warmed through. Drain the eggs before serving.2 poached eggs
- Put it all together. Once the beans finish simmering, turn the heat off and season again with additional salt and pepper. If desired, you can add a teaspoon of sugar to the beans for a little sweetness. Spoon the beans into bowls, then gently place the poached eggs, pickled red onion, and cilantro on top. Serve immediately.A teaspoon of sugar, A handful of minced cilantro, for garnish
Tess Beasley
Delicious and nice change from my usual breakfast!
Karishma Pradhan
Hi Tess,
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for trying out the recipe.