Budget Cooking: Meal Ideas Using Canned Beans

These are more ideas than actual recipes, but recipes abound on the internet so hopefully this will give you some jumping off points to create budget friendly meals based on canned beans. Yes, dried beans are cheaper but I don't have the patience for all that mess and I'm sure a lot of people are busy and don't really have the extra time to deal with them. If you do, the savings might be worth it and you could use those for these ideas as well.

I saw a Martha Stewart article, where I borrow a lot of my ideas for articles here, with 25 meals using canned beans but they were so bougie. By that I mean, overly fancy and complex. Not regular people food, so I went to my handy research assistant, DuckDuckGo Search Assist for some real world ideas and it came through as usual. These suggestions are based on articles linked at the end.

Budget-Friendly Meal Ideas with Canned Beans

Canned beans are versatile, nutritious, and perfect for quick meals. Here are some simple dishes to consider:

1. Bean Salad

Ingredients: Canned beans (like black or cannellini), diced vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers), olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Instructions: Rinse and drain the beans. Mix with diced vegetables, drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice, and season to taste.

2. Bean and Rice Bowl

Ingredients: Canned beans (pinto or black), cooked rice, spices (cumin, chili powder), and toppings (salsa, avocado, cheese).

Instructions: Heat the beans with spices. Serve over rice and add your favorite toppings.

3. White Bean Chili

Ingredients: Canned white beans, chicken or vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, green chiles, and spices (cumin, garlic powder).

Instructions: Combine all ingredients in a pot, simmer for 20 minutes, and serve hot.

4. Pasta with Beans

Ingredients: Your favorite variety of pasta, canned beans (like cannellini), garlic, olive oil, and greens (spinach or kale).http://seriouseats.com

Instructions: Cook pasta, sauté garlic in olive oil, add beans and greens, then mix with pasta.

5. Bean Quesadillas

Ingredients: Canned beans (black or pinto), cheese, tortillas, and optional veggies (peppers, onions).

Instructions: Mash the beans, spread on a tortilla, add cheese and veggies, fold, and cook on a skillet until crispy.

These meals are not only budget friendly but also quick to prepare, making them ideal for busy days. These ideas were auto-generated from my question prompt asking for budget friendly meals based on canned beans and are based on these sources: seriouseats.com and simplyrecipes.com.

Oh look. Canned and dried beans! Yum! Affiliate links. If you buy through these links I get some credit to use on the site to buy stuff I need but you don't pay a penny more. Bonus!

Siete, Vegan Charro Beans, 15.5 oz (439 g)

Siete, Vegan Refried Ranchero Beans, 16 oz (454 g)

Eden Foods, Organic Navy Beans, 16 oz (454 g)

Eden Foods, Organic Kidney Beans, 16 oz (454 g)

Eden Foods, Organic Black Beans, 16 oz (454 g)

And I saved the best for last. I love Bob's Red Mill. Employee owned, not a giant evil corporation. Nice!

Bob's Red Mill, Brown Lentils, 27 oz (765 g)