With little more than some aromatics and time (also: thyme), drab dried beans become tender and buttery in a richly flavored broth, complete with wilted bitter greens and grilled bread to top it all off.

Dried beans are a pantry staple, but it can take some practice to cook them properly! This brothy beans and greens recipe is our favorite method, resulting in a rich bean broth that’s surprisingly full of flavor. Serve with slices of toasted crusty bread for the perfect meal!

2020 was undeniably the Year of the Bean.

Dried beans were not something we cooked with any regularity before last year. We honestly had no clue what we were doing in the beginning, and the first few batches surely reflected that (mmm crunchy beans).

Surprisingly, now that we have a bit more experience with them, we’ve been pleasantly surprised at just how good a properly-cooked pot of beans can be. Easily as satisfying as a good plate of pasta, and significantly healthier at that.

We’ve made probably made these brothy beans and greens, or something similar, at least a dozen times in the past year, and every single time it turns out different. So finally, after enjoying yet another soul-satisfying bowl of brothy beans, we decided to start writing things down and fine-tuning our favorite aromatics and additions so we could share it here with you.

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