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Braised White Beans with Chard Recipe

Braised White Beans with Chard
Difficulty: Easy | Total Time: | Makes: 6 to 8 servings

This hearty, healthy winter recipe fills you up without being too heavy or fattening. Sautéing the chard stems along with the onion adds extra flavor and crunch and you don’t waste any of the chard. Once you add the chard leaves, beans, and broth, it only needs a few minutes to finish cooking; a final splash of white wine vinegar makes the flavors pop. Serve this easy side dish alongside a simple pork loin.

What to buy: Swiss chard comes in many varieties and colors including rainbow chard, which is not a variety itself but a mixture of various colors. Any type of Swiss chard will work in this recipe.

Cannellini beans are sometimes labeled as white kidney beans, in case you’re having trouble finding them. If you don’t want to use canned beans, substitute with 6 cups of cooked beans.

This recipe was featured as part of our Super Bowl Party Playbook menu, as well as our Winter Ingredients recipe gallery.

INGREDIENTS
  • 1 pound Swiss chard
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, small dice
  • 5 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
  • 1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
  • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Trim the ends from the chard stems and discard. Cut off the stems at the base of the leaves and slice crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces; place in a small bowl and set aside. Stack the leaves and cut them into bite-size pieces; set aside.
  2. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add the reserved chard stems, onion, and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened, about 8 minutes.
  3. Add the chard leaves, beans, broth, and measured salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the leaves are wilted and the mixture has come to a simmer. Continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the chard is tender and the broth has thickened slightly, about 5 minutes more.
  4. Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley and vinegar. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
    Write a review | 24 Reviews
  • I used 1/2 lb dry beans and cooked them with a smoked hock and a juniper berry, bay and cumin satchel. When the beans were done I sauteed the onions and garlic, deglazed the dutch oven with the bean liquid and added the beans, liquid and chard. I braised the chard in a 350 oven, tossing ingredients after about 20 min. Cooked all for about 45 min. When greens were done I added the vinegar and seasoned with salt and pepper. It took a bit longer but wow. I just had the leftovers for breakfast and it's even better the next day.

  • I think it needs some salt flavor and i added lemon to tang it up a bit and served it in soup bowls with a few cubes of avacado on top. We scooped it up with fresh gourmet tortilla chips. Really good. I might even try it with lime and cilantro and a touch of cayanne next time.

  • Hi all, there are many comments about the salt here. In the test kitchen we use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt and low-sodium chicken broth. Swapping in other kosher/table salts or regular chicken broth will definitely change the outcome. To be safe, skip the measured salt amount and just season to taste in step #3. Amy Wisniewski, CHOW test kitchen

  • Too salty using chicken broth. Had you cooked the beans from scratch (no effort) it would have created its own broth. The results: 1. Less salty 2. Healthier 3. Cost effective . (1 lb. bag of beans for $1.29 would have created several meals.)

  • what are you supposed to serve this with? are you supposed to dip bread into it?

  • Made this last night following the recipe exactly and wow, that's WAY too much salt. It's a good dish overall though, would make again, just 1tbsp or 1/2 tbsp kosher salt next time.

  • My husband made this for dinner tonight. Yum! Really good, satisfying, and so easy. I couldn't find chard at the grocery this time, but kale subbed nicely. Also, we used only 1 T of salt and it was still on the verge of being too salty for our taste - and we are salt lovers. I wonder if the recipe is supposed to say 3 t?

  • Awesome. IF you add a lot of extra spices. Salt and pepper often....I also added pimenton, rosemary, marjoram, garlic salt, and dried red pepper flakes. Added diced potatoes and chicken sausage along with the onions and garlic at the beginning, and grated a little cheddar chive cheese on top to serve. Lovely.

  • I made this recipe after having this dish at a local restaurant and absolutely loving it. After cooking the beans and chard for a little bit I was really worried because it had absolutely no flavor. So I added some garlic powder, onion powder. I also added only 1 TBSP salt. I used rosemary instead of parsley. Then after further cooking the dish finally came together and was absolutely AMAZING. As good as what I had the restaurant. This one is definitely in the rotation.

  • Thanks for the tip Coconuts; we've added the white kidney beans info to the recipe. Deborah, CHOW copyeditor

  • We (sort of) made this Friday night. I added chicken breast, and forgot the parsley and vinegar. We also cooked it for much longer because we couldn't decide what to put it over (we ended up serving it over brown rice). We topped it with fines herbs just before serving. It was great! One thing that would have been helpful to know is that cannellini beans are white kidney beans- we hunted and hunted for them, only to finally notice "cannellini beans" in tiny print on one brand printed under the "White Kidney Bean" main label description.

  • I used one can of beans and only had fresh basil on hand...so subbed that for the fresh parsley. Increased the garlic and decreased the salt. It was so good last week I am making another batch this evening to serve over polenta.

  • Made this last night, using kale and extra garlic. I put in a touch more vinegar as well, along with a little touch of louisiana hot sauce and a lot less salt. I like the sound of vicsemprini's additions.

  • To all those who can't find chard in the store, do try growing it -- it's very easy.

  • Love this recipe. I added a few shredded leaves of fresh sage, about 1/2 to 3/4 cup fresh tomato puree, and 1 chicken Italian sausage (crumbled) for flavor.

  • I just made something very similar, but in soup form, with anchovies to add fullness to the broth. Like some other posters, I can never find chard where I live (except at faraway WF). It's so frustrating because it's my favorite green. I'm even considering growing my own this year!

  • I would make this with MUCH less salt to start with. I usually put in a single teaspoon in a dish of this size. You get the chemical reactions that salt causes, and can then salt to taste when the dish is done. This also means you end up with less sodium. For some reason, a dish cooked with 1 tablespoon of salt can taste the same if cooked with one teaspoon and then is salted at the table by the eater. Even if they add a big shake, still less sodium, and everyone's palates get perfectly served. Other than that, it sounds great, and perfect for a vegetarian like me.

  • Okay, okay... I admit it. I couldn't resist it and I made it tonight, but I made enough that I can still stick the left-overs in a caserol dish and serve them tomorrow. I like it. A lot. I used less salt, though not of the kosher variety. I added a little ground cayenne while I was cooking the onions and garlic (... Oh, and speaking of garlic, I added a clove or two, but I always do that... I love it!), but other than that this is an amazing dish that cooks fast and is very easy to make. I can't wait to start making variations of it.... I'm picturing it with beer... Or with heavy cream.... Lots of possibilities. Aida, you have done well. Pat yourself on the back!!!

  • I'm going to make this for the eagles/cardinals game tomorrow. I've been throwing football parties for a few weeks now, running recipees as testers for the big super-bowl shindig I throw every year. I've got high hopes for this one. It sounds great. I'll be posting my SB menu next week some time. Check it out!!! Go Eagles!!!! By the way, I'm not Allstonian...Don't know why it said he posted that...

  • Sounds great - I plan to try this soon. One question: 3 TABLESPOONS of salt? I know kosher salt is less dense than table salt, but that still seems like way too much.

  • I live in WP's area and every store I go into has swiss chard. Green, Red and sometimes mixed. GF and I love it. Will try this very soon-looks very good.

  • mmmm! I made this tonight (although I couldn't find the beans suggested so I used canned white kidney beans and cooked them for about five minutes longer). I, too, couldn't find chard, but aidam is correct, spinach stirred in moments before serving wilted perfectly. Also, I didn't have any white wine vinegar on hand, so instead I spritzed each plate with fresh lemon (we were having seared fish, so it worked) and it added the same pop I think the vinegar was meant to give. Lol, I guess I adapted this recipe pretty thoroughly, actually, but it was amazing! It will definitely become a great winter side-dish staple in my home!

  • AKCarlson: Go ahead and try the dish with any of those greens mentioned. Just be mindful that more delicate greens, such as spinach, will not need 10 minutes of cooking time (they'll risk getting slimy) so you can just put them in at the end and stir them until they're wilted.

  • Of all the winter greens readily available around here, chard is elusive. Would mustards, kale, turnips, or spinach substitute well?

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