Creamy Amaranth and White Beans Recipe

Creamy white beans topped with hemp cream and chopped parsley.

5 from 8 votes

Creamy Amaranth and White Beans Recipe

Creamy White Beans with Amaranth. A day’s worth of iron, 25g protein, 15g fiber. One-pot meal with leeks, miso, and lemon.

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Total Time35

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Vegan

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 382kcal

Author: Nisha Melvani

Equipment

1 medium skillet (use cast iron for more iron)

Ingredients

1 medium leek (white and light green parts), thinly sliced and washed
3 large cloves garlic minced
Pinch of crushed red pepper
1 ½ cups cooked white beans or 1 (15-ounce) can, drained and rinsed
½ cup unsweetened nondairy milk soy, oat, pea, or cashew
⅓ cup low-sodium vegetable broth plus more as needed
1 ½ tablespoons nutritional yeast optional
1 cup chopped greens kale, bok choy, collards, or spinach
2 teaspoons mellow miso dissolved in 2 teaspoons water
½ lemon juice
Salt and black pepper to taste

Optional grain boost:

¼ cup amaranth
¾ cup low-sodium vegetable broth

Optional Hemp Cream

⅓ cup water plus more as needed
4 tablespoons hemp hearts
1 ½ teaspoons mellow miso
1 small clove garlic
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Instructions

Water-sauté leek with a splash of broth in a medium skillet for about 5 minutes, or until very soft. Or cook them in a drizzle of olive oil.
Add garlic and crushed red pepper and cook 30 seconds.
If using amaranth: add amaranth, beans, nondairy milk, original broth plus extra ¾ cup broth, and nutritional yeast (if using). Simmer partially covered for about 20 minutes, or until amaranth is tender, stirring occasionally. Add more broth as needed.
If not using amaranth: add beans, nondairy milk, broth, nutritional yeast, and simmer 8 minutes.
Turn off the heat. Stir in the chopped kale.
Season: Dissolve the miso in water or broth and stir into pot. Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste.
Optional: Finish with hemp cream, if using. Blend the water, hemp hearts, miso, garlic and lemon juice in a blender, or use an immersion blender. Blend until smooth, adding more water as needed, one tablespoon at a time. Add the desired amount of cream.

Notes

Nutritional information includes amaranth, but does not include the hemp cream. Add this nondairy cream substitute to taste, if using.

Optional Nutritional Yeast: Add with the beans and broth or stir in at the end. Most of its nutrition remains during cooking, though some heat-sensitive B vitamins may decrease slightly with prolonged high heat.

To make this with barley, add ¼ cup dry pearl barley along with an extra ¾ cup vegetable broth when you add the beans and soy milk. Simmer covered for 30–35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the barley is tender. Continue with the recipe as written. The barley makes it heartier and more stew-like, so add a splash of soy milk when reheating if needed.

For serving: Top with Crispy Tofu Crumbles for a delicious crunch and even more protein.

Amaranth linked here under Shop Healthy Ingredients.

Note: Cooking in a cast iron pot can boost iron content even more.

Nutrition