20 Recipes You Can Make with a Can of Beans

These simple canned bean recipes are perfect for cheap, easy, and filling lunches and dinners, and are a great way to put this pantry staple to good use!

No matter how depressingly barren our pantries may get, we can always find at least one can of beans lurking in there somewhere. Beans are the cornerstone of a well-stocked pantry. Canned beans often save the day when we haven’t gone grocery shopping and need a quick dinner. They’re inexpensive and efficient, and they give us protein and fiber. And beans are the building block to so many recipes, where you can get a lot of mileage out of beans as a main or co-starring ingredient, incorporating them into soups and chilis, enchiladas and burritos, stuffed peppers, casseroles, salads, and more. Check out this roundup of meals to make with a can of beans below and put your pantry to good use!

This easy Mediterranean chickpea salad is infused with flavor thanks to a heaping helping of fresh herbs with a garlicky lemon dressing that ups the crunch from red bell pepper, celery, and red onion for a simple side dish or topping for greens.

This comforting and hearty creamy bean soup with kielbasa sausage goes from cutting board to soup bowl in about 30 minutes.

This spinach salad with a hot bacon dressing and spicy roasted chickpeas is packed with iron, protein, and amazing savory flavor, as well as a kick from zesty Tabasco Sauce and extra zing from some tart dried, cranberries.

This simple breakfast tacos recipe with shredded beef, black beans, sweet peppers, and scrambled eggs makes this breakfast tacos recipe a family favorite for breakfast, brunch, or brinner in under 30 minutes.

Classic Southwestern flavors, corn, rice, black beans, and lean ground beef make these rainbows of stuffed bell peppers a favorite, healthy dinner that comes mostly from the pantry that your whole family will enjoy.

This easy chana masala chickpea stew gets an added vegetarian boost with spinach added to the earthy, Indian-spiced tomato sauce.

This Tuscan tuna salad with white beans makes a quick and easy-to-make lunch or even a light dinner, and puts high protein front and center with chunks of albacore tuna and white beans tossed with arugula and more Mediterranean flavors.

My Grandma’s easy, traditional minestrone soup recipe is one of the healthiest vegetable-heavy soups you’ll make, and it tastes far better than any of those Olive Garden minestrone soup copycat recipes thanks to the secret ingredient in the savory broth.

Simple Mediterranean white bean and tuna salad toasts are a quick and healthy lunch idea any day of the week.

This easy taco soup recipe can be made in 30 minutes on the stovetop, Instant Pot, or slow-cooked in the Crock Pot for a healthy Mexican-inspired, make-ahead, one-bowl meal.

There are two ingredients that make this easy beef and three-bean chili recipe from killer to kick-ass: beer and enchilada sauce. Taste it and discover for yourself.

This Mediterranean-inspired arugula and pesto shrimp salad is not only super simple to prepare ahead of time for lunch, but because you can meal prep it straight from your pantry and freezer, it’s incredibly easy to make on the fly, too.

Made with ground beef, warm spices, and a secret ingredient, this Cincinnati chili recipe is hearty and comforting. Serve it over spaghetti and top it with plenty of cheddar cheese, oyster crackers, and onion, for the best Cincinnati chili you can make at home.

This simple but flavorful Tuscan white bean soup with sausage doesn’t require any pre-cooking or searing, making it a true slow-cooker meal.

Chicken breasts, butternut squash, and red onion all get roasted on one sheet pan and then served up in a bowl, with black beans, rice, and guacamole in this healthy, easy weeknight dinner.

More Building Block Ingredient Recipes to Try Now

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• 31 Spring Chicken Recipes to Make Now
• 21 Recipes to Make with Leftover Ham

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