Whether you just want to make your own homemade beans on toast dish for a quick meal or you are planning a whole veggie breakfast, these spicy beans on toast are a tasty option.
Reasons to Eat More Beans
As well as tasting good, beans add texture and a satisfying element to a dish. They are an excellent source of plant based protein, while also being low in fat and being high in fibre and nutrients.
Beans are a food source that has been linked to increased lifespan and overall health in general, so its usually a good goal to aspire to eat more beans in your diet.
Half a cup of cooked cannellini beans beans contains around 110 calories, while also providing around 8 grams of protein.
What Beans to Use for Homemade Beans
If you want to copy the Heinz approach to baked beans, then you can use haricot beans (also called navy beans) for your homemade beans dish. These are the beans used by Heinz to make baked beans.
I find however that the dish works just as well with other relatively small beans such as cannellini beans or pinto beans.
Sometimes it can be harder to find certain types of beans than others in your local supermarket (depending on where you live) so you may also be constrained by what is available.
Ingredients to Make Spicy Beans on Toast
Red onion
Garlic
Oil
Drained beans (such as pinto, haricot (navy) or cannellini)
Smoked paprika
Chilli powder
Maple syrup
Balsamic vinegar
Oregano
Salt and pepper to season
How to Make Spicy Beans on Toast
First you sauté the chopped red onion and finely chopped garlic in a little oil for a few minutes until the onions become soft.
Then add the smoked paprika and chilli powder. Stir in and cook for another few seconds.
Next add the tomato passata (strained tomatoes), maple syrup balsamic vinegar, oregano and drained beans. Give the beans and sauce a stir and bring to the boil.
Once the sauce starts to bubble, turn down to a gentle simmer for around 5 minutes to allow the beans to heat through and flavours to infuse a bit.
Then season with salt and pepper and serve with some good quality bread such as fresh sourdough.
A Versatile and Cheap Meal at Any Time
These spicy beans on toast provides a quick homemade and nutritious meal at any time of the day. You can throw it together in 10 minutes for a very inexpensive and handy meal. This could be a quick breakfast or quick dinner when you are too tired to prepare a big meal after work.
This can also form part of a veggie breakfast along with some veggie sausages, cooked mushrooms and perhaps some of The Best Spicy Breakfast Tofu Scramble with Spinach & Mushrooms.
Other Ways to Enjoy Homemade Beans
Although this recipe is for spicy beans you can omit the chilli if you don’t like spicy. If you do like spicy food you can also swap the ground chilli for some fresh finely chopped chilli.
I sometimes add a touch of cumin to this dish, which also works really well. A lot of recipes for homemade beans include a little cumin.
To add some greenery you can also add some chopped baby spinach leaves. Just add them and cook for a few minutes until they fully wilt down. Some fresh parsley added at the end also adds a lovely freshness to the dish.
I had added some dried oregano to this dish (who doesn’t love oregano), however you can also add in different dried herbs such as dried thyme or parsley. Adding a bay leaf also adds a really nice dimension of flavour.
Spicy Homemade Beans
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Sauté the chopped onions and finely chopped garlic in oil on the pan until the onion starts to get soft
- Add the smoked paprika and chilli powder, stir in and cook for another few seconds.
- Add the rest of the ingredients, stir well and bring to a boil
- Once the saue starts to bubble, turn down to a gentle simmer and cook for another 5 minutes
- Season with salt and pepper to taste
- Serve with some good quality bread
