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miso brothy beans with greens

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Author tworedbowls

At just the right time this past spring, Erin Alderson posted a gorgeous snap of her miso brothy beans on her Instagram and stopped me mid-scroll. Life was crazy, I was partway through my pregnancy with Fiona, and terrible morning sickness meant it felt like was nothing I could or even wanted to eat. But then came along these perfect brothy beans. They looked so good, with ingredients that I already had in my pantry, that I made them the same day—and they were just what I needed. Soothing to a sensitive stomach—finally, no pregnancy heartburn after this little bowl—and easy to throw together on a hectic day, but most of all, just delicious. For a little while, I ate these beans every day.

As you might guess from the title, just two ingredients do the heavy lifting in these miso brothy beans: creamy white beans and savory miso paste. They’re the perfect combination. Both are nutty and slightly sweet on their own, so each enhances the other, and the miso brings a deep but gentle umami that is practically all the seasoning you need. A generous crack of black pepper on top gives it a lift, matched by peppery kale or collards if you feel like it (but not at all lacking if you don’t), and a good nutty, seedy toast is the perfect vehicle to bring it all together. On top of that, it could not be easier. The beans can be cooked mostly hands-off in a pressure cooker, and the rest comes together in 10 minutes flat. If you double it, it freezes beautifully (I’m a new convert to these).

A warm bowl of brothy beans and toast is probably more fitting for the cool springtime weather when I first made it than the heat of summer that we find ourselves in now, but this would still be perfect for a rainy day, a busy weekday lunch, or just when you need something that tastes good but makes you feel good inside, too. Whatever the case, I hope it brings you comfort like it did me.

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miso brothy beans with greens

Barely adapted from Erin Alderson. 

  • Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

  • 2–3 tablespoons butter or olive oil (Erin recommends butter)
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 2–3 cloves, minced)
  • 3–4 scallions, sliced (about 1/3 cup)
  • 5–6 cups shredded lacinato kale or other hardy greens of your choice (chard or collards would work beautifully)
  • 1 ½ cups bean broth from below (or chicken or vegetable stock), divided, plus more as needed to thin
  • 3 cups cooked white beans (from about 8 ounces dried beans; lima, Great Northern, cannellini all work well), with broth drained and reserved
  • 2 tablespoons white miso paste, to taste
  • Black pepper, to taste
  • Toast, for serving

Instructions

  1. Heat the olive oil or butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add the garlic and scallions, and sauté briefly, about 30 seconds, until fragrant.  Add the kale and cook, stirring, for about a minute, until it begins to wilt; add about ½ cup bean broth (or stock) and continue to cook until tender to your liking.
  2. Add the cooked white beans and remaining 1 cup broth (or stock).  Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook until the broth has thickened just a bit and gives a nice, silky coat to the beans and kale, but is still brothy.  If needed, add more broth or stock to thin to your liking.  
  3. Add the miso, and stir until the miso paste is dissolved.  (You may want to start with one tablespoon and work your way up–I tend to like more.)  Serve immediately, with generous black pepper on top and toasted bread on the side if desired.  

Notes

I tend to use an Instant Pot to cook the beans for ease, but you can cook them any way you prefer.  Here’s a nice way to cook them on either stovetop or in a pressure cooker.  (For this recipe, I would saute onions and garlic with the beans and skip the sage and bay leaves.)

This is easily doubled.  Leftovers freeze beautifully–I like it in 1-cup portions.

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