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Smoky & Spicy White Bean Stew with Tomatoes & Kale

5 from 18 reader reviews
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 4
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Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon heat-tolerant oil, such as avocado
  • 1 medium yellow onion, small dice
  • 1 medium carrot, small dice
  • 1 stick of celery, small dice
  • sea salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 teaspoon dried chili flakes, or to taste (see headnote)
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, minced
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • ½ lb new potatoes, chopped into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 ¾ cups (one 14.5 oz can) cooked navy beans, drained and rinsed
  • 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
  • 2 cups vegetable stock
  • 1 cup chopped green beans
  • 2 cups chopped kale, packed

Instructions

  • Heat a medium sized soup pot or brasier over medium heat. Once the pot is hot, pour in the oil.
  • Add the onions to the pot and stir. Saute the onions until translucent and quite soft, about 3 minutes. Add the carrots and celery to the pot and stir. Cook until the celery is softened and bright green, about 3 minutes. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper and stir.
  • Add the chili flakes, smoked paprika, thyme, and garlic to the pot and stir. Keep stirring until garlic is very fragrant, about 45 seconds. Add the tomato paste to the pot and stir. Break up the tomato paste with your spoon and stir to coat the vegetables.
  • Add the potatoes and navy beans to the pot and stir to coat in the seasonings. You should see a faint red slick at the bottom of the pot. Season the potatoes liberally with salt and pepper. Add the crushed tomatoes to the pot and stir to combine everything. Pour in the vegetable stock and stir once more.
  • Place the lid on the pot and bring the stew to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and remove the lid. Simmer until the potatoes are quite tender, about 20 minutes.
  • Add the chopped green beans to the pot and stir. Simmer until green beans are tender, about 4 minutes. Add the kale to the pot and push it down into the stew with your spoon. Place the lid back on the pot so that the kale can steam a bit. Let the kale wilt for about 30 seconds.
  • Check the smoky and spicy white bean stew for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Serve the stew hot with ground black pepper on top, extra chili flakes, and chopped herbs of choice (I used chives from my garden).

Recipe Notes

  • The fire-roasted and crushed tomatoes from Muir Glen really bring out the smoky vibes here. A couple drops of liquid smoke would also be great if you have that around.
  • I used a mix of dried Aleppo and Urfa chilis here, but any dried chili flakes are fine. As always, adjust to your own heat preference.
  • I had beautiful green Romano beans on hand (a local hot house grows them all year), but you can use straight up green beans instead!
Smoky and spicy white bean stew is a hearty and wholesome vegan supper that makes excellent leftovers. Simple ingredients, easy to make, and tons of flavour.