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Fried White Beans with Bacon, Garlic and Spinach
This simple recipe takes full advantage of the starchiness of cannellini beans. Frying the beans in the fat rendered from bacon combined with some fruity olive oil blisters, browns and crisps their exteriors, creating a pleasing contrast to the soft, creamy interiors. Garlic, smoked paprika and lemon juice are perfect flavor accents, and baby spinach wilted into the mix at the end of cooking rounds out the dish. For best crisping and to minimize splatter, pat the beans dry after draining them. And when frying, stir the beans only every minute or so. With some crusty bread alongside, this makes a great light main.
4
Servings
25 minutes
Ingredients
-
4
ounces bacon, chopped
-
1
tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to serve
Directions
-
01In a 12-inch skillet combine the bacon and 1 tablespoon oil. Cook over medium, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is crisp, 5 to 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel–lined plate; set aside.
Reviews
January 10, 2023
Great weeknight side!
I really took liberties with this recipe, had too many meetings to run out and get the ingredients I didn’t have and needed to get dinner on the table by a certain time, and I was too stubborn. I ended up cooking skin on, bone in chicken thighs and using the oil and fat from that to fry the beans. I didn’t have spinach so I gently steamed some broccoli and added that and it was awesome! The lemon is SOOO lovely and necessary. This will get moved into my usual rotation when I have beans + fat + something green.
December 5, 2022
Very good recipe
This was a very good recipe that I would make again. I halved the recipe because there were just two of us and I thought two cans of beans were too much for two. I did use the entire bag of spinach since it wilts down to so little.
December 1, 2025
Great flavor, smashed bean texture
This tastes great. Like other reviewers my beans went fully mashed. I dried them carefully (and for quite a while), had plenty of fat, and only flipped every couple of minutes. I’ll hazard a guess that much depends on the brand of canned beans. Some might just hold up better than others. I’m tempted to try this again but using a Rancho Gordo bean variety that holds up well to cooking. Even with the smashed bean texture, I’d still make it again. Delicious!
May 4, 2025
Mushy for me too
I used real bacon and ended up with refried beans too. Not sure how to get the beans to crisp. As soon as they began splitting, the bottom of the pan was covered in starch. Stirring in the spinach this turned into tasty bean mush with the texture of refried beans.
January 5, 2024
Tasted fine, but mushy
We don't eat pork, so I made this with turkey bacon, which doesn't render fat like regular bacon. I added extra olive oil, but the beans never crisped up like they were supposed to. This was very flavorful, but I was glad it was just for us - I would have been embarrassed to serve it to guests since it looked like a big bowl of gush. Be forewarned - use REAL bacon!
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