How to Make Beans and Greens

See how to make a rustic Italian-style beans and greens recipe with escarole. See more

READY IN 35 mins

Chef John's Beans and Greens

Read Reviews (20)

"Beans and greens has it all: it's very easy and inexpensive to make; it's highly nutritious; it's soulful and comforting; and it can be served as a main course, side dish, soup, vegetable stew, or my personal favorite--as an appetizer. This is my new favorite home version, and uses delicious, beautiful escarole." — Chef John

Directions

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic; cook, stirring, until bubbling and sizzling, about 20 seconds. Pour in chicken broth. Bring to a boil and cook until liquid is reduced by half, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in red pepper flakes.
Stir in beans; bring to a boil and cook until you can see the tops of the beans just below the surface of the liquid, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in oregano, lemon zest, and anchovy filet. Simmer for 3 minutes.
Place escarole in bean mixture; reduce heat to low and stir until escarole wilts, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste; garnish with red pepper flakes and extra virgin olive oil.

Kitchen-Friendly View

PREP 10 mins
COOK 25 mins
READY IN 35 mins

Footnotes

Editor's Note:
Chef John serves this with his Parma Crisps.

Reviews More Reviews

Jun 28, 2012

Excellent recipe as is. I chopped up 4 slices of bacon and sauted them until light brown. Used the rendered fat with less olive oil to saute the garlic and 1 chopped onion. At the end I added 1.5 tbsp. red wine vinegar and 2 tsp. sugar.

—JBrown

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Jun 11, 2012

These are delicious!! I didn't have an anchovy fillet so added an extra pinch of salt but it really didn't need it. I added a big pinch of red pepper to while cooking and an additional pinch to the finished product and it was great! served it with fresh French bread which was SOOOO yummy dipped in the juice. will 100% be making this again...and again...and again :D

—jolley900

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25 Ratings

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Oct 03, 2012

This went over really well with my family. I cooked my own beans instead of using canned. My anchovy did not fully break apart so I would recommend mashing it some before adding it to the soup. I would also recommend that you reduce the stock until you like the flavor as this will be the main part of the soup. Not all stock has the same intensity. My only real change is that I used spinach instead of escarole. This soup came out great and I would make again.

—veriia

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Jul 06, 2012

Loved this although I did modify it a bit to be totally vegitarian by leaving out the anchovy and using vegitable boullion instead of chicken. I needed a new way of using escarole instead of the traditional Dutch way of mashing it into hot potatoes. Another reviewer mentioned using turnip greens, I think this would also be wonderful with kale or even spinach.

—OmaCindy

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Aug 02, 2012

John You have no idea how much you have improved meal time at our house. Your recipes are simple but profound and very delicious. I love anchovies but had some honey baked ham I had to use up, so that was my protein for this dish. I will use anchovies next time. Keep 'em coming. And thank you. Marjorie

—Marjorie

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Jun 21, 2012

This is delicious, easy, fast and healthy to boot. I followed the recipe exactly, by the way.

—pulcinello

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Sep 18, 2012

"I grew up eating my family's escarole and beans but never wrote down a recipe. Sorry mom but this recipe is better than yours! I rarely say that! :-o) Do NOT omit the anchovies; they're included for flavor and you won't taste "anchovy" but you will taste wonderful rich, creamy deliciousness. The only changes I made to this were to add sausage at the beginning before the garlic and to increase the anchovy fillets to three (yes, 3, try it, dare you to!). Thanks Chef John! Amazing!

—AllieGeekPi

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Jul 06, 2012

We all liked this. I had turnip greens and no anchovies, but I will definitely make this again when I have anchovies.

—Ad-lib Cook

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Nutrition

Calories
203 kcal
10%

Carbohydrates
24.8 g
8%

Cholesterol
4 mg
1%

Fat
8 g
12%

Fiber
9.1 g
36%

Protein
7.8 g
16%

Sodium
1045 mg
42%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Chef John's Beans and Greens

Serving Size: 1/6 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 6
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 203
Calories from Fat: 72

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 8g 12 %
** Saturated Fat 1g 5 %
** Cholesterol 4mg 1 %
Sodium 1045mg 42 %
** Potassium 377mg 11 %
Total Carbohydrates 24.8g 8 %
** Dietary Fiber 9.1g 36 %
Protein 7.8g 16 %
** Sugars 1g
** Vitamin A 52 %
** Vitamin C 15 %
** Calcium 14 %
** Iron 30 %
** Thiamin 10 %
** Niacin 6 %
** Vitamin B6 4 %
** Magnesium 7 %
** Folate 90 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.