The start of a new week, and that means planning for a week’s worth of lunches. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, having a well-balanced, healthy, lunch is important to me, but I need to create something that doesn’t take a lot of time. Slow Cooker White Bean Stew fits the bill! It is chock full of healthy protein from beans, contains at least a serving of a variety of veggies, and is so filling, it lasts from my 11:00 a.m. lunch until dinner. The best part is that by using the slow cooker, most of the preparation is completely hands-free!
Slow Cooker White Bean Stew is a variation of an America’s Test Kitchen recipe called Hearty Tuscan Bean Stew. If you aren’t familiar with ATK, they are amazing! Please go here for more information on one of my favorite television shows and recipe creators. They work to perfect their recipes, often making a recipe dozens of times until they are happy with the results.
The Recipe…
As mentioned, this is a variation of America’s Test Kitchen’s Hearty Tuscan Bean Stew. This is an amazing recipe, but it is time-consuming. It also takes the baking magic of an oven-safe dutch oven which many people might not have access to use. So I decided to experiment. Instead of completing each of the steps in the original recipe, I decided to throw my ingredients into the slow cooker early Sunday morning and let it cook all day. Slow Cooker White Bean Stew was born. I didn’t brown any meat, saute any veggies, or worry about burning myself with my heavy dutch oven. Instead I simply chopped, stirred, and left the house. 🙂 The result was a tremendously satisfying stew, thick with hearty beans, smoky sausage, and more vegetables than I can pack into most meals. (Can you say onion, garlic, carrots, celery, tomatoes, and kale??? Whew!)
With the cold weather finally appearing in my part of the world, this stew makes a great one-dish meal. I love the simplicity of heating up a big microwavable mug of stew and walking to the teachers’ lounge knowing I have a healthy lunch that isn’t full of artificial preservatives. A drizzle of good olive oil and a piece of fruit, and I have a gourmet lunch that makes me smile all the way through my afternoon classes.
Let me know your thoughts about Slow Cooker White Bean Stew. My choice for beans is great northern or navy beans since they are cheap and easily accessible for me. Please let me know if you try any other legumes that work well. Praying you have a great week full of many blessings!
Notes
For America's Test Kitchen's Hearty Tuscan Bean Stew recipe, please visit their website at https://www.americastestkitchen.com/.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. dried great northern, navy, or cannellini beans
- 3 T. salt
- 14 oz. Polish Kielbasa or other smoked sausage
- 1 large onion, chopped fine
- 3 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
- 3 stalks celery, washed and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
- 8-10 cloves garlic, minced fine
- 4 c. chicken broth
- 3 c. water
- 2 bay leaves
- 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 lb. kale, stemmed and chopped into 1 inch pieces
- Olive oil, for drizzling, if desired
- Fresh bread
Instructions
20-24 hours before cooking: In a large bowl, dissolve 3 T. salt in 4 qts. cold water. Stir in beans and let sit for 20-24 hours. Drain and rinse well prior to adding to slow cooker.
- In large 6 quart slow cooker, add all ingredients except kale. Stir well.
- Cook on low for 9-10 hours.
- Add kale last 1-2 hours, stirring well after addition. Pull out sprig of rosemary when adding kale.
- Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and fresh bread, if desired.