Tuscan Stewed Beans

These Tuscan Stewed Beans are the ultimate rustic Italian comfort food! Made with simple pantry-friendly ingredients like onions, garlic, tomato paste and white beans, but big on gourmet Italian flavor. It's cozy and indulgent yet wholesome, vegan, and gluten-free.

Prep time: PT15M

Cook time: PT60M

Total time: PT75M

Rating

4.95 stars (171 reviews)

Keywords

italian beans, italian white bean stew, stewed beans, tuscan beans

Ingredients

1/4 cup (56 mL) extra virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, (chopped)
2 medium or large carrots, (peeled and finely chopped)
2 celery ribs, (diced)
4 garlic cloves, (finely chopped)
½ tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup (4g) flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender stems, (minced)
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage
4 1/2 tablespoons (67g) tomato paste ((in a tube, not a can)*)
¾ cup (180 mL) dry white wine**
1 28-ounce (800g) can whole peeled tomatoes, ( crushed by hand)
1 teaspoon kosher salt, (plus more to taste)
Freshly cracked black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 cups (360 mL) vegetable broth, plus more as desired
2 (15-ounce/425g) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
½ cup (8g) fresh basil, (slivered***)

Cuisine

Italian

Steps

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, and season with a pinch or two of salt and pepper. Cook for 7 to 8 minutes, until golden, stirring occasionally. Add in the carrot, celery, and garlic, with another pinch of salt and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes, parsley, and sage and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring almost continuously, for 1 to 2 minutes, until it's a bit darker in color.
Pour the white wine in and deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Allow wine to simmer rapidly for 3 minutes, or until mostly evaporated and it no longer smells like wine, stirring often.
Add tomatoes along with their juices, bay leaf, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and several cracks of black pepper. Cook at a rapid simmer, stirring fairly often, until the tomatoes are fully broken down and most of the liquid has evaporated, 12 to 13 minutes.
Add the veggie broth and 2 cans of beans. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and maintain a decent simmer for 30 minutes, stirring once in a while. If you want the stew to be thicker, towards the end of cooking, use the back of a wooden spoon or a spatula to gently smash a small portion of the beans.
Taste, adding a pinch of sugar if needed (if your tomatoes are good-quality, it should not be necessary). Remove the bay leaf. Finish with chopped basil. Season to taste, adding salt and pepper as needed.

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 472 kcal
Carbohydrates: 59 g
Protein: 18 g
Fat: 16 g
Saturated Fat: 2 g
Sodium: 1117 mg
Sugar: 7 g
Unsaturated Fat: 13 g

Reviews

Harold on 2026-09-26 (5 stars):
Loved it. Baked some sourdough recently so this was the perfect thing to go with!
Terri de Peyrecave on 2026-09-25 (5 stars):
Holy COW, that was yummy! "Serves 4" as a main is just right. Had ours with crusty bread. There was so much more flavor than I expected, and it didn't get tiresome or boring after half of a bowl. Though I am a carnivore, I love to eat vegetarian when it isn't a recipe that makes me feel like I'm just doing it to be a good person. This wasn't a struggle at all. The things I changed: I used homegrown salad/cherry tomatoes instead of canned (I did still add the tubed tomato paste). I smashed the cherry tomatoes with a potato masher before adding beans. I used all dried herbs instead of fresh (too lazy to make the trek to the store). Otherwise it was just as in the recipe and it was delicious!! I almost never do a recipe twice but will most definitely keep this one for next years' tomato crop...and maybe for another batch this year!
Stephen Arnott on 2026-08-08 (5 stars):
Far exceeded expectations. I think the key insights are using whole tomatoes - I used organic Italian - as well as lots of good tomato paste from a tube. The other is using a very good quality fresh vegetable stock. I cooked mine in a heavy stainless steel pan which I think enhances the flavour of the soffritto. in terms of wine I used an Italian pinot grigio which worked very well and was a good wine to drink with the dish also. I made a garlic ciabatta to go with it. Perfect meal for a cold winter's night. Very good depth of flavour - definition of comfort food. Great recipe thank you - will be on regular rotation.
Robert Corkren on 2026-08-08 (4 stars):
very informative. knowing it takes longer than 15mins and the taste was different may help someone select different ingredients. Just because you don't agree... doesn't make it wrong. 🥰
Jessica Gonzalez on 2026-07-23 (5 stars):
Holy crap so delicious!!! The prep took me no time at all, this is so scrumptious umami-filled that I can’t believe I get to eat it all week! I plan to tear up some day-old bread into my bowl and top with this gorgeous bean stew, just like a delectable bowl I had in Tuscany. Thank you for this recipe, I’m going to make it constantly!
Shelly on 2026-07-17 (4 stars):
Not sure in what universe it would take 15 minutes to prep this but ok. Flavor was nice but not as full-bodied as I was hoping for. Reminiscent of the sauce in Spaghettios. I used whole San Marzanos and followed the recipe to the letter.
Lisa on 2026-06-09 (5 stars):
OMG, This is the most recent bean recipe to beat them all! I made a few modifications based on what I had in the cupboard. I made this with a package of dried white, northern beans. well pre-soaked. So I also increased the broth to the full 28 oz can I used from the San Marzano tomatoes and increased the herbs and spices a bit. I also prepped according to directions and then cooked it all in my instant pot for 25 minutes. The beans came out silky soft but not falling apart. The gravy was so flavorful and just the right texture. The recipe made a lot but I've already been eating them for dinner and breakfast and I really don't think I could get tired of them. It's a good thing that you can freeze them.This is a fabulous recipe and if I could give it 10 out of five stars I would. 👍👍
Trish on 2026-05-27 (5 stars):
Made this last weekend, soaked the beans overnight and then fast boiled them for all of 5 minutes. Other than that followed the recipe exactly, adding just half a sweet potato. It was super delicious and made lots. Gave some to a friend and still have leftovers which hubby and I will enjoy tonight. Thanks for another great recipe Vaishali :)
Rowan on 2026-03-31 (5 stars):
Pretty good! I made this x5 for my living community in the dorm. The only change I made was using Better Than Bouillon instead of vegetable stock, and therefore I used the beans with the juice rather than drained. The steps took longer when cooking in bulk, which is expected. We served with rice and bread and salad. Overall it was a hit!