The Side Dish That Goes With Everything!
How many times have you decided on a dinner entrée only to scratch your head and wonder, “what the heck do we serve with it?”
The beauty of garlic spinach and white beans is that it’s not only quick to make — 10 minutes! — but it’s also a great way to get in more veggies and legumes. Plus, it keeps you full for a long time! I’ve made this side dish more times than I can count, and it’s also delicious when made with sliced kale or Swiss chard leaves. 💯
You’ll love this with everything from store-bought rotisserie chicken to pan-seared scallops, even crispy chicken cutlets. It’s also incredibly inexpensive. Love this for us!
If you’re looking for more easy, flavorful side dishes, try my creamed spinach with Gruyere, warm green bean salad, or broccoli rabe salad with roasted red peppers next!
Quick Ingredient Highlights
Does the type of bean matter? Yes and no. This recipe works best with creamy white beans like navy beans, great northern beans, or cannellini beans. Save the canned black beans or pinto beans for another dish.
We’re not big fans of frozen spinach, so we never use it. If you’re planning to give that a try, squeeze out as much water as possible, or this dish will be waterlogged.
You’d be surprised what a difference a drizzle of high-quality extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of flaky sea salt can make to an otherwise very simple dish. Don’t skip this step!
Directions
Full ingredient quantities and instructions can be found in the recipe card below.
Jump to Recipe
Don’t underestimate the power of fresh lemon juice and fresh herbs! They add a bright, citrusy, herbaceous flavor to simple ingredients. Basically, they make the dish shine!
Acceptable For Breakfast Too!
Honestly, I’m even thinking this would be fantastic for breakfast with a fried egg plopped right on top. With a jammy egg yolk stirred in? Swoon!
I truly make this at least a couple times a month (it’s great with these crispy chicken thighs!). Definitely add it to your weekly meal plan and see how quickly it disappears!
If you give this incredibly simple white bean recipe a try, please let us know by leaving a review and ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below!
And make sure to sign up for our newsletter and follow along on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Facebook for more Well Seasoned recipes! Don’t forget to tag us on social channels when you make a recipe at #wellseasonedstudio and upload your photos below! We love seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
Tell Us What You Think!
If you make this recipe, don’t forget to leave a review and rating—we value your feedback and it helps us keep creating (and sharing!) free recipes. Your support means the world!
Rate this Recipe
10-Minute Sautéed Garlic Spinach and White Beans
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 (15 oz) can small white beans rinsed and drained, such as navy beans or great northern beans
- 3 cups fresh spinach
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice about ½ large lemon
- ¼ tsp Kosher salt
- Pinch of black pepper
- 1 Tbsp chives thinly sliced
- 1 Tbsp parsley chopped
- 1 Tbsp capers drained
- Flaky sea salt for serving
- High-quality extra virgin olive oil for serving
Instructions
- Cook the garlic. Heat a saucepan with 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add 3 cloves sliced garlic and sauté until fragrant and light golden brown, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in beans and spinach. Add 1 can drained beans and sauté about 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add 3 cups fresh spinach.
- Finish, then serve. Pour in 1 Tbsp lemon juice, then season with ¼ tsp Kosher salt and a pinch of black pepper. Cook until spinach is just wilted, about 1-2 minutes more. Remove from the heat and stir in1 Tbsp chives, 1 Tbsp parsley, and 1 Tbsp drained capers. Serve immediately or set aside and eat later at room temperature. Just before serving, sprinkle with a generous pinch of flaky sea salt and a drizzle of high quality extra virgin olive oil.
Notes
- White beans: I recommend using white beans like navy, great northern, or cannellini. Some canned beans may be starchier and break down slightly when cooked — it won’t affect the flavor, just the look.
- Avoid using garbanzo, kidney, black, or other dark beans, as their texture and flavor aren’t a good match here.
- You can swap spinach for Swiss chard — just remove the stems, chop them finely, and sauté for 3–4 minutes before adding the garlic, beans, and chard leaves.
- Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, microwave just before serving.
Love this dish! It’s so simple, but has a really elevated flavor profile! This will be on our dinner rotation for awhile- healthy, quick, easy, flavorful!
One of our absolute favorite side dishes! Just feels good to eat it! xo, Ari
Very good! The first time I made it exactly the same for a side dish. The second time, I made it a main dish by adding some sun-dried tomatoes, shallots, pearl couscous and Italian style chicken meatballs. A piece of toasted crusty bread with Italian herb and garlic butter topped it off. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Love hearing this, Michael! Sounds like a perfect (and complete) meal you enjoyed! xo, Ari
Added kielbasa leftover to the garlic and 1/4 cup beef stock at the end and made a delicious one pot meal. Looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow 😋
Oh YUM! Absolutely adore kielbasa and think that is a totally perfect addition! Thanks for sharing! xo, Ari
Recipe was excellent! 2nd time around I wanted to pump up the protein plus add a little more pizazz. Added in two cans of skipjack tuna and a cup of white cooking wine which came out great 👍
Tuna is a perfect protein to add — thanks for sharing! xo, Ari
I love the simplicity, nutrition and flavors of this dish but it deserves more spinach. I used a full pound of baby spinach (about 14 cups). I had to add a half cup of vegetable broth but the spinach cooks down hugely as you know. The dish served four (one a 98 year old who eats like a bird, and the rest of us in the normal range) with about a cup left over. This goes into my keeper file. Thanks so much!
So glad you enjoy it, Robert! Super easy and nutritious side dish! xo, Ari
This was delicious, but how do you keep your beans whole instead of getting smashed up? Thanks!
Hi Amy! After making this many times, I’ve found that whether the beans remain whole or get smashed is really based on what brand of canned beans I use. Some are much starchier than others and break apart easily. While it doesn’t look as good as if they remain whole, the crispy bits are still delicious. I’ll add a note to the post sharing this as well! xo, Ari
Loved it! Thank you!
So glad!! Once of my fav easy side dishes! xo, Ari
Loved how easy this was to throw together! I served this as a side with maple mustard tempeh and basmati. It was the perfect 20 minute weeknight meal.
Totally one of our all time favorite side dishes. Healthy, easy, and flavorful! Yay! xo, Ari
I don’t think the nutritional information is correct. A can of great northern beans alone has 350 calories, yet this is marked as 4 servings at 73 calories each. Eating all 4 servings would only be 292 calories, which is less than the beans.
Hi Jen, thanks so much for flagging this! I use a recipe card that calculates nutrition facts based on the quantities of ingredients listed in the card. There was an issue with how I indicated the (15 oz) can of white beans and that number was not being taken into account correctly. I’m so sorry for the mistake and will do better to double check those numbers and quantities moving forward. I appreciate you! Ari
I’m eager to try this recipe base don everyone’s comments and testimonials. One question though: I’m not a big fan of the flavor of capers, so will the recipe suffer much if I leave them out?
Hi Eshon! No problem to leave the capers out. The lemon juice is important, though! xo, Ari
Served with Ginger Garlic Pan Roasted Red Snapper. DELCIOUS!!! I plated with the Snapper on top. Beautiful presentation.
So glad!! Thanks, Lisa! xo, Ari
I loved this! Had to stop myself from eating the whole pan in one sitting( I was supposed to be meal prepping for several days). It’s funny. I make something very similar to this already but it’s increíble that two little ingredients can make such a difference. Love the addition of capeas and lemon! Thank you for this!!!
I loved this! Had to stop myself from eating the whole pan in one sitting( I was supposed to be meal prepping for several days). It’s funny. I make something very similar to this already but it’s increíble that two little ingredients can make such a difference. Love the addition of capers and lemon! Thank you for this!!!
Simple but delicious side dish! The perfect side dish in my opinion!
Agree, this is one of my favorite quick and healthy side dishes! Thanks, Val! xo, Ari
This was an absolute delight! The combination of fresh spinach sautéed with garlic and hearty white beans created a harmonious blend of flavors and textures and the lemon juice really brought such a nice brightness to the dish. (I served this with some salmon and it was just so enjoyable!). Thank you, Ari for all the work you put in to your recipes and sharing with us – I look forward to your posts on IG, visiting your beautiful site, and sharing you with my friends. I’ll definitely be making this recipe again; it’s a winner in my book!
Thank you so much, Nora! This is one of my favorite quick and easy side dishes. Nutritious too! Can’t beat that! I appreciate you! xo, Ari
Really good quick side dish – the capers make the dish! Made it with Steak Tips and it got a big thumbs up!
Agree, LOVE the capers here. Sounds perfect with steak. Thanks, Darcy! xo, Ari
Excellent recipe! Took me longer to make – needed to clip the garden parsley, store leftover lemon juice and capers. But oh so worth it! The capers add so much! Probably needs all the other herbs and lemon too, but what a good result!!! Thank you.
The capers are my favorite addition too! Really glad you enjoyed. Thanks for the review, Patricia! xo, Ari
This was the perfect pair with my Salmon scramble. Way to go.
Yessss, so delicious! Thanks, Ayanna! xo, Ari
Love it but thought it needed a little more flavor so I added finely diced onion to the garlic and after adding the white beans, deglazed with a little bit of chardonnay wine before I added the spinach. Yum! Have made it twice in the past month.
Love the addition of white wine — yum! xo, Ari
Made this tonight to accompany crispy Old Bay wings. Excellent flavor! I added an extra pinch of flaky salt & fresh ground pepper, as I didn’t have capers. Hubby liked it too. Thank you
It’s such a reliable side dish and goes well with a ton of different dishes. Glad you enjoyed! xo, Ari
Made this as a light vegetarian main tonight, it was delicious! I added quartered cherry tomatoes, freshly grated Parmesan cheese and chili flakes. So yummy
Yum, sounds amazing Marcy! xo, Ari
LOVE this… and I always make enough for leftovers. Warm them up and place a fried egg on top – ooooey, gooey yolk mixed with the other flavors – YUMMMM
So smart to make extra! A fried egg on top sounds like the perfect (and filling) breakfast! xo, Ari
I needed to get out of my boring same old same old sides and made this tonight. 5 stars for quick, simple and delicious! It got compliments and I’ll definitely make it again. My only issue was the beans I used – they got pretty mushy. Can you please recommend a specific brand that has a firmer texture?
I really like this dish as was looking for healthy recipes that did not need loads of ingredients, easy to prepare and of course tastes good. This fits the bill. I have fixed it as my entree and also as a side dish.
I’m so glad you enjoy this dish, Cheryl! I love it too. Cheers, Ari
This is my favorite summer lunch with swiss chard and herbs from the garden. Thanks!!
Agree, it’s just so simple, fresh, and delicious! Love that you use Swiss chard, I actually prefer that to spinach 9x outta 10! Thanks for the review! xo, Ari
Loved recipe
Thank you, Jane! It’s simple, but really so delicious. 💯 Cheers, Ari.
Excellent and easy; I prepped the ingredients the day before. My diet is mostly vegan, my husband eats Standard American Diet, for us this bean dish is common ground, yay! Next time I’ll double the recipe so there are leftovers and try 4 cups not 3 cups cleaned and cut up spinach. This dish was amazing with black-eyed peas approaching their best by date; a potential add to the list of bean options.
Love hearing this! Agree, it’s one of those truly easy, back-pocket recipes that you can whip up really quickly. The best kind of side dish! And thanks so much for sharing that you used black-eyed peas — I’ll give that a try next time! Cheers, Ari
I made this recipe tonight, but I added some sautéed onion and some Italian seasonings as I didn’t have any herbs or capers on hand, and it was awesome!
Yum, this sounds great! And I love how versatile it it! Cheers, Ari