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?”
Enter one of my favorite simple, yet elevated side dishes. The beauty of garlic spinach and white beans is that it’s not only quick to make—10 minutes!—but it’ll keep you full for a long time! I’ve made this veggie and legume side dish more times than I can count, sometimes swapping kale or Swiss chard leaves for spinach, and it is always fantastic. 💯
You’ll love this with everything from store-bought rotisserie chicken to crispy, pan-seared sea scallops. It’s also incredibly inexpensive. Love this for us!
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 darker canned black beans or pinto beans for another dish.
My husband are I aren’t 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.Otherwise the dish will be waterlogged.
Quick Overview
Full ingredient quantities and instructions can be found in the recipe card below.
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!
If you’re trying to figure out what to enjoy this with, check out some of my personal favorite recipes.
Acceptable For Breakfast Too!
My mentality around breakfast is: food is food, regardless of the time of day. So while you may not think of beans and spinach as a breakfast staple, I can tell you from experience that it’s really good with a fried egg on top. And when you stir in that jammy egg yolk? 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! I have a feeling you’re going to be pleasantly surprised. 😏
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10-Minute Sautéed Garlic Spinach and White Beans
Equipment
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 fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp capers, drained
- Flaky sea salt
- High-quality extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Cook the garlic. Heat a skillet 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
- Canned 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.
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
I love the simplicity of the ingredients and flavors. I can see how this would be a great replacement for rice or pasta and could easily be a meal in itself. I wonder if a little parmesan sprinkled on top would be yummy. Thank you for this! I love it!!
Thanks, Hilary! It’s on repeat in this house because I always have spinach and canned white beans around. Glad you enjoyed!