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Side-angle landscape-style photo of butter bean scramble alongside cooked asparagus in a spotted white bowl.

Butter Bean Scramble

Liz
Savory and satisfying Butter Bean Scramble is a fantastic breakfast, lunch, or dinner! It's packed full of flavor and easily taken on the go for school, work, picnics, road trips, and more. This easy butter bean recipe is delicious, quick to make, and may become one of your new favorites!
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Breakfast, Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 2 large servings
Calories 268 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 Medium Sweet Onion, finely diced
  • 1 Cup Broccoli or Baby Broccoli, finely chopped (if using regular broccoli, cut the stems small so they cook fast, like the size of a green pea or smaller)
  • 1/2 Cup Yellow Bell Pepper, finely diced. Red or orange bell pepper are also lovely in this butter bean recipe.
  • 15 Ounces Cooked Butter Beans, drained and rinsed (One 15-ounce can of butter beans, or see notes section below for substitutions).
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Granulated Onion, (of course, you can use any spices you like)
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Granulated Garlic
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Sweet Paprika
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Turmeric
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
  • 1-2 Cups Baby Spinach, roughly chopped (see notes section for substitutions).
  • 3 Tablespoons Warm Water, not hot; to thin the miso paste so it stirs into the butter bean scramble well.
  • 2 Teaspoons White or Yellow Miso Paste, to taste (or salt to taste, see Notes section below for why)
  • 2 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast, for savory flavor and thickening, but omit if you dislike it.

Instructions
 

  • Cook the onion and broccoli: Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for one minute. Add the onion and broccoli and sauté for 4-5 minutes, until the veggies have softened a bit and the onion becomes somewhat translucent. While cooking, add a splash of water when the pan starts to look dry. This will keep the veggies from sticking.
  • Add the yellow bell pepper: I like to add this later because I like my bell pepper to still have a little crunch when I eat it. You're welcome to cook it along with the onion and broccoli in the previous step if you prefer bell pepper softer. Cook 1-2 minutes.
  • Add beans and spices: Now you can add the beans and spices. Add a splash more water to combine everything well. Cook 3-4 minutes.
  • Prep the miso paste: Mix the miso paste into 3 tablespoons of warm (not hot) water in a small bowl or small measuring cup. Whisk with a tiny whisk or a fork in a small bowl or 1-cup measuring cup. Once smoothly integrated, whisk in the nutritional yeast. It will look like a thick and slightly lumpy sauce. That's OK.
  • Add the spinach: Stir in the spinach and allow it to wilt. Cook 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Add the miso: Remove the pan from heat and stir in the miso sauce.
  • Serve: Divide the butter bean dish between the number of bowls you'd like to use and top with fresh cracked black pepper if you like.
  • Storage: Let leftovers cool to room temperature and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Video

Notes

  • Veggies: Use any veggies you like, such as mushrooms, cauliflower (chop very finely), tomatoes, zucchini or yellow squash, asparagus, green beans, etc. For harder veggies such as celery, carrots, and winter squashes, you'll need to either par-cook these by boiling or steaming them, or you can cook them together in the pan before starting the butter bean recipe. Once they start to soften (and you think they'll be done in about 10 minutes), you can proceed with the rest of the recipe.
  • Butter Beans: You can use different beans if needed such as cannellini beans, navy beans, or any other white beans to make this white bean scramble (or any beans!).
  • Baby Spinach: Other greens like arugula, kale, chard, turnip greens, etc. would be lovely in this recipe. For more robust greens (like kale), I'd add them in a little earlier (like when you add the spices) so they have a chance to soften, whereas spinach wilts very quickly.
  • White or Yellow Miso Paste: This is to replace the salt in the recipe, but I also love the little hint of umami flavors. Per Dr. Michael Greger of NutritionFacts.org, the soy in miso has a protective effect so the sodium in miso paste will not affect us negatively. Please feel free to omit or use a pinch of salt if that is what you prefer.
  • Less Sodium: Note that the sodium reflected in the nutrition info below may not be correct. My nutrition info program did not have no-salt-added butter beans as an option, so I think it's overestimating the sodium. If you are being careful not to consume added salt, make sure to buy no-salt-added butter beans or make your own from dried. You may also prefer to omit the miso paste and season with sodium-free alternatives such as lemon juice or vinegar and herbs.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5recipeCalories: 268kcalCarbohydrates: 51.8gProtein: 15.9gFat: 1gSodium: 200.7mg
Keyword beans, beans and greens, butter bean dish, butter bean recipe, butter beans, butter beans recipe, scramble
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