From the roundup: 24 High Protein Dinner Recipes Easy Enough for Busy Weeknights
This white bean and sausage skillet is the dinner I make when it is 5:30 and I have not thought about what we are eating. Five minutes of prep, one pan, and it is on the table in 25 minutes total. Turkey sausage, two cans of white beans, canned tomatoes, and a handful of spinach. That is basically the whole list.
The active cooking time is maybe 10 minutes. You brown the sausage, bloom the garlic, pour in the tomatoes and broth, and let it simmer while you set the table or help someone with homework. The broth reduces into a loose tomato sauce that is exactly what a thick slice of crusty bread is for.
I have made this with both mild and hot sausage depending on who is at the table that night. My pickier kids do fine with mild. The Parmesan on top is not optional in this house.
Why you will love this
- One skillet from start to finish, so cleanup is fast on a weeknight
- Turkey sausage and two cans of white beans together give you a genuinely filling bowl without feeling heavy
- The 8 to 10 minute simmer does the work while you are doing something else
- Mild or hot sausage both work, so you can split the difference for mixed heat preferences
- The brothy tomato base at the bottom of the bowl is reason enough to have bread on the side
Tips for success
- Get real browning on the sausage before anything else goes in. Three to four minutes over medium-high heat, turning once, gives you color on both cut sides. That is where most of the flavor in this dish comes from.
- Watch the garlic closely in step two. Thirty seconds in the residual fat is all it needs. Any longer and it turns bitter and sharp, which you will taste in every bite.
- Add the spinach off the heat, not while the burner is still on. Stirring it into the hot mixture for 60 to 90 seconds wilts it evenly and keeps it bright green. If you leave the heat on, it goes drab fast.
- Taste before you add any salt at the end. The sausage and the chicken broth both carry enough sodium that this dish often needs none.
If the sauce looks too thin
- Let it simmer uncovered for the full 10 minutes. The broth reduces noticeably in that window if you do not rush it.
- Lightly mash a spoonful of the white beans against the side of the pan and stir them in. The starch thickens the sauce without changing the flavor.
- If it is still thinner than you want, a second simmer after adding the sausage back usually does it.
Substitutions
Cannellini beans are what I use, but any white bean works fine here, and chickpeas are a reasonable swap if that is what you have open. For the greens, kale holds up better if you are making this ahead or want leftovers that do not go soft overnight. Just add it a couple minutes earlier than the spinach since it needs more time to soften.
Chicken sausage works in place of turkey sausage with no other changes. If you want to keep this closer to vegetarian, use plant-based sausage and swap in vegetable broth for the chicken broth. Fresh diced tomatoes are worth using in summer when they are actually ripe, roughly one and a half cups in place of the can.
Make-ahead and storage
You can brown and slice the sausage up to two days ahead and keep it in the fridge. The finished skillet stores well in an airtight container for up to four days, and the flavors do settle and deepen by the next day. Reheat it on the stovetop over medium-low with a small splash of broth or water to loosen the sauce back up.
This freezes reasonably well for up to two months. The beans hold their texture better than you might expect. Thaw it overnight in the fridge and reheat gently so nothing gets mushy. The spinach will be softer after freezing, which most people do not mind once it is in a bowl.
White Bean and Sausage Skillet
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Heat the olive oil in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sliced sausage in a single layer and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, turning the pieces halfway through, until they pick up some golden-brown color on both cut sides. That browning is flavor. Transfer the sausage to a plate and leave any rendered fat in the pan.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the minced garlic to the pan and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly so it does not burn. You are just blooming the garlic in the fat from the sausage, which builds the base of the whole dish.
- Pour in the diced tomatoes with all their juices and the chicken broth. Stir in the Italian seasoning, black pepper, and red pepper flakes if using. Bring to a gentle simmer.
- Add the drained white beans and the browned sausage back into the skillet. Stir everything together and let it simmer uncovered for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the broth reduces slightly and the sauce thickens enough to coat a spoon. Taste and add salt if needed, keeping in mind the sausage and broth both carry salt.
- Remove the skillet from the heat. Add the baby spinach all at once and stir it into the hot mixture. The residual heat will wilt the spinach in about 60 to 90 seconds without turning it dull. Stir just until wilted and bright green.
- Spoon into bowls and top each serving with grated Parmesan. Serve with crusty bread on the side to soak up the brothy tomato sauce from the bottom of the bowl.
Notes
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