The Canned Ingredient That Makes Mashed Potatoes 10x More Filling

We're spoiled for choice when it comes to the many types of edible beans, but one of our absolute faves is the humble cannellini. For green-thumbed home cooks, they're among several easy beans to grow at home, though tinned cannellini are just as tasty and arguably a lot more flexible. They're brilliant for bulking out a stew or bringing a protein boost to a soup, but things get really interesting when they're added to mashed potatoes.

Sadly, not everyone in your orbit is bound to be a fan of beans (unless they come smothered in tomato sauce, perhaps). These naysayers can spot one lurking in a recipe from 20 yards away. However, a can of cannellini beans added to mashed potatoes is more likely to go undetected — and is just about always devoured. It's such a filling combination that there's pretty much zero post-dinner snacking from anyone, either. 

Blending tinned cannellini beans with 'taters does amp up the carbs, though they are the complex kind recommended over the simpler starches. The carbs in potatoes are starchy and burned up quickly by our bodies, but a half-cup of cannellini beans packs around 19 grams of carbohydrates (via Verywell Fit). Much of that is fiber, which helps us feel fuller for longer, helping to curb eating between meals if that's a goal for you.

Cannellini beans work so well with mashed potatoes because they share a similar rich, creamy flavor profile, and bring all their nutritional goodies to the table without really changing the taste, texture, or look of the end result. You might even be able to cut out that splash of cream for your mash while you're at it.

You don't even have to cook 'em! Just add the cannellini beans straight from the can (though do drain them first — you don't want to swamp your 'taters), either before you mash those cooked tubers or afterward. If you wish to hide any trace of this added ingredient, blitz the beans with a dash of milk into a smooth paste before stirring them inm and even the most eagle-eyed younger diners will be none the wiser.

The combo works with any variety of potato as long as you're mashing them and any manner of other delicious mashed potatoes add-ins, but if you don't have a tin of cannellini in the pantry, a neutral-flavored white bean can be just as good a sub. Great Northern or Navy beans will work in your next batch of mashed potatoes, as would garbanzo or black beans, though they would alter the texture and color. Whichever canned bean you choose, it's up to you whether you share the fact that everyone's getting an extra dose of fiber, vitamins, and minerals as they scarf down their dinner.