Not Salt And Pepper: Add This Jarred Ingredient To Canned Beans For A Delicious Upgrade

Tomatoes and beans together are a dynamite pairing of two powerhouse ingredients. Remember when we suggested introducing cannellini beans into your spaghetti sauce for added nutrition? Or stirring spicy salsa into baked beans? There's practically no bean that doesn't become 10 times tastier when paired with a tangy tomato (think steaming, delish chili!). We're piggybacking off that idea with our newest craving: a warm dish of white beans and sundried tomato pesto, which is also known as pesto rosso or pesto trapanese.

We recently saw a TikTok reel in which a home cook simmered up a vegetarian-friendly dish of succulent canned butter beans simmered in a rich, flavorful coconut cream sauce laced with tomato paste and, most importantly, several spoonfuls of sundried tomato pesto. The way the beans plumped up in the sauce reminded us of pillowy gnocchi in the best way, only with added fiber. Best of all, this dish came together in what looked like no time flat.

But a stew of white beans with sundried tomato pesto isn't the only way to enjoy these two exquisite tastes in one dish. We've also seen a wholesome, nutritious dip pulled together with beans that are pureed in a blender along with the tomato pesto for color and flavor. Furthermore, the oil in the condiment helps to emulsify the end product. No matter how you prefer to dish up your beans, we challenge you to grab some piquant red sundried tomato pesto and taste the flavor punch!

If you're used to taking the green leaves of your summertime basil plants and turning them into verdant pesto, you'll already understand the idea of doing the same with jarred sundried tomatoes. Unlike basil, sundried tomatoes are accessible to most home cooks all year. The ingredients that round out the pesto are similar, however: nuts and rich, sharp cheese. The sundried tomatoes are already packed in oil that is flavorful and seemingly tailor-made for mixing up your condiment.

If you're feeling adventurous in the kitchen, however, we can suggest some additions that will really make your beans shine. Keep in mind that there are tons of different beans, all with different uses, but white beans tend to be pretty interchangeable. If you like the superior size, butter beans or great northern beans should be your go-to. On the other hand, cannellinis are widely available and very yummy, albeit smaller.

We've seen roasted red peppers added to sundried tomato pesto for sweetness, and we heartily endorse this idea here, too. On a similar note, if you have some green basil pesto, we love the notion of mixing types of pesto for big Italian flavor! Don't be afraid to add extra parmesan cheese for additional flavor, either. On the other hand, if you're vegan, you might want to custom-blend your sundried tomato pesto with nutritional yeast instead of cheese for that funky umami edge.