Name: Creamy Tuscan Butter Bean Pasta
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 400g can of butter beans, drained (or 1 ½ cups cooked butter beans/250g); 1 teaspoon smoked paprika; 1 teaspoon dried dill; 4 tablespoons oil, divided; 300g Rigatoni Pasta, or Penne or Shells; 1 red onion, chopped; 3 garlic cloves, crushed; 1 teaspoon chilli flakes (or red pepper flakes if you prefer); 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning (or 1 teaspoon Thyme, 1 teaspoon Oregano, 1 teaspoon Marjoram); ½ cup sundried tomato pesto; 2 tablespoons tomato puree or passata; 1 ½ cups vegetable broth; 1 cup cream; 1 cup parmesan style cheese, grated; 1 cup baby spinach, shredded; Salt and Pepper to taste; Garnish: Lemon wedges, fresh greens or spinach leaves, crushed cashew nuts

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Last updated on December 10th, 2024

An easy vegetarian dish, this creamy Tuscan Butter Bean pasta comes together in under 30 minutes. Butter beans are roasted for 15 minutes and then combined into a sauce made with cream, sundried tomato pesto, parmesan, garlic, chilli flakes, vegetable broth and herbs. We top it off by mixing in Rigatoni pasta for a one-pot vegetarian meal! Yeeeah! Serves 4

I love a good vegetarian dish and this Creamy Tuscan Butter Bean pasta does not disappoint. The best part is that it is ready in under 30 minutes. The ingredient list is simple enough but also offers options if you don’t have certain ingredients.

One of the important things to remember when making this vegetarian pasta, is to allow the vegetable stock to reduce a little so you end up with a creamy sauce and not a watery one. Okay? Yes!

Why you will love this Butter Bean Pasta recipe:

It is a vegetarian dish with protein, fibre and iron in the form of Butter Beans, it also contains nutrients and fibre in the form of spinach, herbs and tomatoes and it tastes incredibly good!
It is quick to make – prep, cook and plate in under 30 minutes
Made with a majority of pantry staples
It is flexible with many ingredient substitutions
Did I mention the creamy sauce made with sundried tomatoes?

Let’s go over Ingredient Substitutions quickly:

Rigatoni – this is larger but shorter than penne so if you can’t find Rigatoni, then use penne or any other short pasta like shells or farfalle or fusilli

Tinned Butter Beans – If you don’t have tinned, you can buy and cook fresh butter beans (this is how I do it). Just remember to pre-soak in hot water initially and then leave in water overnight as they do take a long time to cook and this helps to shorten the cooking time.

Red onion – You can easily use a standard yellow onion.

Chilli flakes – you can use a fresh chilli according to your spice preference or you could use red pepper flakes if you don’t like spice at all

Italian seasoning – I didn’t have this so I just used 1 teaspoon Thyme, 1 teaspoon Oregano, 1 teaspoon Marjoram.

Tomato Puree – You can use Passata which I find slightly sweeter and nicer but again, this is personal preference, I would use whatever you have on hand.

Parmesan Style Cheese – As the name suggests it doesn’t need to be actual parmesan cheese, but an imitation Italian hard-style cheese is perfect.

Baby Spinach – this is milder than regular spinach so just bear that in mind if you plan to use regular spinach, you may want to use ¾ cup instead of a full cup.

Can I make This Pasta in Advance?

Yes you can! Just gently re-heat the pasta when ready to serve.

Can I serve this dish without the pasta?

You could serve it with another grain of your choice, or over a baked potato or you could simply double the amount of butter beans and serve it on toasted ciabatta.

Other vegetarian pasta dishes to try:

Creamy Tuscan Butter Bean Pasta

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Author: Louise – Just Easy Recipes
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 1x

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Description

Ingredients

400g can of butter beans, drained (or 1 ½ cups cooked butter beans/250g)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried dill
4 tablespoons oil, divided
300g Rigatoni Pasta, or Penne or Shells
1 red onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon chilli flakes (or red pepper flakes if you prefer)
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning (or 1 teaspoon Thyme, 1 teaspoon Oregano, 1 teaspoon Marjoram)
½ cup sundried tomato pesto
2 tablespoons tomato puree or passata
1 ½ cups vegetable broth
1 cup cream
1 cup parmesan style cheese, grated
1 cup baby spinach, shredded
Salt and Pepper to taste
Garnish: Lemon wedges, fresh greens or spinach leaves, crushed cashew nuts

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 390° F or 200°C
Roast the Butter Beans – In a mixing bowl, add the butter beans, paprika, dill and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Toss to coat the beans.
Scatter the beans on a roasting tray, sprinkle with a little salt and cracked black pepper and roast for 15 or so minutes until crisp.
Whilst the beans are roasting, get the pasta on the boil and start the sauce.
In a large casserole dish/pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, chilli flakes and Italian seasoning and cook for a further minute.
Add the sundried pesto and tomato puree and cook for 2 minutes or so to develop the flavours.
Now add the vegetable broth and allow to simmer for a good 5 minutes so that the liquid reduces and the sauce starts to thicken a little.
Stir in the cream, parmesan cheese and spinach.
Add in the crispy butter beans
Add in the drained Rigatoni
Garnish with fresh herbs, cashew nuts and lemon wedges for an extra tang.