Slow Cooker Tomato-Braised Butter Beans
The kitchen smelled of rosemary, warm tomatoes, and toasted bread on the Sundays when my mother set a pot of beans in the slow cooker before church. By the time we came home, the onions had melted…
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2 (14.5-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary sprigs
- 4 (15-ounce) cans canned butter beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (2-inch) piece Parmesan rind
- 4 cups Tuscan kale, stems removed and leaves chopped
Instructions
- Set a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker beside your work surface, and have a 10-inch skillet ready for the brief onion sauté. Drain the butter beans in a colander, rinse them under cool water until the water runs clear, and let them drain well; excess water would thin the braising sauce. Strip the rosemary leaves from one sprig and chop them finely, leaving the second sprig whole.
- Pour the olive oil into the skillet and warm it over medium heat for about 1 minute, until it shimmers but does not smoke. Add the chopped onion and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring every minute or so, until it turns soft, translucent, and lightly golden at the edges. This small bit of browning gives the slow cooker a deeper, rounder base than raw onion alone.
- Add the sliced garlic and chopped rosemary to the skillet and cook over medium-low heat for 60 to 90 seconds, stirring constantly. Stop when the garlic smells sweet and herbaceous but is still pale; dark garlic can make the whole pot bitter. Stir in the smoked paprika for the final 15 seconds so its aroma blooms in the oil.
- Scrape the onion mixture into the slow-cooker crock. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and vegetable broth, then add the drained butter beans, whole rosemary sprig, and Parmesan rind. Stir slowly with a wooden spoon so the beans remain mostly intact, and make sure the beans are covered by the tomato-broth mixture.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 4 hours. Avoid lifting the lid during this time, since each peek releases heat and may add 15 to 20 minutes to the cooking. The sauce should gently burble around the edges, and the beans should become creamy inside while still holding their shape when pressed with a spoon.
- At the 4-hour mark, remove the lid carefully so the steam escapes away from your face. Lift out and discard the rosemary sprig and Parmesan rind. Taste one bean: it should be tender enough to crush easily between your tongue and the roof of your mouth, while the sauce should cling to a spoon rather than run like soup.
- Stir the chopped kale into the hot beans, pressing the leaves down into the sauce with the spoon. Replace the lid and cook on LOW for 20 to 30 minutes, until the kale is wilted, dark green, and tender but not gray. If the sauce looks too thick, stir in vegetable broth 2 tablespoons at a time; if it looks thin, leave the lid slightly ajar for the last 15 minutes.
- Turn the slow cooker to WARM and let the beans rest, covered, for 10 minutes. This pause lets the beans settle and gives the tomato sauce time to thicken around them. Taste again before serving; the Parmesan rind adds salt, so add any extra salt only after tasting, and add a few grinds of black pepper if desired.
- Ladle the braised beans into warmed, shallow bowls, dividing the kale and beans evenly. Spoon the tomato sauce over the top rather than underneath, and finish each bowl with a small drizzle of olive oil. Serve immediately with toasted country bread, allowing the bread to soak up the rosy sauce at the table.
- For leftovers, cool the beans within 2 hours and refrigerate them in a covered container for up to 4 days. Reheat gently in a saucepan over medium-low heat with a splash of broth, stirring occasionally until steaming throughout; a hard boil can split the beans and make the sauce grainy.
Watch the Slow Cooker Tomato-Braised Butter Beans cooking video
← Back to all recipes · View full recipe
← Back to 5StarCook home