Easy One-Pot Brothy Beans

If you’re looking for an easy, comforting pot of beans that’s rich and flavorful, these Brothy Beans are exactly what you want. They simmer slowly with garlic, onion, and fresh herbs to create a cozy, deeply satisfying meal using simple pantry ingredients.

Love a good bean salad? You need to try our Mediterranean Dense Bean Salad recipe as well as our protein packed Edamame Salad and our Avocado Black Bean Salad!

Why you’ll love this family favorite recipe!

I have been obsessed with brothy beans ever since I discovered Allison Roman and her version of this recipe. I made it so many times until I decided to start playing around with it and making it my own. Over the past few years, I’ve tweaked it a lot and really love how it’s turned out!

After posting it on Instagram several times, I got so many requests for the recipe so lets do it 🙂

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Simple pantry ingredients with big payoff

Cozy, comforting, and naturally vegetarian

Flexible enough to serve as a main, side, or base for other meals

Tastes even better the next day

In this post…

Ingredients needed How to Make It Recipe Tips Frequently Asked Questions Easy One-Pot Brothy Beans Recipe

Ingredients needed

The ingredients for this brothy beans recipe are listed fully down in the recipe card but let’s briefly go over the pantry staples needed including a few substitutions you can make as desired!

Dry beans – I used lima beans (aka butter beans which are buttery large white beans), but cannellini beans, great northern beans, or navy beans all work well. If your beans are older, expect a longer cook time.
I’ve been really into rancho gordo beans lately!

Yellow onion – A large onion adds sweetness and depth to the broth. White onion also works in a pinch.

Garlic cloves – This is a garlicky recipe by design, but you can scale it back slightly if you prefer something more subtle.

Vegetable broth – Using broth gives the beans a richer, more savory flavor, but water works too (you’ll just want to season more generously).

Fresh herbs – I used a bundle of thyme, oregano, and rosemary. Tie them together so they’re easy to remove later. Feel free to swap in bay, sage, or parsley stems depending on what you have.

Seasoning – Including bay leaves, red pepper flakes, paprika, salt and black pepper.

Lemon juice (optional) – A splash at the end brightens everything up, but the beans are still delicious without it.

Parmesan rind – this is also optional BUT highly recommended. It adds so much depth of flavor to the soup!

How to Make It

Just a reminder that you can find the FULL written recipe down in the recipe card, but I want to quickly go over how to make them with visuals for you 🙂

In a large dutch oven over medium-low heat, saute the onion and garlic with a pinch of salt until softened and tender. Many recipes have you cook the onion whole and then remove it but I love the onion in the broth with the beans.

Add in the remaining ingredients (minus the lemon juice) and simmer until the beans are tender and ready to eat. The cooking time can vary greatly depending on the age of your beans and how long you soaked them.

I like to serve my pot of brothy beans with crusty bread, chili flakes, and a drizzle of olive oil to make it a full meal! And the leftovers are SO GOOD! Store any remaining brothy beans in an airtight container to enjoy later.

Recipe Tips

Don’t rush the simmer – slow cooking is what makes the beans creamy

Keep the beans submerged for the best texture

Salt early so the beans absorb flavor as they cook

Finish with olive oil or lemon juice to brighten everything up

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to soak the beans?

Soaking is recommended for even cooking and shorter simmer time, but you can skip it if needed – just plan for a longer cook.

Can I use canned beans?

This recipe is designed for dried beans. Canned beans won’t give you the same creamy texture or flavorful broth. You *could* still make this recipe with canned beans, you’ll just want to cook it a lot less. Maybe even just 20 minutes.

Why are my beans not soft?

Older beans can take longer to cook. Just keep simmering and add more broth as needed.

These brothy beans are slow-simmered with garlic, onion, fresh herbs, and plenty of broth until tender and creamy. Simple, cozy, and endlessly versatile, they’re perfect served with crusty bread or spooned over grains.

Course dinner, easy lunch

Cuisine American

Diet Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings servings

Calories 451kcal

Author Brita Britnell

Ingredients

1 pound dry white beans I used lima beans1 tablespoon olive oil1 large yellow onion diced6 cloves garlic minced6-10 cups veggie broth*Fresh herb bundle I used 3 sprigs of thyme, 3 oregano, and 3 rosemary*1 bay leaf½ – 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes½ teaspoon paprika2 teaspoons of salt you can also start with less and add as desiredBlack pepper to tasteLemon juice to taste I often leave it outOptional Parmesan rind mine was about 4 inches long

Instructions

Soak the beans (recommended). Place the dried beans in a large bowl and cover with plenty of water. Soak overnight, or for at least 8 hours. Drain and rinse before cooking. Shortcut option: You can skip soaking, but the beans will take longer to cook and may require more broth.

Sauté the aromatics. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook for 6–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 30–60 seconds, just until fragrant.

Build the broth. Add the drained beans to the pot along with 6 cups of the broth. Stir in the herb bundle, bay leaf, red pepper flakes, paprika, salt, and a few cracks of black pepper.

Simmer until tender. Bring the pot to a gentle boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Cover partially and cook for 60–90 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender and creamy. Add more broth as needed to keep the beans submerged and brothy (up to 10 cups total).

Finish and adjust. Once the beans are fully tender, remove and discard the herb bundle and bay leaf. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt, pepper, or red pepper flakes as desired. Stir in lemon juice if using.

Serve. Serve warm with crusty bread, a drizzle of olive oil, or spooned over grains. The broth will continue to thicken slightly as it sits.

Notes

Cook time may vary depending on the age and type of beans used.

Herbs – I have fresh herbs in my garden but I know that buying them at the store can be pricey. If you’re watching costs, I suggest either using dried herbs OR just buying 1 of the fresh herbs instead of all 3.

Broth – I used Better Than Bouillon Veggie Broth base but really any broth/ stock that you have will work well.

Storage Instructions – Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days

The broth will thicken as it chills — add a splash of broth or water when reheating

Nutrition

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