25 Easy Recipes With Kidney Beans

Vegetarian Pozole Recipe

Plan to put this easy and comforting vegetarian pozole on repeat all season long. The vibrant stew offers the smoky, delicately spicy, and bright flavors characteristic of traditional pozole, simply without the pork. Fresh spinach and red kidney beans add color and hearty texture, while also upping the iron and protein content of the pozole.

Instant Pot Vegan Beer Chili Recipe

This vegan chili is full of flavor and tastes like it’s simmered all day: it’s rich and smoky with a good bit of heat, but not too much. The lentils and beans create a hearty bite, while the bountiful veggies offer a juicy freshness. Dried beans in specific amounts, like in this recipe, are great and even more inexpensive to purchase in bulk bins.

Cauliflower Chili Recipe

Oscar Wilde famously espoused “Everything in moderation, including moderation.” That is the spirit of this recipe. It isn’t attempting to make chili super low-calorie. It is attempting to mitigate the calories while retaining full pleasure. And it takes advantage of the texture and mild flavor of the current darling of the pantry, riced cauliflower.

Instant Pot Rajma Masala Recipe

Rajma Masala is a popular dish in northern India with bright and fragrant qualities. The depth of flavor from pairing fresh ingredients and spices creates something that’s refreshing and comforting at the same time. Adding some yogurt at the end helps thicken the dish, but the most important ingredient is good quality vegetable broth.

Three-Bean Pasta Salad Recipe

We combined two potluck classics—pasta salad and three-bean salad—to make one tasty new side dish. Blanched celery is the unexpected star in this side dish; it has a tender-crisp texture and bright green color. Swap out the canned beans for your favorite cooked field peas.

Steak Fajita Chili Recipe

Make this staff-favorite one of your go-to dutch-oven dinners this fall. Tougher cuts of meat, like chuck-eye turn meltingly soft, root vegetables make the stew rich and hearty, and a dollop of greek yogurt adds just the right amount of tang, to cut through the rich sauce and brighten the meal. 

Instant Pot Two-Minute Taco Soup Recipe

Dinner doesn’t get any easier than this tasty taco soup that the whole family will love. 

Hearty Bulgur Chili Recipe

Kidney beans and bulgur give this hearty vegetarian chili a meaty texture. The amount of chipotle we call for yields a medium level of spice; use more or less to suit your family's taste. We like boxed, finely chopped tomatoes here (Pomi brand), but you can use canned unsalted crushed tomatoes.

Basic No-Soak Beans Recipe

For perfectly cooked beans every time, this is your go-to method. Creating a creamy center yet keeping the skins in tact, this simple technique can be used with dried beans such as navy, pinto, black, or cannellini beans. Cooking the beans this way is way simpler than the typical overnight process, and not to mention, a great way to stretch your dollars.

Pressure-Cooker Beef-and-Bean Chili Recipe

Only 20 minutes of hands-on time lets you have plenty of time for your long to-do list while it’s cooking in the pressure cooker. While the beef bones in the recipe are optional, they give the chili a greater depth of flavor. Most meat departments sell bones, or you can add a meaty piece of beef with the bone still attached.

Three-Bean Miso Chili Recipe

Miso is the ticket to achieving pronounced depth in this vegetarian soup, while peanut butter helps build body. Find white miso in the refrigerated section near the produce.

"Meaty" Vegetarian Chili Recipe

This is an all-time favorite for a chilly night. The classic meaty beef chili gets a modern makeover with the combination of three hearty beans and vegetarian ground “beef.” Make this dish in bulk and freeze the leftovers for a lazy dinner down the road.

Red Beans and Rice Recipe

At it’s simplest, the dish is hearty, tasty, comes together fast, and can be whipped up with ease, even during those hectic weeks you can’t seem to make it the grocery store. We amped up this largely pantry staple-based recipe with a runny yolked fried egg and a package of frozen “seasoning blend,” which includes chopped bell pepper, onion, and celery.

Skillet Red Beans and Rice Recipe

Look for trinity blend (a mix of onion, bell pepper, and celery) with the prepared produce. Or make your own with 3/4 cup onion, 3/4 cup celery, and 1/2 cup bell pepper.

Red Beans and Rice with Fried Eggs Recipe

Red beans and rice is a tried and true standby for good reason—at it’s simplest, the dish is hearty, tasty, comes together fast, and can be whipped up with ease, even during those hectic weeks you can’t seem to make it the grocery store. We amped up this largely pantry staple-based recipe with a runny yolked fried egg and a package of frozen “seasoning blend,” which includes chopped bell pepper, onion, and celery. If you have fresh onions, peppers, etc. on hand and a few extra minutes for chopping, feel free to go that route instead! Microwaveable rice keeps the dinner super speedy to prep, but you can use traditionally cooked rice here just as well. 

Classic Jamaican Rice and Peas Recipe

Many island dwellers refer to kidney beans as "peas," so don't let the title fool you. This classic Jamaican dish is low in fat yet high in fiber, protein, and calcium.

Cajun Red Beans and Brown Rice with Andouille Recipe

This easy, budget-friendly dish delivers classic Cajun flavor with a modern whole-grain (brown rice) twist. We find that soaking the beans overnight yields the best texture, but if you forget, the quick-soak method will work: Bring beans and water to cover by 3 inches to a boil; remove from heat, and let stand, covered, for 1 hour.

Classic Beef Chili Recipe

This is our latest take on traditional chili, and it comes together in just under an hour. It's a winner for a family-friendly weeknight supper or crowd-pleasing tailgate dish.

Huevos Rancheros with Jamaican Soul Recipe

What makes this huevos rancheros recipe memorable is its attention to details. Escabeche is a condiment consisting of carrots, peppers, onions, and chayote fermented in spiced vinegar for a few days. It’s reminiscent of pickled peppers. The sauce highlights Scotch bonnet, which is arguably the hottest chili pepper in the Caribbean.

Shrimp and Bean Burrito Bowl  Recipe

Sweet chili sauce is not too sweet, spicy, or salty--great for an instant glaze on the shrimp, in marinades, or as a dipping sauce for spring rolls or chicken kebabs. Find it in the international aisle of most supermarkets. If you can't find it, sub regular chili sauce (such as Heinz), or skip the sauce and squeeze a lime wedge over top.

Quick Red Beans and Rice Recipe

If you don't have Cajun seasoning, you can combine equal parts garlic powder, paprika, black pepper, ground red pepper, and dried oregano.

Veggie Cassoulet Recipe

A looser, brothier version of the classic French meat-and-bean casserole, this stew delivers umami satisfaction from porcini mushrooms and rich, nutty Parmesan cheese.

Classic Beef and Two-Bean Chili Recipe

Simmering the chili in the oven rather than on the stovetop prevents scorching at the bottom of the pan. Find achiote paste and dried whole chiles at Latin markets. Ask your butcher for chili-grind beef, which is more coarsely ground and requires the 1/2-inch plate on the grinder.

Can't-Believe-It's-Veggie Chili Recipe

Mushrooms and liquid aminos (soybean concentrate) lend meaty flavor. Top with blistered jalapeños.

Beef-and-Bean Chili Recipe

This classic red chili has chunks of stew meat and ground beef along with tomatoes, red beans, and spices. Fire-roasted tomatoes add a note of smokiness to the mix. If you can't find fire-roasted, use plain tomatoes and add a pinch of smoked paprika.