One evening last summer, I was lying on my bed, texting Instagram recipe posts to myself. This is my wind-down ritual after putting my daughter to sleep: as soon as the sound machine goes on, I creep over to my own bedroom where I lie in silence for 10 minutes, idly browsing my Instagram discover page for the latest easy, one-pot recipes that I’ll never actually make. If something looks good, I’ll text it to myself as a reminder. But the truth is, most nights I’m just too beat to try something new. Unless it looks really good and really easy, and I already have the ingredients, it’s not going to happen.
But one fateful night last summer, I landed on something that checked all three boxes: Marry Me Butter Beans with Creamy Tuscan Sauce. It was a basic bean dish made with mostly pantry ingredients and only 10 minutes of cooking time. I figured it was worth a shot, even if it wouldn’t be as good as it looked on Instagram. And here’s the wild part: it was. It was “marry me” good. In fact, I am now pretty much married to this recipe. Over the past year, I’ve made it, on average, twice a week. I make it so often that I buy the ingredients in bulk.
There are heaps of “marry me” recipes out there (including the original Marry Me Chicken, and its predecessor, Engagement Chicken). But this is the one I keep coming back to. Most nights, I’ll still lie on my bed texting recipe reels to myself (my discover page is half beans now — I love it). But this is the one I send to everyone else.
Marry Me Butter Beans With Creamy Tuscan Sauce
Recipe by Sarah Bond
2 tbsp butter
4 cloves garlic, minced (I press!)
1/2 tsp each: salt, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, and smoked paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 15-oz cans butter beans (see note #1, below)
1/2 cup to 1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup chopped spinach (or more)
1 cup heavy cream (or sub half & half, 236 mL)
1/2 cup grated parmesan
2 tbsp fresh basil
In a large sauté pan or pot, heat butter, garlic, and seasonings over a low-medium heat for about 2 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant. Stir in sun-dried tomatoes, beans, and broth. (Sarah suggests 1/2 cup of broth for a thicker sauce, or 1 cup for a thinner one — which may be best if you serve the beans over pasta or rice). Continue cooking on medium heat, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in spinach until it wilts (I add tons more than called for — a great way to add bulk and texture without altering the flavor). Then stir in cream, parmesan, and basil. Serve on its own with crusty bread, over rice, or with pasta.
Note #1: Depending on where you live, butter beans might be called large lima beans. In New York, where I live, it can be hard to find the BIG beans — and I never bother to hunt. I use cannellini beans, great northern beans, or whatever white beans are available.
Note #2: When cooking for myself, I omit the cheese and red pepper flakes because I’m not a fan. I usually skip the basil, too, because I don’t have it around. I also sometimes add a heavy splash of cream rather than measure a full cup. I say this because, though I encourage you to try Sarah’s gorgeous recipe as written, I want you to know that even if you don’t have everything on hand, it’ll probably still be great!
Does anyone else have a viral dish that lived up to the hype? One of these nights I’ll have to make something else.
P.S. Five ways to use a rotisserie chicken, and the best strawberry snacking cake.