You are home late from work, and you’re cold, tired, and hungry, and your dinner plan is your favorite white bean soup or maybe pasta and bean salad. So you’re going to make them with your favorite white beans, cannellini, but you don’t have any. What do you use instead?
Those of us who love our plant-based cuisine do not like a deviation from the perfect recipe. We want the taste to be the same every time. In this article, we’re going to show you how easily you can use similar beans interchangeably with cannellini beans.
1. Red Kidney Beans
Cannellini beans are white beans, but their size and shape are close to red kidney beans. You may hear cannellini beans referred to as “white kidney beans” or “Italian beans,” but white kidney beans may appear on the label.
Although very similar, cannellini and red kidney beans have minor differences.
Are Kidney Beans and Cannellini Beans the Same?
Kidney beans aren’t the same as cannellini beans. Kidney beans aren’t as creamy or smooth as cannellini beans, and there’s a slight difference in taste. However, the differences aren’t significant enough to affect the successful outcome of your favorite recipe flavor.
You Can Substitute Red Kidney Beans for White Cannellini Beans in Recipes
Using red kidney beans instead of white cannellini beans will change the appearance of the dish.
Cannellini beans are frequently used in popular Mediterranean cuisine. Light seafood and fresh vegetable salads may be overwhelmed by large red kidney beans, while white beans will complement the visual appeal of the food.
Heartier dishes aren’t overwhelmed by the red kidney beans.
The two different colors do very well when substituted for each other in chili. Many people prefer white chili, which is made with cannellini beans and turkey or chicken. Others prefer red beans and beef chili.
Switch the beans, and the chili will look different but taste the same.
Vegetarian chili is where you can indulge your love of white and red beans combined in a nutritious bowl of low-fat, healthy dining. Kidney beans may be dark red or light red.
2. Pink Beans
Small pink beans are milder in flavor than larger red kidney beans. They’re also called habichuelas rosadas and are a favorite in the Western U.S. and in Tex/Mex recipes used interchangeably with pinto beans.
Tasty Fact: Pink Beans are also a favorite of Caribbean countries and are used with garlic, onions, and other herbs. When color doesn’t matter, you could substitute pink beans in any recipe that calls for cannellini.
3. Red Beans
Red beans are usually followed by rice. Originating in Haiti and synonymous with Louisiana Creole Cuisine, red beans, and rice are still favorites in the south and southwest.
Red Beans and rice are traditionally created from Sunday’s leftover ham, pork, or sausage, bolstered with small red beans and rice, then served as Monday’s dinner. Small red beans have a milder flavor than red kidney beans, which are sometimes used.
That makes them a good substitute for cannellini when color doesn’t matter.
4. Pinto Beans
Pinto beans are the small tan and dark speckled beans often used in chili, refried beans, and other Tex/Mex dishes. The pinto bean is firm and holds together well while cooking and is beloved in the south, with onions and ham hocks as a substitute for white kidney beans.
Pintos are also the best choice for making refried beans.
5. Great Northern Beans
The Great Northern bean absorbs the flavor of other foods, so you get the great texture of beans with the dominant flavor of the dish. The beans are a great addition when you want texture and a big nutritional boost but you don’t want any interference with the taste.
The tender white beans satisfy the appetite in soups, salads, stews, and even burritos. They get their name from North Dakota, where they were grown by the Mandan Tribe.
Can I Substitute Great Northern Beans for Cannellini Beans?
You can substitute Great Northern beans for cannellini beans. They are smaller with firmer skin. Moreover, Great Northerns have a flavor blander than the nuttiness of cannellini, but that can work in their favor.
6. Black Beans
Are you even surprised that black beans are on this list?
Can I Substitute Black Beans for Cannellini Beans?
You can substitute black beans for cannellini beans in any recipe where color doesn’t matter or where color enhances the dish, as the taste and texture are very similar.
The black bean is smaller than the cannellini bean, so consider size when contemplating substitution. The color helps the smaller black bean to shine through in a recipe of many different ingredients.
Navy beans, Great Northern beans, and Cannellini beans have some commonalities, as they are all three pole beans as opposed to bush or vine beans. There is little distinction in taste, but there is a distinction in texture and size.
Navy beans are small and oval, so consider their size in any recipe. They don’t hold together as well as cannellini or even Great Northern beans. The skin slips away easily, leaving a mushy texture.
The creamy texture is great for cream soups, dips, and casseroles.
Navy beans get their name from their high-ranking availability as a food source in the U.S. Navy in the early 1900s. Their high nutrient value and long shelf life sustained troops out to sea for extended tours.
They mix well with cured ham and just about anything else.
8. Lima Beans
Lima beans are simply smaller butter beans, though many people might not know that. Lima beans are those small flat green-tinted beans that many of us hated to eat as a kid. When the lima beans grow longer, they get bigger and turn a white/beige color.
Those large lima beans are the ones they cook in the south with onions and ham and call them butter beans. When cooked, the beans are soft, pillowy, and creamy, with a buttery flavor.
You could use large lima beans to substitute for cannellini beans if you are careful not to overcook them.
9. Borlotti Beans
The borlotti bean is a speckled bean that turns darker when cooked. They are also called cranberry beans in the United States because of their cranberry red shadings on the skin of the beans, and they make an acceptable substitute for cannellini beans because of their firm texture.
Cranberry beans have a distinctive nutty flavor, and they’re wonderful when used in soups and stews.
Cannellini Beans Are a Healthy and Inexpensive Food Source
A ½ cup (90g) serving of cannellini beans contain the following nutrients:
| Calories 387 | Saturated Fat 0.2g (0.007 oz) | Calcium 46 mg (0.002 oz) |
| Protein 6.2g (0.21 oz) | Carbohydrate 12.2g (0.43 oz) | Iron 1.6 mg (0.00006 oz) |
| Fat 0.6g (0.02 oz) | Fiber 6.4g (0.22 oz) | Magnesium 30 mg (0.001 oz) |
| Zinc 0.6 mg (2.1oz) | Folate 81 ug (2.85 oz) | Potassium 260 mg (0.009 oz) |
Cannellini beans are a bit heavy on calories and are high in carbohydrates, but there’s more to the equation than numbers. The beans supply protein, fiber, trace minerals, and very low fat.
Notice there’s no sodium in dried beans unless you add it when cooking. Canned beans will have anywhere between 40 mg (0.0014 oz) and 330 mg (0.012 oz) of sodium in a 15 oz (425 g), so be sure to read the labels if you need to watch your sodium l