Sicilian Pesto Butter Beans

sicilian pesto sauce butter beans in the pan topped with crispy basil

5 from 7 votes

Sicilian Pesto Butter Beans

Have you tried Sicilian pesto? This nutty, toasty, cherry tomato and basil pesto is delicious paired with tender butter beans for a quick and flavorful 1-pan meal that’s ready in about half an hour. (gluten-free and soy-free with nut-free option)

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: dinner, Main, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: sicilian pesto, sicilian pesto sauce

Servings:

Author: Vegan Richa

Equipment

food processor

Ingredients

For the Sicilian Pesto

2 tablespoons slivered almonds or almond flour
2 tablespoons hemp seeds or use almond flour or slivers
2 cups cherry tomatoes
½ cup fresh basil
½ teaspoon pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons vegan parmesan
2 tablespoons vegan mozzarella
2 teaspoons olive oil optional
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

For the Crisp Basil

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
8 basil leaves
1 garlic clove thinly sliced

For the Butter Beans

1 teaspoon oil
½ cup chopped or sliced onion
½ teaspoon salt divided
½ teaspoon dried oregano optional
1 cup water or stock, more if needed
15 ounce can butter beans drained and rinsed or 1 ½ cups cooked butter beans

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the Sicilian Pesto Sauce

First, toast the almonds or almond flour, if they aren’t already toasted. Add the almond slivers or almond flour to a skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring continuously, until they smell nutty and turn golden. 3-4 minutes. Remove them from the skillet and add them to a food processor along with the rest of the Sicilian pesto ingredients. Process for about 30 seconds, until the mixture becomes a coarse paste. It should have some texture but no large pieces of tomato.

Make the Crispy Basil

In the same skillet, heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium-low heat. Once hot, carefully add the basil leaves, and distribute them all over the skillet. Let them cook until crisp. Once the basil is somewhat crisp, add the garlic and mix it in. Continue cooking for another 30 seconds, until the garlic starts to turn golden. Remove most of the crisp basil and garlic from the skillet, leaving behind one or two leaves and a couple of garlic slices.

Make the Pesto Butter Beans

To the same skillet, add the onion and ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Increase the heat to medium and cook until the onion turns golden. 4-6 minutes. Add splashes of water in between to help conduct heat evenly and brown the onion evenly.
Once the onion is golden brown, mix the Sicilian pesto and the oregano to the skillet. Then use ½ cup of water to rinse out the food processor and add that water to the skillet, as well. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add the remaining salt and mix well. Taste and adjust the salt and flavor.
Mix in ¼ cup of water and the butter beans. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes. If the sauce thickens too much, add more water to adjust the consistency, and bring it back to a boil.
Top the butter beans with the crisp basil and garlic, then turn off the heat. If you prefer more heat, sprinkle with additional pepper flakes. The butter beans will have a strong basil flavor right after cooking, but the flavors will meld and settle in the next 5 to 10 minutes.
Serve these butter beans with toasted sourdough, garlic bread, multigrain bread, over pasta, or with roasted vegetables. They are creamy, fresh, and full of basil and tomato flavor.

Video

Notes

This recipe is gluten-free, and it is soy-free as long as you use soy-free vegan cheese in the Sicilian pesto sauce.
For a nut-free version, omit the almond flour or slivers and add more hemp seeds instead.

Nutrition