Beans have long been considered a staple of the Mediterranean Diet. Explore this vegan Greek dish of buttery Greek Baked giant beans with savory tomato flavors and pungent herbs that will both delight and satisfy you.
I’m so thrilled to be posting a recipe for these Greek baked giant beans. They’re probably one of our most favorite classic Greek dishes and a true culinary pleasure.
Beans have long been a staple of the Mediterranean cuisine and if you’ve taken a look around the Whole Scoop, you’ll find several recipes using beans, especially as a family that is predominantly plant-based. Beans are an excellent source of protein, fiber and nutrients and I consider them to be an extremely healthy food!
Gigantes Plaki
These funny Greek words; what do they mean?
The word “gigantes” translates to “giant”, thus, giant beans. The bean typically used is the runner bean, native to the Mediterranean. Often times, runner beans are not available in many countries so lima beans or butter beans will work too. I use Lima Beans or I also love these giant beans harvested from Greece herself! The recipe for these Gigantes is relatively easy despite it’s rather longish cook time – I promise it’s worth it! The beans become buttery and soft during the cooking process.
“Plaki” in Greek translates to “flat” or “laid out”. Essentially, it means that these beans are not made in a soup format but rather, spread out.
Cooking with Beans
Preparation is key when making dried beans. Soaking them overnight is absolutely required. It makes cooking them a lot easier and it also helps reduce some of the bloating and gassiness associated with beans. Soaking and boiling beans at high temperatures helps reduce the amount of lectins present.
Cooking gigantes involves a 3 step process: soaking, boiling and then baking. While it does seem a little time consuming, it’s not hard and it does require a little planning. Many people avoid cooking dried beans because they aren’t sure how, they require more preparation than canned beans or they simply don’t know how to properly season.
One of my best tips for cooking beans is to boil them with salt. Salt helps keep the beans from bursting and helps to maintain their shape. Despite popular belief, cooking beans with salt does not overly harden them or make them crunchy. It actually helps them from getting mushy and falling apart during boiling.
The Flavors
The flavors this dish primarily come from the buttery beans, the savory tomato sauce and of course, as in most Greek cooking, the addition of fresh herbs. As usual, I highly recommend use fresh herbs instead of dried. In a pinch, dried herbs are better than none, of course but if you can, go with fresh!
We hope you give this dish a try! It’s a family favorite and exemplary of Greek “peasant” cooking that is nutritious, delicious and filling.
Greek Giant Baked Beans – Gigantes Plaki
Ingredients
- 1 lb giant dry beans lima or runner
- 4 carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
- 4 celery stalks, diced
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh dill
- 1 15oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 15oz can tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 large handfuls baby spinach optional
Instructions
- Soak your beans overnight in a big bowl with enough water to cover the beans by about 2 inches (the longer the better and the beans soak up water).
- The next day, fill a large pot 3/4 of the way with water and bring to a boil. While that is heating and getting ready to boil, rinse out your beans and discard any skin that may have floated to the top.
- When your water is boiling, add 1 teaspoon of salt and the beans to the pot and boil for about 45 minutes, until the beans have softened but are not mushy. If you see foam rising to the top, feel free to scoop it out with a spoon.
- While the beans are boiling, you can prep the rest of your ingredients. Take this time to dice up your onion, garlic, carrots, celery, parsley and dill. Place these ingredients in a large oven-safe pan (at least 9×12, if not larger) at least 2 inches high. Set a smaller sauce pan with 6 cups water to boil.
- When your beans are done boiling, drain the beans and give a quick rinse. Then add the beans to the pan with your other ingredients. At this time, preheat your oven to 400.
- Then add your diced tomatoes (not necessary to drain the liquid from the can), the can of tomato sauce, salt and pepper to taste, dried oregano, olive oil and and baby spinach. Mix well with a big spoon or your hands until the beans, veggies, herbs, and seasonings are well incorporated.
- Now add the boiling water from the sauce pan to the pan of beans until JUST covered. Add another generous drizzle of olive oil on top of the beans and then cover the pan with aluminum foil. Bake the beans at 400 for 60 minutes.
- At 60 minutes, uncover the beans and bump up the heat to 450. Bake uncovered the water is reduced and the beans are cooked through. They should be soft but not mushy and there should be just a little bit of liquid at the bottom. The beans and veggies should also start to get a little browned. The liquid should start to transform to a thicker tomato sauce.
- Spoon onto a plate and serve! Gigantes plaki taste fantastic with a piece of bread, some greek Olives and a fresh sprinkle of chopped dill or parsley.
Video
@thewholescoopblog Greek Giant Baked Beans! #greek #food #fyp #vegan #plantbasedrecipes #cookingvideos #plantbased
♬ Pieces (Solo Piano Version) – Danilo Stankovic
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