This tasty recipe for a hearty kale, butternut squash and white bean stew is a great way to add a meatless recipe to your week. It is made with whole foods and is vegan and naturally gluten-free. Most importantly it tastes delicious!
Is the weather cooling down where you live? Or is it warming up, you lucky you? Well, here in Canada, temperatures are cooling down fast, and whether we like it or not, snow is coming soon. I don’t mind snow, because that means snowboarding season is just around the corner! Yay! 🙂 But, having said that, I do enjoy the weather in the spring and fall, it’s perfect weather for jogging. Except during vacation, I’ve been keeping a semi-regular running schedule for the past 5-6 months, but it’s funny how not doing anything for a few weeks can really make you take a step back in your cardio!
Anyway, I digress! Back to the food! So, with cooler temperatures, it means we like warm comforting foods like stews, so today for Meatless Monday, I got you covered with this vegan stew. Although, it might be better for tomorrow because you’ll need to soak the dry beans overnight… haha
In case you’re new to eyecandypopper.com, this series is meant to encourage people to eat less meat, because our Western society eats way too much of it, and that isn’t good for anyone, especially for ourselves. Adding more vegetables in our life is a great way to live a healthier life, and unless you’re eating organic grass-fed meat, the ‘conventional’ cramped conditions of raising animals for human consumption is also quite polluting and detrimental to our environment and our planet. So, it’s a win-win for everyone to reduce our meat-eating habits and be a little healthier 😉
Simple and Budget-Friendly
Today’s recipe is pretty easy and straightforward, and once the beans are soaked, it should be done under an hour (about 20-25 mins of active work, mostly to cut the butternut squash). You can definitely make a double or triple batch because this makes a perfect leftover to warm up on those weeknights in a hurry, and stews are always more delicious the next day.
Oh, and did I mention that this healthy meal is also super budget-friendly?? 6-8 servings for around CAN$10-12 (around $1.50 per serving)! Can’t beat that! And for those who always worry that vegan meals don’t have enough protein, this meal packs a punch at over 64 g of proteins (on top of all the many beneficial vitamins and minerals, as well as essential fibres)!
Bon appétit!
ECP xo
Kale, Butternut Squash and White Bean Stew | Vegan, Gluten-Free
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups white beans (dry)
- 1 large onion minced
- 1 medium-large butternut squash peeled and cut into bite-size cubes
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp ground paprika
- 3 cups organic kale washed, middle stems removed, cut into bite-size pieces
- 3 organic vegetable bouillon cubes (low sodium) or vegetable stock
- 1/2 cup organic white wine of your choice
- 14 oz organic diced tomatoes 1 regular size can (398 ml)
- extra-virgin olive oil for cooking
- 1/8 tsp black pepper to taste
- 1 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Wash dry beans under cold running water, then put into a large bowl and cover with spring or filtered water, at least 2" of water over the beans. Soak overnight, 6-12 hours.
- After beans are soaked, bring 1 litre of spring or filtered water to boil in a medium size pot. Add the bouillon cubes and mix until fully dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a large soup pot, using some olive oil, sauté the minced onion and butternut cubes until nicely golden. (around 10 minutes or so)
- Then add the kale, cumin and paprika, and sauté for a few more minutes. Add the soaked beans and the wine, and mix for a minute.
- Finally add the diced tomatoes, and the bouillon/water mix. At this point, you will probably need to add more water so that the beans can cook. Just add some spring or filtered water so that the beans are covered with the water, and add a bit more. (better a bit much than not enough)
- Mix everything, cover, bring to a boil, mix again and cover with a lid, then reduce the temperature to medium-low and let simmer for 35-45 minutes, or until the beans are cooked.
- Once cooked, add the salt and pepper, and serve along a nice green salad and a crusty piece of bread.
- Only add the salt at the end, once the beans are fully cooked as salt stops the cooking process in beans, which will be harder to digest and make you gassy... 😉
Note: I do not believe anyone should worry about counting calories, but here is the nutritional information for one serving
Calories: 250kcal | Fat: 5g | Sodium: 758mg | Potassium: 1146mg | Carbohydrates: 39g | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 5g | Protein: 10g | Vitamin A: 16760% | Vitamin C: 73.9% | Calcium: 197% | Iron: 4.7%
Matt Robinson says
Nothing better than butternut squash, especially this time of year!
Eyecandypopper says
Absolutely! So many squashes to choose from, and all so tasty! 🙂
Hayley says
Do you need to use these beans and soak them, or could I use canned white beans to make it faster?
Thanks
Eyecandypopper says
Hi Hayley, I apologize about not replying, somehow your comment slipped through the cracks! I do recommend using the dry soaked ones, since the flavours will develop and soak into the beans as it cooks altogether. But if you’re in a rush, canned beans are just fine 😉 I hope yours turned out great!