These Vegan Rosemary Smoky White Beans are so creamy and thick and the perfect side to a main meal or can be eaten as the meal. They are very hearty and filling, yet dairy-free and oil-free and come together in 30 minutes!
If you are aware of the super popular “Braised White Beans” over at Zoes Kitchen, then this post may have you all excited. If you’ve never heard of them, still be excited, because these are the creamiest, dreamiest rosemary white beans ever, but totally oil-free. I first discovered Zoes Kitchen a few years ago, as I had heard about these famous white beans through some friends and since I love rosemary, I was dying to try them. Oh boy, they lived up to every expectation. They are creamy, full of flavor, filling and simple. Just one big problem, FULL of oil. I could taste the oil in them, I could see the oil in them. Yuck. Well, that didn’t stop me from eating there sometimes. I don’t stress about eating so perfectly 100% of the time when eating out is concerned, because I don’t eat out but maybe once a month.
I have always had it on my to-do list to recreate Zoes kitchen braised white beans recipe at home. So, when one of my most loyal readers, Estee, asked me to recreate them too, that was the bump I needed to get it done sooner.
Well, I’m here to tell you, not only did I nail the flavor and the texture……dare I say, they are even better?? My hubby and daughter were just flabbergasted at how amazing they are. My 4 year old even exclaimed “Mommy, these taste just the same as Zoes!” I was so happy because that is her favorite item to eat there and just loves them. But I hate consuming all that oil, so now we will never have to. I can hear my arteries rejoicing!
So, whether you know of this item or not, I’m here to tell you that this is not a soup type of bean dish, it’s much thicker, which should be evidenced in the photos. It’s not a soup, or meant to be a soup, but rather, a side dish. However, I would never hesitate to eat a large bowl of it as my meal, as if it were a soup.
I still have no idea what the exact ingredient list is for their beans, but I was still able to pull off the flavor. I have always smelled and tasted a slight smokiness to the beans and even though they are vegan, they have that smoky ham flavor to them. I was able to recreate that by adding liquid smoke. It couldn’t be easier too, it’s only 8 ingredients (+ S&P), 1 pot and ready in about 30 minutes!
Now, the restaurant doesn’t add hot sauce to their rosemary white beans, but hey, I always like to add a touch of hot sauce to the beans for that slight spicy kick. SO good. Hubby and daughter don’t like it, but it’s just an optional touch if you like it. Sure is pretty too.
I really hope you all love these Vegan Smoky Rosemary White Beans!
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Vegan Smoky Rosemary White Beans
Ingredients
- 1/2 packed cup (80g) finely diced white or yellow onion
- 1/4 teaspoon salt for cooking the onions (you'll be adding another 1/2 tsp later)
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced (11g)
- 1/2 cup low-sodium veggie broth for cooking onions/garlic and 3/4 cup more to add later
- 1/2 cup (120g) homemade cashew milk (See NOTE)
- 1 scant tablespoon roughly chopped fresh rosemary
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons liquid smoke
- 2 tablespoons (20g) brown rice flour or regular flour is fine
- 2 15 oz cans low-sodium Great Northern or Cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
- Optional: drizzle of hot sauce for a spicy kick
NOTE
- I make my own homemade cashew milk, as it's MUCH better and creamier than store-bought. To make, add 1/2 cup whole raw cashews to a vitamix with 1 1/2 cups filtered water, blend on high until completely smooth. That's it, no need to drain! Use just 1/2 cup of the milk for the recipe. Use any extra for oatmeal, coffee, lattes, or soups for extra creaminess.
NOTE
- Tip for chopping the fresh rosemary. If you've never chopped fresh rosemary, it is very simple. Do not just chop the whole thing with the stem, or it's too fibrous. Simply take your fingers and slide off the rosemary leaves pulling them off the stem in the opposite direction that they point. They will slide right off. A tip I learned from Giada.
Instructions
- Add the onion and only 1/2 cup of the veggie broth and only a 1/4 tsp of the salt to a small pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium and cook for 8 minutes until the onions are tender.
- Add the garlic and cook 2 more minutes.
- Add the remaining 3/4 cup broth, plant milk, rosemary, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, black pepper, liquid smoke and rice flour. Whisk well to make sure all the flour is smooth.
- Once smooth, add the beans.
- Bring it back to a simmer around the edges, cover and reduce to low. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them so they don’t stick to the bottom. Once creamy to your likely, serve immediately.
- I love to give mine a spicy kick with a drizzle of hot sauce, but this is totally optional. If you have any leftovers, it will thicken up a ton in the fridge overnight, so add more broth to loosen up if necessary and reheat on low. Depending on whether you serve this as a side dish or a main dish, the servings would vary from 2-4 people. They are VERY filling!
I’ve made this recipe 5 times now. FIVE! Two of them being within the last week, and I’m making them again tonight! They’re so rich and delicious and feel like junk food but they’re not! I was trying to figure out why I love them so much, and then I realized… gravy. Yes. Gravy. Makes everything better. Thank you for yet another awesome “go-to”!
Haha, awesome Liz! I’m so happy you love these so much, they are a favorite of mine as well, thank you so much for the awesome feedback Liz!
Thank you for letting me know about the cashew milk. How easy, I will start doing it that way as well from now on and thank you for the Rosemary beans. Live in Florida and have my rosemary going year around. Love it, I will make these beans this week as it is hot here and the meal can be made fast, thank you
Thank you for the wonderful, healthy recipes! I especially like your notes and explanations. I made your creamy white wine sauce a few days ago (whole family loved it), and would like to use my remaining cashew milk in this (or another) recipe. Can you please explain the use of the brown rice flour? I live in the tropics and don’t keep flour on hand (I don’t bake), because it’s inconvenient to keep in the fridge/freezer/bug-free. If I’m going to use it a lot, I can buy some, but for this particular recipe, is there something else I might try? If it’s for thickening, can I use arrowroot powder? I’m new to vegan, oil-free cooking, and I’m buying necessary ingredients as I go along, usually only about once a week or via mail order (vitacost). Thanks so much!
Hi there! I’m so happy to hear you loved that white wine recipe, if you get a chance, I’d love your star rating on it! As for the brown rice flour here, it is for thickening. I choose that as opposed to fats to keep them healthier and it helps to give the same thick, creamy effect without using oil. I have never tried arrowroot powder before to thicken in a sauce but if you try it, use only half the amount of the flour since starches tend to have twice the thickening power of flour. I tend to always use brown rice flour to thicken sauces or soups in my recipes and no other flours typically. From what I’ve read, with arrowroot you are supposed to add it at the end of cooking and mix it separately in water, like a slurry, otherwise it’ll clump if you add it to the whole pot as is and since I add the flour before adding the beans here, it may break up the beans if you add it afterwards. But I would just try mixing 1 tablespoon arrowroot with 1 1/2 tablespoons water until smooth and then stir it into the beans at the end and cook just until it thickens.
Wow – I love this recipe! I sort of followed your recommendation regarding the arrowroot, but mixed the 1TB arrowroot with 1 1/2 TB broth (instead of water). It dissolved immediately, without any clumping. I then added it to the rest of the liquids, then to the pot. I forgot I was supposed to wait until the end to add it. Anyway, it came out great! I was a little worried about what I thought was a lot of liquid smoke, but it was perfect. I served it with steamed asparagus and a tomato salad. I will definitely be making this again! Thanks so much!
Yay!! So happy to hear it all worked out and you loved the recipe, thank you so much for leaving feedback!
These were delicious! I used regular all-purpose flour and the recipe still turned out great! I think next time I might add some potatoes! I’ve never had the white beans at Zoe’s Kitchen, but these were a hit for sure! My husband gobbled them up and I was just disappointed that I did not double the recipe!
I’m so happy to hear that Reagan, thank you very much for the amazing review, I really appreciate it so much!
These are so good and they taste just like the ones at Zoe’s Kitchen. I made them for the second time tonight. Next time I am doubling the recipe so we can have leftovers. Thanks for a delicious recipe.
Thank you so much for the feedback Lindsey! I’m so happy to hear you love them!
These beans are simply amazing. Indescribably good. They have a savory, slightly smoky flavor and a seriously amazing texture. They feel so comforting to eat. I can’t decide if it is the texture or the flavor that is the best part of this recipe. I think its both. I seriously could eat these beans erryday. I absolutely love love love this recipe. Simple perfection Brandi. I never work with rosemary so I wasn’t sure if I would like the flavor of these beans but they were just perfect and amazing. You are a genius. 😀
P.S. I reviewed these beans before and I saw it post but the review is gone. I don’t know what happened. Perhaps the website is having a bit of issues? I noticed that your post for your bread doesn’t show the pictures anymore. I tried going to your website on three different browsers and on my phone and I see the same issue so I really don’t think it is just me that doesn’t see the pictures.
I am hoping my review posts this time.
Yes, thank you so much Christina! I just transferred hosting companies for my site and some of the comments that came through during the transfer got lost, so thank you so much for leaving another! I see it now and the photos have been fixed on the bread post as well! I’m so happy you loved these beans so much, I really appreciate the feedback!!
We LOOOOOOOOVED this recipe!!! Insanely creamy, subtle rosemary flavor and perfect smokiness! We did a swirl of habanero hot sauce in the grown up bowls and it was just amazing. After taking a few bites on its own, I then added some sauteed kale into it and oh, man. SO good! I love the simplicity of this recipe and as always, incredibly flavorful. We’ll definitely make this again and again…we even got Willow to take a bite and she enjoyed them, too. Wonderful recipe and perfect comfort food!
Thank you so much Mandy! I’m so happy you all loved it so much and adding kale sounds so darn delicious! Thank you so much for the feedback!
Where did you purchase your white bowls? Or are those ramekins…
Hi Mykaila! Those aren’t traditional mini ramekins, but rather large ones. They are kind of more like small bowls, about 4 inch wide. I am not positive where I got them, but I think from Homegoods. I buy a lot of my kitchen products from there.
Where did you purchase your white bowls? Or are those ramekins…
Second, if I want to create this with raw beans would I need to do anything differently?
I would just cook your raw beans first like you normally would and then drain them and proceed with the written recipe.
Brandi, wow what a surprise this dish was to both my newly ecposedtaste budsfrom zoes and to my guys first exposure!
First off, great oil free translation- delicious and healthy… We had a thyme arugalu salad as a starter and the beans as an entree! Great work and great balance! We shared this recipe for 4 for actually about 2.5 ppl and felt vegetarien/vegan clean…
Second, in our former lives we ate meat and it felt like this would be agreat compliment to a summer bbq for something more savory… Even agood complement to a kosher hot dog
Ps i made this with dry beans and WOW! Just spent 15-20 mins at the end melding the flavor pot with the beans over simmer and viola!
Wonderful, so happy to hear you and your husband both loved these Allison, thank you so much for the feedback! I really appreciate it! That thyme arugula salad sounds delish too, I love arugula and thyme so much!
Wow these beans look sooooo creamy and delicious! I’ve never tried white beans like this before, they sound incredible. I can’t wait to make this Brandi!
Thank you so much friend! They are so darn creamy, like “this must be bad for me” creamy, haha, but they are so healthy! You definitely should try it, super fast to make too!
These white beans look awesome!! Deffo a recipe for Dave as well. Lovely photos again, Brandi. A new setting, I like 🙂
Thank you so much Hauke! I love how attentive you are, it really means a lot to me!
These look divine, Brandi! I’ve never heard of Zoe’s Kitchen, but that doesn’t matter because now I have these! 🙂 LOVE the hot sauce addition and rosemary is one of my favorite herbs! Can’t wait for it to be growing like a week in my garden this summer! Side dish or not, I would make a meal out of these for sure!!
You are so sweet, thank you Jenn! I love rosemary too, one of my favorite herbs for sure! Oh and these are so darn filling, they are definitely a meal to me too!
This really is dreamy and creamy, Brandi! I love that you added rosemary. What a great combo. 🙂
Thank you Sina!
this totally does look creamy and dreamy! and it looks really comforting too! I love the addition of rosemary also I like the flavor added to soup like dishes like this! YUM 😉
Thank you so much Michele! I love, love rosemary!
i have never eaten at Zoes before but i do surely want these beans. l need some crusty bread to smear it over 🙂
Ahhh yes, bread would be perfect for these, just posted this bread too and it’s delicious toasted along with beans or soup!
https://thevegan8.com/2016/03/24/vegan-whole-grain-spelt-sandwich-bread/
Never heard and tried. After looking at your recipe and picture I got so tempted. I am going try this soon.:) Looks wonderful!
These sound so good. I’ve never heard of Zoe’s either. But they look like they would be good scooped up in some soft naan. Wonderful side!
Ooooh, wonderful idea!
Creamy and dreamy is right. I love white beans but we don’t get them here.. they are so versatile in terms of absorbing flavor. Rosemary is perfect here too.
This looks so good! I would definitively add hot spicy sauce, or maybe sriracha sauce! Beautiful photos as always Brandi xx
Aww thanks so much Hedi!!
Yum! These beans looks so hearty and filling. I think I’d eat it as a main course 😉 Love the idea of drizzling hot sauce over them. Looks delicious, Brandi!
I love the flavours you have going on here and I am a sucker for hot sauce. They sound like the perfect combo and it adds such a pop of colour to those photograph too!
Made these tonight WOW really good. My husband loved them and is packing up the rest for his lunch.
Yay! So happy to hear that Gracie, thank you so much!
I made my own white beans from dried in the crockpot this weekend and then made your dish tonight with them. The only thing I didn’t have was the fresh rosemary. I did have dried rosemary, though. I followed your explicit directions exactly and boy, I was not disappointed; These are these fantastic beans! Thank you so much for all the care that went in to this successful recipe. Fantastic!!!!!
Awesome Carrie! I’m so very happy you loved these beans so much, thank you very much for making them and leaving feedback!
I love Zoe’s Kitchen, but oddly, I’ve never noticed these on the menu! I’m glad you made your own version – they look absolutely amazing, and rosemary is my favorite herb 😉 Can’t wait to try these! Pinning!
Oh my word. These beans sound and look to die for. I can’t wait to try these. Hopefully I will be able to make them this weekend. I have most the ingredients I just need fresh rosemary and veggie broth. Seriously I am forever impressed with your pictures and your recipes, you blow my mind. And the hot sauce idea sounds good to me. Yummy. I will try it on one bite first cause sometimes I can be a little sensitive to heat. haha 🙂 The liquid smoke brand that I have is wrights so I will start light with the liquid smoke thanks for pointing that out.
You are so sweet Christina! I love your comments. Thank you so much for the compliments on my recipes and photos…I’m so grateful that you make so many of my recipes and love seeing your pics on Instagram! Thank you as always!!
Brandi, these have my name written all over them. I really need to try them. I even happen to have liquid smoke around [not regularly sold over here]. What I do not have and can’t get in stores, though, is brown rice flour. Do you think I could sub whole wheat flour?
Yes, you can use regular flour, that’s fine! 🙂