High-Protein Beans Recipe

Turn ordinary beans into a filling, delicious, and life-changing dish with the High-Protein Beans recipe!

It’s always worth including beans in your diet. They have a mild sweet and starchy flavor that you can intensify with the right side dishes, herbs, and spices. In one dish, you can experience all the thick, smooth, and satisfying goodness of beans.

The beans aren’t just about the flavors because, with their high protein content, you can trust that they’re going to change your life for the better. It’s surely going to be a new and interesting dish to serve to your family and friends.

It makes the perfect main dish or side dish for gatherings and picnics. Cook it with soups and stews for the best combinations yet. No wonder High Protein Beans are so famous in Africa!

How to Make High-Protein Beans

There are many ways to cook beans and the High-Protein Beans are a must-try. It’s a simple recipe that can give you an incredible flavor and texture. Even if it takes time to cook, in the end, you’ll realize why it’s worth it.

Here, you’ll learn how to cook High-Protein Beans like never before!

High Protein Beans Video

Watch the video tutorial to learn how to make a healthy and delicious high-protein meal. You will be surprised at how quick and easy it is!

Ingredients

With these ingredients, you can make sure that you’re cooking only the best High-Protein Beans in town!

Black-eyed beans

Have you ever wondered why they’re called “black-eyed beans”? These beans have black spots that resemble eyes. Black-eyed beans are also called “goat peas” or “southern peas.”

When it comes to flavor, black-eyed beans have a meaty, earthy, starchy, and smoky quality. Once cooked, they will have a soft, creamy, and tender texture – absolutely satisfying with every spoonful.

Black-eyed beans are usually used in African recipes because they taste amazing with the right herbs and spices. Not only are they loaded with flavors, but these beans also have lots of health benefits.

You can best enjoy the quality of beans by soaking and boiling them in water. They pair well with beef, chicken, turkey, and veggies for a hearty meal. How do you usually use your beans?

Sweet potatoes

What better way to upgrade your beans recipe than to add sweet potatoes?

These may be starchy, but they certainly add a richer and thicker consistency. Once you cook these into the beans, they will have a sweet, crisp, and caramelized quality. These also add nutrients for cancer prevention, digestion, and immunity!

If you love sweet potatoes, then I also suggest making Mashed Potatoes, baby food, and Yam Porridge. These surely make a big difference in serving the beans to make them a full meal.

Ripe plantains

Like sweet potatoes, ripe plantains are also starchy and sweet. They are usually black with touches of yellow on the skin. The texture of the ripe plantains blends well with the sweet potatoes and the beans too.

According to Style Craze, plantains can help improve your blood pressure for a healthy heart. These can also help relieve stress levels, boost immunity, and promote weight loss.

Aside from adding these to the beans recipe, you can also convert ripe plantains into Roasted Plantains, Steamed Plantains, or even Plantain Porridge to go with the High-Protein Beans.

Herbs and spices

Choose the best seasoning to give life to the dish you’re cooking! You’ll need smoked paprika, mixed herbs, curry powder, garlic powder, onion granules, mace, all-purpose seasoning, sea salt, coriander, cardamom, cumin, fenugreek, and garam masala. 

Liquid stock and stock cubes are perfect for making any dish savory. It diffuses poultry, meat, or vegetable flavors to make the recipe diverse. Put everything together and you’ve got yourself the best beans!

Onions

Always make your dishes better with onions. In this recipe, I suggest using a food processor to turn them into a paste to mix well into the beans. The onions add a distinct pungent flavor to the dish.

In fact, onions can give the recipe an amazing aroma to make it more irresistibly delicious. Your beans will surely taste and smell so much better with onions!

Oil 

Sunflower and palm oil are the best options due to their high smoke point. The dish will need hours to cook so these oils can retain the flavor and nutrients of the ingredients!

Can you already smell and taste the goodness of the High-Protein Beans? You won’t even believe how luxurious the texture will be once you make it! Prepare yourself for the best beans recipe yet! 

Directions

Just follow these steps to get the High-Protein Beans recipe right on your first try!

1. In a bowl, soak the black-eyed beans in water overnight.
2. On the following day, rinse and drain the beans.
3. Peel and dice the sweet potatoes and ripe plantains using a knife. 
4. In a pot, mix water with liquid stock, stock cubes, smoked paprika, mixed herbs, curry powder, garlic powder, onion granules, mace, all-purpose seasoning, sea salt, coriander, cardamom, cumin, fenugreek, and garam masala.
5. Then, add in the pre-soaked beans.
6. Put in the diced sweet potatoes and plantain.
7. Cover the pot with parchment paper and a lid. 
8. Cook it on low heat for five hours or medium-low heat for two hours and 30 minutes. 
9. Peel and chop the onions.
10. Puree the onions in a blender or food processor.
11. Then, add the onion paste to the pot.
12. Drizzle sunflower oil and palm oil. 
13. Mix them from the bottom of the pan to the top.
14. Cook it for another hour on very low heat or 30 minutes on medium heat. 
15. You can already serve it after the final cooking stage, but you can also mash it for a finer texture. 
16. Once you’re happy with the flavor and texture, remove it from heat to serve!

You may notice that it takes a while to cook, making it extra flavorful! I can also assure you that it will be a dish to remember!

Tips

Black-eyed beans

Buying black-eyed beans

• These are readily packaged and available in supermarkets.
• Ensure that the beans are not shriveled, cracked, or infested. 

Storing black-eyed beans

• Once opened, transfer the bean into a jar and store it at room temperature for up to several months.
• For cooked or soaked black-eyed beans, put them in a container to last up to a week in the fridge and several weeks in the freezer. 

Sweet potatoes

Buying sweet potatoes

• Unlocked Food suggests buying small to medium-sized sweet potatoes.
• Opt for ones with smooth skin and firm to the touch. 

Storing sweet potatoes

• Store the potatoes in cool and dry areas and use them within one week.
• These are not suggested for freezing or refrigeration because they easily bruise. 

Ripe plantains

Buying plantains

• Buy ones that are black and yellow because these are likely to be perfectly ripe.
• Note that they should still be firm. 

Storing plantains

• If the plantains are already ripe, then use them as soon as possible.
• To prolong shelf life, freeze the plantains in freezer bags. 

Liquid Stock

You can use chicken, meat, or vegetables to make your liquid stock.

1. First, rinse the ingredients.
2. Then, add your desired herbs and spices to make the broth flavorful.
3. Let the ingredients cook in a pot for a few hours or until tender. 
4. Filter the contents and set the liquid stock aside for future use.
5. You can freeze the liquid stock in ice cube trays and transfer it into freezer bags within six months. 

Onion Puree

You won’t have to skip the onion puree without a blender! You can use a mortar and pestle, food mill, food processor, potato masher, or even a simple kitchen knife to mash the onions for a paste. 

High-Protein Beans Recipe Variations

Is there any other way to make High-Protein Beans? Of course, there is!

You can use all sorts of beans for this recipe. I suggest using pinto beans, kidney beans, lima beans, fava beans, black beans, and more! No matter what type of beans you use, they’re surely guaranteed to give the best quality.

There are also plenty of other herbs and spices you can use to season the dish. Sometimes, I add a scotch bonnet or some chili flakes for a hint of spice and a bit of sweetness at every bite.

Aside from using meat or chicken stock, you can use vegetable stock instead of liquid stock for a vegan and vegetarian option. Instead of sweet potatoes and ripe plantains, you can also try adding the following:

• Corn
• Broccoli
• Green beans
• Carrots
• Cabbages
• Celery

Recommended Tools

• Pot: Cook the ingredients in a pot over a stove.
• Blender: Use the blender to puree the onions into a paste.
• Masher: This is an optional tool if you want to mash the beans.
• Spatula: Mix the ingredients using a spatula. 
• Knife: Slice the ingredients with a clean knife. 

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How to Serve High-Protein Beans

Every minute of waiting for the High-Protein Beans is worth it.

You can serve it on its own because it can be a full meal with ripe plantains and sweet potatoes on the side. To take your dining experience to the next level, cook these dishes along with the beans:

• Roasted Plantains
• Bread
• Steamed Plantains
• Moi Moi

Babies can have beans as early as seven months old but stick to cooked and mashed beans with breast milk or formula milk. Remember to use baby-friendly seasoning to make it safer for the baby to eat.

For beverage options, enjoy the beans with the following drinks:

• Beetroot Apple Juice
• Carrot Juice
• Zobo Drink
• Orange Juice
• Pomegranate Juice

Storage Tips

• At room temperature: High-Protein Beans are best eaten within two hours at room temperature. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Which bean is highest in protein?

Some of the beans with the highest protein content are soybeans, lentils, split peas, and black-eyed beans. A cup of black-eyed beans has about 15 grams of protein already. Just imagine how much it helps your health and diet!

What can I add to beans for more protein?

There are plenty of high-protein foods you can pair with the beans. For instance, you can go for rice, corn, quinoa, and even bread. You can also try vegetables or meat that are high in protein.

What is the healthiest bean to eat?

All kinds of beans are good for your health. Here are some of the best options you can cook at home:

• Pinto beans
• Kidney beans
• Peas
• Chickpeas
• Lentils
• Navy beans
• Black beans
• Soybeans

Are beans a carbohydrate or a protein?

Good news, beans are both a carbohydrate and a protein. Beans are rich in both protein and carbohydrates – perfect for your meals. They can complete your diet to give you all the nutrients you need.