After the pea patties, I couldn’t not share with you the recipe for bean patties with tomato sauce! They are irresistible: they may look like meatballs with sauce, so you’ll even get the little ones to eat them. I had already published last year the chickpea patties with sauce recipe and you loved it. So, this time, as I’m learning to eat beans, I’m sharing this version of borlotti bean patties with tomato with you.
The patty format is one of my favorites and, looking at the statistics of the most read recipes on the blogg, it’s also yours. So, thinking about the effort it often takes to get the little ones to eat vegetables and legumes, I thought of publishing here on the blog my recipe for canned or jarred bean patties. A simple, quick, and delicious recipe, as we like it, so you can prepare it following the video recipe you find below and taste it with your family.
The main tips for preparing delicious bean patties with tomato sauce will be written during the recipe itself, but here, in the introduction, I want to emphasize one key point. You absolutely must not flip these patties over and over. They are very soft and risk breaking or falling apart if touched too frequently with a spoon; rather toss them in the pan with decisive wrist movements. In short, toss but do not stir or anything else. The cooking time is about 10 minutes: we are using canned beans, so it’s not long, and the tomato sauce is almost cooked, so there’s no need to flip the patties several times.
To make you crave patties even more, I’ll leave some links below of my favorite recipes. You’ll find the Collection Patty Recipes, where they are divided based on the main ingredients, so meat, vegetables, or legumes. Then the latest recipe: the pea patties without potatoes and ricotta, super easy and quick to prepare; the chickpea patties with tomato sauce, which I mentioned earlier; and finally my super favorites: the zucchini and tuna oven patties. I adore them and in the summer I prepare them many times because they are super tasty even cold.
Before moving on to today’s recipe of borlotti bean patties with tomato sauce, I remind you that I’m waiting for you every morning in the Facebook group and fan page of Le Ricette di Bea with the Recipe of the Day! An unmissable appointment to start the day with a sweet or savory treat!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 2People
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter and Spring, All seasons
- Energy 422.13 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 57.96 (g) of which sugars 3.82 (g)
- Proteins 19.97 (g)
- Fat 12.36 (g) of which saturated 5.43 (g)of which unsaturated 3.65 (g)
- Fibers 14.23 (g)
- Sodium 1,194.06 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 360 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients to prepare bean patties with tomato sauce
- 1.5 cups borlotti beans (in jar)
- 1 cup tomato pulp
- 2 oz cheese (grated)
- 2 oz breadcrumbs
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
- to taste basil (dried)
- to taste dried parsley
- 1 pinch nutmeg (powder)
- 1 pinch curry
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp water
- to taste white onion (finely chopped)
In the list of necessary ingredients to prepare the bean patties with tomato sauce, you can choose the spices and herbs you prefer. In the list, I have proposed the ones I love and used for this recipe.
Tools to prepare bean patties with tomato sauce
- 1 Chopper
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Pan
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 2 Plates
- 1 Strainer
Recipe steps for bean patties with tomato sauce
I start the preparation of the patties by finely chopping the white onion. You will need very little, so don’t overdo it: it is not today’s star. I pour a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil into a non-stick pan and sauté the onion. When it appears blanched, I add the tomato pulp. I add salt, pepper, and dried basil and let it cook for about ten minutes over medium-low heat, without a lid.
Meanwhile, I drain the borlotti beans from the conservation water of the glass jar, or the can if you use canned beans. I quickly rinse them under the tap water and then pour the beans into the chopper bowl. I add very little water and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. I am not aiming for a cream but rather a compact mixture.
Once the beans are well chopped, I pour them into a bowl. I add the breadcrumbs and the cheese, in my case a lactose-free grated cheese. I sprinkle with salt, pepper, curry, nutmeg and dried parsley. With a spoon, I work the mixture until it becomes firm and ready to be shaped by hand.
I pour breadcrumbs onto a saucer and place a plate nearby to arrange the patties as I go. I then take a small amount of the mixture with a spoon and start to shape the borlotti bean patties. I roll them in the breadcrumbs and continue until all the bean mixture is used.
I place the patties in the pan where I’m cooking the tomato sauce, so they can start cooking, which will be very brief: about 10 minutes, the perfect time for them to absorb the flavor of the tomato. I add a bit of basil to enhance the aroma of this dish.
As mentioned earlier, I don’t turn the patties with a spoon, but I try to toss them by using the handle and a good wrist flick to avoid breaking or flattening the patties.
I am finally ready to serve the bean patties with tomato basil sauce at the table. An easy, quick, and super delicious second course, perfect for mopping up the sauce with bread! I recommend lightly toasting the bread so that it is just the right consistency to scoop up the sauce.
All that’s left is to wish you a good appetite and remind you that I’m waiting for you every day here on my cooking blog with many easy, quick, and delicious recipes like this one!
Tips, storage, and recipe variations:
Tips: as mentioned earlier, it’s important to work the mixture well but not to turn the beans into a liquid cream. Do not turn the patties to prevent them from breaking or losing their shape. Do not overdo the spices or herbs to not overpower the delicacy of the beans.
Storage: you can store the borlotti bean patties with tomato sauce in a container with a lid after they have been completely cooled at room temperature. You can keep the patties in the refrigerator for a couple of days or in the freezer for a week. Then you can reheat the patties in a pan by adding a drizzle of oil or water.
Main variations: you can vary the type of beans, from borlotti to cannellini, from Spanish whites (Corona) to red or black beans. You can choose the spices you love to give a kick and flavor to these patties, as well as vary the herbs I proposed in the ingredient list.
