Courgettes With Baked Beans And Salsa Verde

Courgettes with baked beans and salsa verde is an easy recipe for lazy summer days. It makes the most of ready cooked beans in tomato sauce, but adds additional levels of flavour and nutrition. Whether you use a tin of baked beans or leftovers from homemade ones, this recipe is quick-to-make and delicious to eat.

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Come summertime, I’m always looking for easy but nutritious meals. It’s either too hot to cook much or I’d rather be out in the garden. Perhaps, not surprisingly, this recipe coincides with our current glut of courgettes. I’m constantly having to come up with new ways to eat them.

In fact I’ve probably got more courgette recipes on Tin and Thyme than anything else.

Dive Right In

• Why Make Courgettes With Baked Beans?
• Ingredients, Additions And Substitutions
• Courgettes With Baked Beans And Salsa Verde
• How To Make Courgettes With Baked Beans
• How To Eat Courgettes With Baked Beans
• Other Beans In Tomato Sauce Recipes You Might Like
• Keep In Touch
• The Recipe

Why Make Courgettes With Baked Beans?

This recipe gives a wonderful balance of flavours and textures. The intensity of the tomatoey beans, the mildness of the courgette and the fresh zippy kick of salsa verde, makes it a go-to for many a meal.

Here are some further reasons why you might want to make courgettes with baked beans and salsa verde:

1. Healthy and Nutritious

This whole meal is packed with nutritious compounds. If you accompany it with some whole grains or wholemeal bread, it covers at least fourteen of your weekly thirty plant foods.

• Baked beans provide a good source of protein, fibre and iron among other things, which makes this dish both filling and nourishing.
• Courgette (zucchini) is low in calories but high in essential nutrients like vitamin C, potassium, and fibre, making it a great addition to your meal.
• Salsa verde adds a burst of flavour and brings in fresh herbs like parsley and basil, which are high in both vitamins and antioxidants. Just eight grams of parsley provide 12% of your RDI for vitamin A, 16% for vitamin C and a whopping 154% for vitamin K. (Ref: Healthline)

2. Quick and Easy

• The recipe is straightforward and requires minimal preparation. This is especially true if you use tinned baked beans. You can easily have the whole thing on the table within half an hour. This makes it an ideal choice for a weeknight dinner. It’s also a good one for hot summer days.

3. Customisable

• The recipe is quite versatile. Adjust the spices to suit your taste or add extra vegetables like bell peppers or spinach to boost the nutritional content. You can also use other fresh green sauces, such as chimichurri rather than salsa verde if you prefer.

4. Vegan-Friendly

• This dish is naturally vegan, which makes it perfect for those following a plant-based diet.

5. Comforting and Satisfying

• The combination of hearty baked beans and fresh courgette makes for a comforting meal that’s still light and refreshing.
• The salsa verde adds a zippy, bright flavour that perfectly complements the sweetness and warmth of the beans.

6. Great for Meal Prep

• You can easily double or triple the recipe. This makes it ideal for meal prepping. It stores well in the fridge and reheats beautifully. Store the salsa verde in the fridge separately with a layer of olive oil over the top to stop it oxidising. It will keep for three to four days.
• Courgettes with baked beans are also nice eaten at room temperature, which means it’s a good option for lunchboxes.

7. Budget Friendly

• Baked beans, onions and courgettes are relatively cheap ingredients to buy. In addition, if you make your own salsa verde from fresh herbs it’s generally more cost-effective than buying ready-made sauces.
• If you have outdoor space, it’s also easy to grow courgettes for summer. They’re prolific producers. This dish is an excellent way to use them up.

Ingredients, Additions and Substitutions

There’s no need for salt in this recipe as baked beans are usually already quite salty. Likewise capers are usually salty enough to provide this element to the salsa verde. Always taste test and if you think either element needs further seasoning, add a pinch of fine sea salt.

Courgettes With Baked Beans

Baked Beans

You can use a tin of baked beans for this recipe, a partial tin or leftover homemade baked beans.

Chilli

Aleppo chilli, also know as pul biber is very mild dried pepper with only a little heat. It does have a good flavour though and is a useful option for children or those that don’t like their food too hot. If you can’t find Aleppo chilli flakes, swap it for red pepper flakes.

Alternatively, if you like more heat, go for a quarter teaspoon of ordinary chilli flakes or a dash of hot sauce.

Courgette (Zucchini)

The clue here is in the title. Courgette is the main ingredient in this dish, apart from baked beans. However, whether you use one or two, is entirely up to you. I’ve made this dish with two slightly smaller courgettes than the one you can see in the image here.

You can swap the courgettes for any type of summer squash. I’ve used a small tromboncino, which yielded about twice as much as the above mentioned courgette. Go with what you have.

Courgettes are plentiful in the summer and also super easy to prepare and cheap to buy. I love them.

However, feel free to add a sweet pepper to the mix if you like that idea. A contrasting colour would be good.

Cumin Seeds

Cumin is one of my favourite spices. It lends itself extremely well to any type of tomato sauce. If you sizzle the seeds in oil before adding any other ingredients, it both flavours the oil and gives off the most enticing scent.

Onion

Onions are just magical. I defy you to fry onions without everyone’s mouth starting to water. They not only add a sweet and savoury flavour to dishes, but they’re nutritional powerhouses too. They’re high in vitamin C as well as B vitamins, antioxidants and fibre. (Ref Healthline)

Additions

Eggs are a nice addition to these beans. See my top tip in the How To Make Courgette With Baked Beans section.

A little feta cheese crumbled over the top never goes amiss.

If you fancy adding more nutritious veg, throw in some spinach or similar greens in the last few minutes of cooking time.

Salsa Verde

Capers

Capers preserved in brine are the ones to use for salsa verde. They not only provide tart, savoury and floral notes, but give the required salty element which enhances the flavour of everything else.

Garlic

You can’t have a green sauce without garlic. Much like onion, it gives plenty of bang for its buck. It’s highly nutritious and gives plenty of pungent flavour.

Green Herbs

Parsley is the traditional herb used to make Italian salsa verde, also known as bagnet vert. Whilst it’s good to use parsley, I like to add other soft green herbs if I have them. This time I used a mix of parsley, basil and mint.

Mustard

Salsa verde usually includes anchovies. Obviously, I’m not going to use those. So I add a little mustard to mine. It’s not the same as anchovies, of course, but it seems to work. For more ideas on anchovy substitutes, I have a specific post detailing alternatives to anchovies.

Lemon

Not all salsa verde recipes contain lemon. But I highly recommend it. The sharpness gives fresh bright notes which dance around in the mouth and turn this green sauce into a real pleasure.

I sometimes swap the lemon for lime and that works well too.

Olive Oil

Try for a well flavoured peppery extra virgin olive oil if you can find one. The higher the quality, the better you’re salsa verde will taste. Olive oil is the king of oils, and luckily is actively good for us.

Courgettes With Baked Beans And Salsa Verde

Someone kindly gave us a couple of catering sized tins of baked beans some time ago. Baked beans are always welcome, but the trouble is when you open a large tin, you have to use the beans up within a week or so.

We usually manage to cram at least one portion into the freezer, but that still leaves us with a lot and beans on toast every day gets a bit boring. This dish of courgettes with baked beans and salsa verde is one of the recipes I developed to use them up.

Courgettes and onions temper the intensity of the baked bean tomato sauce nicely in this recipe. Add a few spoons of punchy salsa verde and the dish takes off to another plain entirely.

It’s actually really delicious and is different enough to beans on toast to make it feel like you’re eating something new and exciting.

How To Make Courgettes With Baked Beans

Don’t worry too much over quantities with this recipe. If you have two courgettes use them, if you’ve got less beans, that’s okay. Make the difference up with vegetables.

Please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full instructions, timings and quantities of ingredients used.

Step 1. Fry Veg

Peel the onion, then cut in half and slice.

In a medium to large lidded pan, fry the cumin seeds in the olive oil over a moderate heat for thirty seconds or until fragrant.

Add the onions and fry until translucent. Give an occasional stir.

Whilst the onions are frying wash and slice the courgette. Depending on the size, either half it lengthways or quarter it, then slice fairly thickly.

Add the courgette slices to the pan and continue to fry for a few minutes until they’re starting to soften. Give an occasional stir.

Step 2. Add Beans

Tip the baked beans into the pan along with any sauce. Add the chilli flakes. Stir, clamp the lid on the pan, bring to a simmer and allow the beans to bubble away until everything is piping hot.

The courgettes should be tender, but with a bit of a bite left in them. Mushy courgettes aren’t my favourite.

If the beans are too dry and start sticking to the bottom of the pan, just add a splash of water.

Top Tip: Shakshuka

Once the beans have bubbled away for a minute or so, make two wells in the beans and carefully break in two eggs to fill them. Put the lid back on and simmer until the whites are set, but the yolks are still runny. It’s a bit like shakshuka.

Step 3. Make Salsa Verde

Roughly chop the herbs and pile into a mini food processor.

Add the remaining ingredients and pulse until everything is finely chopped and homogenised. You can also use a stick blender.

If you don’t have a small processor or stick blender, you can do it by hand. Chop the herbs, garlic and capers finely with a sharp knife, then mix in the mustard, citrus juice and oil.

Alternatively, if you’re feeling energetic, pound everything together in a pestle and mortar. That’s how it was originally made after all.

Step 4. Serve

Divide the beans between individual plates or use a serving dish, then spoon the salsa verde over the top.

Serve warm with wholegrain rice, quinoa or bread. Flatbreads work particularly well for scooping and mopping up.

How To Eat Courgettes With Baked Beans

Courgettes with baked beans and salsa verde makes a great stand alone meal. Serve it with wholegrain plain rice, quinoa or bread. We’ve tried all three, but particularly like it with homemade flatbread.

Alternatively, go for the classic beans on toast and have it for lunch or even breakfast.

It also makes a great side dish and will serve several people if used this way.

Surprisingly, this dish is good to eat at room temperature too, so if you have leftovers, it makes a great packed lunch.

Other Beans In Tomato Sauce Recipes You Might Like

• Bunny chow: bean curry in a bowl
• Cheesy bean bakes
• Greek butter beans in tomato sauce
• Homemade beans on toast
• Squash & butter bean stew
• Vegetarian shepherd’s pie

Keep in Touch

Thank you for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this courgette with baked beans and salsa verde dish, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Do you have any recommendations or tips for using baked beans?

Please rate the recipe, it really helps. If you post pictures of your creations on social media, tag me @choclette8 so I can see them.

For more delicious and nutritious recipes follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard or Pinterest. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly newsletter. Or why not join the conversation in our Healthy Vegetarian Whole Food Recipes Facebook Group?

If you’d like more courgette recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.

Choclette x

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Courgettes With Baked Beans And Salsa Verde

Courgettes with baked beans and salsa verde is an easy recipe for lazy summer days. It makes the most of ready cooked beans in tomato sauce, but adds additional levels of flavour and nutrition. Whether you use a tin of baked beans or leftovers from homemade ones, this recipe is quick-to-make and delicious to eat.

Cook ModeToggle to keep screen awake

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: British

Keyword: courgettes, quick, salsa, white beans

Servings: 2 people

Calories: 423kcal

Author: Choclette @ Tin and Thyme

Equipment

• mini food processor (affiliate link) optional

Ingredients

Beans

• ½ tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 1 small onion halved and sliced
• 1 courgette (zucchini) medium to large – quartered and sliced
• 400 g tinned baked beans or homemade
• 1 tsp Aleppo chilli flakes (pul biber) or ¼ tsp chilli flakes or a dash of hot sauce

Salsa Verde

• 20 g fresh parsley (I used a mix of parsley, basil and mint)
• 1 clove garlic a smallish one
• 1 tsp capers in brine
• ½ tsp English mustard or Dijon mustard
• ½ lemon or lime – juiced
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Metric – US Customary

Instructions

Beans

• Fry the cumin seeds in the olive oil over a moderate heat for 30 seconds until fragrant.
  ½ tbsp olive oil, ½ tsp cumin seeds
• Add the onions and fry for 2-3 minutes until translucent.
  1 small onion
• Add the courgette slices and fry for 5 minutes or so or until they’re starting to soften. Give an occasional stir.
  1 courgette (zucchini)
• Tip in the baked beans. Stir in the chilli, bring to a simmer and allow the mix to bubble away for a further 5 minutes.
  400 g tinned baked beans, 1 tsp Aleppo chilli flakes (pul biber)

Salsa Verde

• Whilst the beans are cooking, roughly chop the herbs and pile into a mini food processor.
  20 g fresh parsley
• Add the remaining ingredients and pulse until everything is finely chopped and homogenised. You can also use a stick blender. Alternatively, chop the herbs, garlic and capers finely with a sharp knife, then mix in the mustard, citrus juice and oil.
  1 clove garlic, 1 tsp capers, ½ tsp English mustard, ½ lemon, 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Divide the beans between individual plates or use a serving dish, then spoon the salsa verde over the top.
• Serve warm with rice, quinoa or bread. Flatbreads work particularly well for scooping and mopping up.

Notes

Traditionally, salsa verde would be made in a pestle and mortar. So if you’re feeling up for a challenge, you could try pounding all the ingredients together by hand.

Double or triple the quantity as needed.

You’ll find additional tips and info about this recipe in the main body of the post.

Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on serving size and exact ingredients used. Please refer to my nutrition disclaimer for further information.

Nutrition Estimate

Calories: 423kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 898mg | Potassium: 1058mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1036IU | Vitamin C: 42mg | Calcium: 171mg | Iron: 5mg

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