Inspired by my grandmother’s recipe, canned kidney beans are quickly simmered on the stovetop with cumin, tomato sauce and aromatic onion for a cozy side dish or even a simple dinner served with rice and greens.

saucy kidney beans with white rice in black bowl with spoon
These comforting cumin + tomato sauced kidney beans come together in less than 30 minutes.

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This is one of those recipes that immediately transports me back to childhood in my grandmother’s kitchen. If I close my eyes, I can see my avo (which is Portuguese for grandmother) pulling out her very 1960s Sunbeam electric skillet – it literally sat on the counter and plugged in – and making these simmered kidney beans and the way the oil would glisten on top when they were ready. 

They were saucy, cozy and incredibly comforting and I would gobble them up by the bowlful. 

It’s the kind of recipe that will make you wonder why you don’t eat kidney beans all the freaking time. These vegan kidney beans are similar to a classic Portuguese baked beans but like, not baked, so they’re quicker. Oh, and no sausage…but you could add it!

But I promise: they’re still SO flavourful. I worked really hard on getting it just right and these earned my mom’s seal of approval. My avo never wrote any of her recipes down so I developed this one based on memory and taste alone.

You could totally eat these Portuguese-style kidney beans as a protein- and fibre-rich side dish but the way I eat them most often is served as a vegetarian main with white rice and a side of greens…sometimes roasted broccoli, sometimes my quick sauteed kale.

How to make this simplified version of Azorean-style kidney beans

As with most traditional recipes, the ingredients are humble which means technique matters if you’re gonna create something delicious. We’re talking just 5 ingredients that somehow end up tasting so rich and complex so let me show you how to rock it, okay?

glass bowl of kidney beans, metal cup of tomato sauce, onion, garlic, oil, salt and cumin
I always use salt free canned beans (so did my Avo!) but you can 100% use cooked-from-scratch kidney beans if you’ve got em.

The actual key to this recipe is getting the onions right. Seriously. You want to dice them as finely as possible and ensure they’re cooked until they’re tender and silky. Don’t rush it.

stainless steel skillet with cooked onions
You do NOT want the onions fried. Turn the heat down if they’re browning. You want them sort of confit-ing.
hand pouring cumin and garlic into cooked onions in skillet
Adding the cumin to the onions and garlic “blooms” the spice so it becomes more flavourful.

Want more healthy, flavourful plant-based recipes from a dietitian who LOVES to eat? Grab a copy of my latest cookbook Plant Magic!

hand pouring bowl of kidney beans into skillet with tomato sauce and onions
In order to keep things saucy – not dry – you need to cook the beans mostly with the lid ON.
hand and wooden spoon stirring saucy kidney beans in stainless steel skillet
Luckily, you can fix any dryness by just adding more water until you get the desired level of sauciness.

Nutrition note: Each main dish serving (1/4 of this recipe) has about 19g protein and 15g fiber.

Want more delicious kidney bean recipes???

So far, I’ve just got two others, ha ha…but more are coming if you want ’em!

saucy kidney beans with white rice in black bowl with spoon

Simple + Healthy Portuguese-style Kidney Beans

4 main dish servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Inspired by my grandmother’s recipe, canned kidney beans are quickly simmered on the stovetop with cumin, tomato sauce and aromatic onion for a cozy side dish or even a simple dinner served with rice and greens.
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Ingredients

  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup finely diced yellow onion, 1 small-medium onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 3 14 ounce cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained, or 4 ½ cups cooked kidney beans
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt, cut in half if using salted beans
  • 1 cup passata sauce, or just canned, plain tomato sauce
  • ½ cup water, or more as needed

Optional

  • 2 links your favourite sausages, something like the Field Roast garlic + fennel
Imperial – Metric

Instructions 

  • Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Turn heat down just slightly and add onion. Cook 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally until onion is silky, tender and translucent.
  • Cook onions longer if need be (larger the onion is, the more cooking they need) as it's essential they're no longer crunchy. BUT you don't want them brown, so turn heat down as needed if browning. When I cook in stainless, I need to cook at medium low but in a nonstick, I cook just below medium.
  • Add cumin, salt and garlic and stir constantly for one minute.
  • Add beans, tomato sauce and water. Stir, place lid on the skillet and cook for 10 minutes.
  • When you lift the lid, the sauce should have darkened a bit with spots of the oil glistening on top. If not, put lid back on and cook for 5 minutes more.
  • Now, simmer them uncovered, stirring occasionally, until you have the desired level of sauciness. I find this is usually 3-4 minutes. If yours looks dry, go ahead and add a bit more water as needed and then simmer until it looks saucy but not runny.

If you want to add sausages, do this!

  • My grandmother would simmer her sausages in the beans but I don't think that vegan ones hold up as nicely this way. What I would do is slice the sausages into rounds and pan fry them first and set aside while you prepare the recipe. Then, just stir them into the kidney beans at the end of cooking.

Notes

If you’ve got lots of time, you could absolutely let these kidney beans simmer covered on the stove on medium low for even longer, always with the lid on….but I was determined to get a quicker recipe on the table with all the flavour I remember!
Cuisine: Portuguese
Course: Main Course, Side Dish
Author: Desiree Nielsen, RD

A note about authenticity: I really want to start sharing more veganized Portuguese-style recipes but I have to admit, I always feel a bit awkward doing so because the reality is, my understanding of Portuguese food is mostly the foods that I grew up with…and whatever I’ve eaten on vacation in Portugal or found in my Portuguese cookbooks. 

Which of course means that my recipes are really just gonna represent a small slice of the cuisine itself. Then there’s the vegan thing, and I’m sure folks are gonna be like, well this isn’t authentic. But these recipes represent my Azorean family, who come from Flores, and the recipes they brought with them to Canada…so be nice ha ha.

pinterest graphic of saucy kidney beans and rice in black bowl alongside bowl of kidney beans, onion, tomato sauce and cumin
Saucy, cozy and oh so filling, these simplified vegan Portuguese-style kidney beans make a great simple meal or healthy side dish.

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