Baked Giant Beans (Gigantes)
These healthy and delicious baked giant beans, or Gigantes Plaki in Greek, make a great side dish for any occasion! Vegan and vegetarian friendly.
- DF NF GF VG VE
This recipe for baked giant beans, or Gigantes Plaki in Greek, is a really flexible, useful one to have in your recipe bank! Gigantes are a really large variety of beans, known also as Butter Beans or Lima Beans. We buy them dried and soak them; these are my favourite to use in terms of flavour. Gigantes are a healthy addition to any diet, vegan, veggie or omnivore, as they are full of complex carbohydrates, fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals, keeping you fuller for longer, and satisfied, too. In Greece, sausage or bacon can be added - I have seen it with chorizo, too - but you really don’t need to add any meat to end up with the perfect Gigantes recipe, in my opinion.
This is a wholesome and hearty vegan recipe, which is perfect served up with some feta and bread for a filling, healthy meal - a great one to have to hand if you’re inviting vegan guests over (minus the feta, of course!). It’s also a tastier (and much healthier) substitute for a tin of baked beans, so you can use it in the same way you would with those, too. Take your giant baked beans in tomato sauce and put them on top of a baked potato instead of the branded variety for an easy supper; you’ll be getting lots of extra veg and a lot less sugar than in the tinned stuff. Greek Gigantes are easily found in Greek food delis and in some supermarkets now, but butter beans will work for this recipe too.
Ingredients
Tips
While boiling the butter beans (step 2), make sure they are always covered with water. Add more if needed, but use hot water so you don’t stop the cooking process.
Similar to the above, it may be needed to add half a cup of hot water in the baking tray while cooking. We don’t want the beans to dry out completely.
Directions
You will need about 1 hour 50 minutes to make 6 servings of this recipe, which has approximately 407 calories each. Make sure you have all the ingredients and follow these 7 simple steps. If you have any questions, send me an email and I’d be more than happy to help!
We start by soaking the butter beans for 10-12 hours (or overnight).
Drain them and rinse them with water. Place them in a pot with water and simmer them for an hour in medium heat until they’re slightly tender.
Drain them again, keep 350ml of their water to use later and set the beans aside.
In a medium pan, add the olive oil and sauté the onions for 4 minutes.
Continue by adding the garlic, carrots, peppers and parsley and sauté for another 4 minutes.
Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, vegetable cube, water (from step 3), salt and pepper, and simmer for approx. 10 minutes.
Add the butter beans and the sauce in a baking tray, mix them lightly and bake in a preheated oven at 180º C (350ºF) for 40 minutes.
Watch it step-by-step!
Baked Giant Beans (Gigantes)
Baked Giant Beans, or Gigantes Plaki, is a recipe that I love and one I find super useful for vegan guests (though veggies and meat eaters love it just as much)!
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This is such an amazing dish! Had it once at a Greek restaurant long time ago!
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