Thank you to the Canned Food Alliance for sponsoring this post!
Given all the snow, ice, and super cold weather we’ve been getting lately, I’m all about comforting recipes like soups, stews, and casseroles. Relying on canned ingredients (tomatoes, beans, vegetables, stock, etc.) makes preparing these warming meals fast and easy. Here are two of my favorite ingredients to buy canned, along with some quick recipes that feature them. Enjoy!
1) Beans
I almost never cook dried beans from scratch – ain’t nobody got time for that! Canned beans make a great cheap and convenient protein addition to recipes. Here are some of my favorite wintery, bean-tastic recipes on the blog. I had 45 recipes on my blog that use canned beans, so this was a tough call. 😉
- Mexican Lasagna and Sweet Potato & Black Bean Veggie Enchiladas. These recipes are both a constant staple in our house. So good.
- Butternut Squash & Turkey Chili – save even more time by buying canned cubed butternut squash, too!
- Lazy Woman’s Butternut Squash Soup – this one uses canned butternut squash and beans – easiest soup of all time.
- Mexican Brown Rice Casserole and Vegan Mexican Quinoa Salad – clearly we love Mexican in this house.
- “Cheesy” coconut sautéed chickpeas and kale. Vegan and super delicious comfort food.
- Chicken and white bean chili soup. Love this in winter – so satisfying!
2) Diced Tomatoes
Cleaned, chopped, and already cooked tomatoes? Awesome. I love throwing diced tomatoes into meals, whether it’s a soup or stew or a stand alone dish. Canned tomato sauce is another favorite addition to recipes, especially soups, like my Veggie-tastic Minestrone Soup!
Here are some fave recipes featuring diced tomatoes:
- Sweet Potato Lentil Chili. This is one of my most popular recipes on the blog, and an old favorite! Save time by using canned lentils and canned cubed sweet potato, too (not sure why I didn’t think of that originally!) – just remember that canned ingredients have already been cooked, so they won’t need as long to heat up – consider adding them later or cutting down the cooking time significantly!
- Saucy Tomato and Artichoke Chicken. Easiest dinner ever – we make variations of this at least a couple times a month. This Tomato Basil Garlic Chicken is an even easier/simpler variation.
- Turkey, Veggie, and Barley Chili and Chunky Turkey and Vegetable Soup. Both are quick and so satisfying.
What are your favorite ingredients to buy canned to save time? I also love canned beets – they seriously taste just as good as fresh, and save so much time, trouble, and bright red mess. I always keep some on hand to toss into salads!
