Creamy, silky and, err, fibrous: The saucy social media trend making tinned beans sexy

In case you missed it, it’s the year of “maxxing” everything. Protein-maxxing, looks-maxxing, Nanna-maxxing – we’re not just leaning in to the things we love any more, we’re maxxing out on them. And that includes fibre-maxxing – or the practice of consciously increasing fibre in the diet, with a focus on potential health benefits, including gut health and blood sugar management. Enter an unlikely poster-child for the fibre-maxxing trend: beans.

Now, I personally love beans (tinned, dried, refried, souped), but I’d hesitate to call them sexy. And yet, the latest social media trend for dressing them up in creamy, silky and downright decadent-looking sauces – that still aim to support health goals – is making humble beans look, well, decidedly sexier than they did before. Welcome to the world of sexy bean recipes that are flooding social media and might just get you serving some up tonight.

The sexy-creamy-beany trend

The trend itself is simple: sauces that you might usually see on pasta or noodles are being drizzled over or simmered with beans as a way of introducing more fibre-rich ingredients into the diet, without compromising on flavour. The beans are, essentially, a sauce delivery system.

Variations include cacio e pepe beans (pepper and cheese), green goddess or pesto, velvety french onion and creamy curry beans – and that’s just the tip of the beanstalk.

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Championed by content creators such as Ohio-based @dietitiandebbie Deborah Murphy (with her social media recipe series “No Boring Beans”), one clear favourite has bubbled to the top: satay-style beans. This creamy, dreamy recipe is sliding into feeds everywhere, with iterations running from super spiced and topped with fresh herbs, to mild, mellow and sweet.

Is it really better for us?

It’s easy to see why this dish has caught on. It relies on flavours that we already know – such as peanutty, spiced and sweet satay-style sauce – and it’s made with just a handful of pantry-staple budget-friendly ingredients. It also promises to edge us closer to potential health goals, ticking off the golden quartet: quick, budget-friendly, healthier and tasty.

But, as always, we take health-related social media claims with a grain of (ahem) salt.

“The fibre-maxxing trend and rising interest in gut health has a lot to do with the popularity of these recipes,” says food and nutrition scientist Dr Emma Beckett. “But I also think it comes back to cost. People are looking for ways to make things healthier without it costing the earth.”

‘These kinds of dishes – that you already like – will be better for you if you do them with beans. There’s not much of a downside to that.’ Dr Emma Beckett, food and nutrition scientist

Beckett notes that younger generations are moving away from health foods that charge a premium and towards budget-friendly foods, with the bean trend appealing to that.

“I’m all for it,” Beckett enthuses. A teacher of culinary nutrition, her students note that social media is a font of easy inspiration when cooking feels overwhelming. So, seeing a trend that capitalises on the “easy factor” while also introducing a healthier ingredient is a win.

“This trend is about adding the beans to something people already want to eat. It’s not saying to get rid of anything, and it’s not saying beans are the silver bullet. It’s saying these kinds of dishes – that you already like – will be better for you if you do them with beans. There’s not much of a downside to that,” she says.

“I like to say ‘use the delicious to access the nutritious’,” she adds, with a laugh, “and I think this trend is exactly that. If you just say ‘eat more beans’, how boring! But if you say: ‘Did you know you can add some beans to this satay-style dish?’ – well that’s a really great way in. It’s meeting people where they are.”

The short answer is, yes, this trend helps with health goals, as long as we’re mindful about what else we’re adding to the sauces. And while the beans are a win on the fibre front, Beckett recommends checking salt content or rinsing your tinned beans first, if necessary.

Does it taste any good?

If you like creamy sauces, yes, these recipes win. You can’t really go wrong with a creamy sauce served over tender beans.

“When we’re talking about flavours like satay and chilli oil, it’s sort of a twist on the condiments we add to silken tofu as a snack,” says Lisa Liu, creator of Saucy Wench condiments, whose satay sauce and chilli oil have won gold at Melbourne Royal and Sydney Royal shows respectively.

“Tinned beans have that same kind of effect. That kind of rich, beany flavour with a soft texture that goes very well with these two things. So it makes sense and definitely makes beans more approachable,” Liu says.

The real trick is to find the beans you like because there are plenty of varieties with different flavours and textures to play around with. Right now, though, it’s butter beans and white cannellini beans that are lending their milder flavour to this trend.

Jane de Graaff’s no-cook creamy satay-style butter beans

You can swap out the butter beans in this recipe for any cooked or tinned beans of your choice, and while this is a no-cook recipe, you can also warm the sauce gently in a pan for a comforting twist, just don’t reduce the sauce too much.

Perfect with a soft-boiled egg on the side and some hot buttered sourdough, but also an ideal bowl on its own.

INGREDIENTS

1 x 400g tin of butter beans + 2 tbsp reserved bean brine
2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
½ tbsp chilli crisp oil
½ tsp tamari
2 spring onions, white and green parts, finely sliced
pinch of brown sugar (optional)
2 tbsp coconut cream, divided
juice of 1 lime

Toppings

½ tbsp toasted sesame seeds
sprigs of fresh coriander
½ a small red chilli, finely sliced (remove the seeds for a milder result)
1 x soft-boiled egg
Hot buttered sourdough, to serve

METHOD

Reserve 2 tbsp of the bean brine and then drain the beans and rinse them. Soft boil and peel your egg and set aside. Toast and butter your sourdough.
In a bowl, mix together the peanut butter, chilli crisp oil, tamari, sliced spring onion, brown sugar (if using), ½ the coconut cream and ½ the lime juice to make a sauce. Thin with a little bean brine if necessary for a loose consistency.
Add the drained and rinsed beans to the sauce and toss through to coat.
Spoon the beans into a dish, drizzle with the remaining coconut cream and lime juice, and top with toasted sesame seeds, fresh coriander, and chopped fresh chilli. Serve with a side of hot buttered sourdough toast and a soft-boiled egg.

Serves 1-2

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Jane de Graaff is a food writer and recipe developer who regularly demonstrates fun food on Nine’s Today Show.Connect via X.AdvertisementAdvertisement