I love any dish where I can sneak in some kale without complaints from the haters; there’s just something so fun about sneaking them in and hearing the good ol’, “I usually hate kale, but this is SO good!” These Buffalo beans and greens pack in a whole lot of nutrition and flavor on a shoestring budget. Creamy white beans, rich kale, and wholesome diced veggies all tossed in spicy buffalo sauce. Drizzle it with some blue cheese dressing, and I just can’t get enough! One of my favorite Nashville institutions recently closed (I sob) and they had a killer Buffalo beans and greens dish on their menu, so this tip of the hat goes out to my friends at The Wild Cow.
What Are Buffalo Beans and Greens?
If you’ve made our Saucy White Beans with Spinach, then you know how good stewed beans can be. These buffalo beans and greens are a fun riff on the classic “Buffalo chicken” that all Americans know and love, but we’ve turned it into a veg-friendly complete meal. It’s a balanced, comforting, and wholesome meal with just the right amount of spice.
Ingredients for Buffalo Beans and Greens
Here’s what you’ll need to make buffalo beans and greens:
- Unsalted Butter: Helps sauté the veggies without burning and adds richness to the dish. Dairy free? No problem, olive oil is a suitable substitute.
- Vegetables: Yellow onion, celery, and carrots create a sweet, earthy, and crunchy base of flavor for this dish.
- Garlic: Adds an earthy and savory element to the dish.
- Cannellini Beans: These creamy white beans are a great meat replacement and are packed full of fiber and protein.
- Buffalo Sauce: Adds a touch of spice to the dish.
- Blue Cheese Dressing: You can use as much or as little as you like. It’s just for a drizzle on top at the end. Blue cheese can be polarizing, so if you’re not a fan, you can leave it off or try a drizzle of Homemade Ranch Dressing instead!
- Fresh Kale: Wilts into this dish to create a delightfully earthy flavor and texture.
- White Rice: Serve these beans and greens over rice for a complete, filling meal.
What Else Can I Put In Buffalo Beans and Greens?
This is a great recipe for fridge cleanout day since it’s easy to add any number of leftover veggies, meats, or cheeses to it. Try:
- Broccoli or cauliflower florets
- Diced zucchini or summer squash
- Cut green beans or asparagus
- Frozen peas or corn
- Cooked bacon, Italian sausage, or pancetta
- Leftover shredded chicken
- Crumbled blue cheese
What to Serve with Buffalo Beans and Greens
We love the simplicity of this dish served over white rice, but of course, brown rice is a great healthy alternative. You could also serve it over some Mashed Potatoes, Deruny, Oven Roasted Potatoes, Creamy Polenta, or Cheese Grits. And if you hate blue cheese, try serving these buffalo beans and greens drizzled with Homemade Ranch Dressing.
Buffalo Beans and Greens
Servings 4 (about 1.5 cups each)Ingredients
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter ($0.75)
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced small ($0.39)
- 3 celery stalks, diced small ($0.26)
- 2 medium carrots, diced small ($0.26)
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced ($0.42)
- 2 15oz. cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed ($2.56)
- 1/4 cup Buffalo-style hot sauce ($0.52)
- 2 tbsp water ($0.00)
- 2 cups fresh kale, chopped ($0.50)
- 1/4 cup blue cheese dressing ($0.31)
- 3 cups white rice, cooked ($0.64)
Instructions
- Cook rice according to package directions. (1 dry cup will yield about 3 cooked cups of rice.) Drain and rinse the cannellini beans.
- Dice celery, yellow onion, and carrots to make a mirepoix.
- Add the butter, salt, celery, onions, and carrots to a large skillet. Sauté over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, or just until the veggies begin to soften. Add the garlic and sauté for an additional 1-2 minutes.
- Add the white beans, Buffalo-style hot sauce and water to the skillet. Stir and cook over medium heat until the beans are heated through.
- Add the kale to the pan and stir until bright green and wilted. No need to cook for too long. Serve a heaping spoonful on top of rice, drizzling blue cheese dressing over the top. Add salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Enjoy!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!
how to make Buffalo Beans and Greens – step by step photos
Cook rice according to package directions. (1 dry cup will yield about 3 cooked cups of rice.) Drain and rinse the cannellini beans. Dice 3 stalks celery, 1/2 of a yellow onion, and 2 medium carrots to make a mirepoix.
Add 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, celery, onion, and carrots to a large skillet. Sauté over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, or just until the veggies begin to soften. Add 6 cloves of minced garlic and sauté for an additional 1-2 minutes.
Add 2 cans of drained and rinsed cannellini beans, 1/4 cup Buffalo-style hot sauce, and 2 Tbsp water to the skillet. Stir and cook over medium heat until the beans are heated through.
Add 2 cups chopped fresh kale to the pan and stir until bright green and wilted. No need to cook for too long. Serve a heaping spoonful on top of rice (about 3/4 cup cooked rice per person), drizzling blue cheese dressing over the top. Add salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
This rich and filling buffalo beans and greens is sure to become a weeknight staple!
Loved this recipe. Great fridge clean out, as you guys said. Super fast, versatile, nutritious, and filling.
I’ve never tried blue cheese, and I know it’s a love it or hate it kind of thing, so do you have any recommendations for substitutions for the dressing?
Ranch would be a great substitute. Thanks for your comment, Abigail!
So glad you liked it, Brittney!
I do not like kale so I switched to spinach (yes I know, but kale is not happening, it’s just too bitter and chewy) but outside of that one alteration, I loved this recipe. Was delicious, filling, and I used leftover beans to make it a fantastic way of using up leftovers.
It’s ok if you don’t like kale! I actually tell people all the time, “Just pick a green you like!” (Also, I am a horse girl as well, love your user pic!) Thanks for your feedback.
Can I use frozen kale? If so, when should it be added? Thanks!
Yes, you can! I would just stir it in at the same time you would fresh.
Can you clarify what “buffalo-style hot sauce” is? Would Franks Red Hot sauce work?
You can definitely use Franks, but you’ll want to use the Franks Red Hot Wings Buffalo Sauce, which is different than the classic franks. You just want the bottle to say buffalo. Or if you already have the classic Franks you’re welcome to make homemade buffalo sauce with it and use that!
Beth posted a simple homemade version of Buffalo sauce on Budget Bytes in 2021 using Frank’s Original Redhot Sauce. The recipe is still available on Budgetbytes
https://www.budgetbytes.com/easy-buffalo-sauce/
(Or just use the search feature on this site for Buffalo Sauce)
This recipe for beans and greens would use about a third of the sauce that would be made by Beth’s Easy Buffalo Sauce recipe. Beth had some suggestions for other ways to use up extra sauce in the text above the recipe plus there are some other recipes calling for Buffalo Sauce on the site.
this looks really good – could you please clarify if recipe calls for one or two cans of beans, and if the one cup of rice is the cooked or uncooked volume? Ingredients list and instructions don’t quite seem to match. thank you!!
Yes the rice could be explained better, I believe it is 1 dry cup because it serves four. And it says 2 cans of beans.
You’re correct! 1 cup dry or 3 cups cooked.
Two cans of beans and 1 cup uncooked rice, or 3 cups cooked! We’ll clarify that in the post!
I regularly crave the buffalo beans & greens from the Wild Cow, so thanks so much for this recipe, Jess!
Yes, I was confused as well. Looks great
This was very tasty–I used chick peas and spinach because that’s what was in my pantry and fridge. The Buffalo sauce and bleu cheese dressing made it really pop.
Love this idea! Sounds delicious and easy to make vegan. Def will add this to my list!