Sun Dried Tomato, Kale, and White Bean Skillet

$5.58 recipe / $1.40 serving
by Beth - Budget Bytes
4.80 from 43 votes
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Sun dried tomatoes are a fairly expensive ingredient, but I think this Sun Dried Tomato, Kale, and White Bean Skillet perfectly demonstrates how higher priced ingredients, when properly combined with less expensive ingredients, can still be used to make affordable recipes. This warm and flavorful skillet is a super fast dish that is almost like a warm salad. It’s great served with a piece (or two) of crusty garlic bread, or even a fluffy piece of naan.

But be warned, this recipe is a fiber powerhouse, so if you have a stomach that is sensitive to fiber, you may need to skip this one. 😅

Close up of a plate full of Sun Dried Tomato, Kale, and white Bean Skillet with Garlic Bread

More Toppings, Please!

There are a lot of fun places you could take this sautéed kale and white bean skillet. I’m trying to cut back on cheese a bit, but if I wasn’t, I’d probably sprinkle a little Parmesan, feta, or even goat cheese into this skillet. MMmmm. If money wasn’t an object, I’d probably sprinkle a few pine nuts on top, too! I wanted my dish to be vegetarian, but if that’s not an issue for you, I would suggest adding bacon or crumbled Italian Sausage!

Can I Substitute the Kale?

If you’re not into kale, you can definitely use spinach, but I’d stir it in right at the end because it wilts quickly. 

Is This a Side Dish or Main Dish?

Either one! It’s quite filling on its own, so it makes a great vegetarian main dish. Or, if you serve it in smaller portions, it makes a really hearty side. You can serve this next to something like Baked Ziti, Herb Roasted Pork Tenderloin, or Balsamic Chicken and Mushrooms.

A skillet full of Sun Dried Tomato, Kale, and White Beans, with a wooden spatula.
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Sun Dried Tomato, Kale, and White Bean Skillet

4.80 from 43 votes
This quick Sun Dried Tomato, Kale, and White Bean Skillet is a fast, flavorful, and fiber-licious meal that is ready for perfect for weekly meal prepping. 
A plate full of Sun Dried Tomato, Kale, and White Bean Skillet with garlic bread
Servings 4
Prep 10 minutes
Cook 10 minutes
Total 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 15oz. cans cannellini beans, drained ($1.38)
  • 1/2 7oz. jar sun dried tomatoes in oil ($2.14)
  • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar ($0.03)
  • 1/2 tsp dried basil ($0.05)
  • 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
  • freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
  • 1 pinch crushed red pepper ($0.02)
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
  • 6 oz. fresh kale, chopped* ($1.60)
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Instructions 

  • Drain and rinse the white beans. Roughly chop the sun dried tomatoes. In a small bowl, combine 2 Tbsp of the oil from the jar of sun dried tomatoes with the apple cider vinegar, basil, salt, pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Set the dressing aside.
  • Add the olive oil and minced garlic to a large skillet. Sauté the garlic over medium heat for one minute, or just until it begins to soften and becomes fragrant.
  • Add the chopped kale and 2 Tbsp water to the skillet. Stir and cook over medium heat until the kale has wilted. 
  • Add the drained beans and chopped sun dried tomatoes to the skillet with the kale. Continue to stir and cook until the beans are heated through. Lastly, drizzle the dressing over the skillet and stir to combine, and add salt to taste. Serve warm.

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Notes

*I used half of a 12oz. bag of pre-chopped kale. You can use up to 8oz. if that’s the package size that you have available.

Nutrition

Serving: 1ServingCalories: 469.33kcalCarbohydrates: 55.33gProtein: 21.35gFat: 19.35gSodium: 698.08mgFiber: 16.45g
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How to Make Sautéed Kale and White Beans – Step by Step Photos

Sun Dried Tomatoes Packed in Oil

For this recipe, I used half of this 7 oz. jar of sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, including some of the oil. I’ll probably use the rest next week either in a pasta salad or on a pizza. :) Begin by removing half of the tomatoes and roughly chopping them.

Sun Dried Tomato Oil Vinaigrette

Then use 2 Tbsp of the oil from the sun dried tomatoes to make a vinaigrette. Combine 2 Tbsp of the oil with 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1/4 tsp salt, some freshly cracked pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Also rinse and drain two 15 oz. cans of cannellini beans. 

Saute Kale and Garlic

Add 1 Tbsp olive oil and two cloves of minced garlic to a large skillet. Sauté the garlic over medium heat for about one minute, or just until it starts to get soft and fragrant. Add 6 oz. fresh chopped kale and 2 Tbsp water to the skillet, and continue to sauté until the kale is wilted (only about 3-5 minutes). The water helps steam and wilt the kale.

Add Cannellini Beans and Sun Dried Tomatoes to Skillet

Once the kale has wilted, add the drained white beans and chopped sun dried tomatoes. Stir to combine and continue to cook over medium heat until the beans are heated through (only a few more minutes).

Add Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette to Skillet

Finally, drizzle the vinaigrette over the skillet, stir to combine, add salt to taste, and serve.

Finished Sun Dried Tomato, Kale, and White Bean Skillet with wooden spatula

This dish is particularly delicious served with garlic bread or a piece of naan. :) 

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  1. 2nd time making this. Wfpb so skipping the oil and adding a little bean liquid from the can as a sub. It’s so well balanced flavor wise. Thanks for the recipe!

  2. Besides bread, what sort of side dish could I serve this with? I was thinking brown rice or roasted potato wedges. What do you recommend?

  3. A little bit bland, but a really good concept. I ended up feeling like it needed more depth of flavor, so I added 1/2 of water (divided in half) and a tablespoon of Better Than Bouillon’s garlic bouillon paste and stirred until dissolved, which gave it a bit of a creamier texture as well. I also felt like it needed maybe 4 to 6 cloves of garlic that were *just* browned, so we upped the garlic content. It made for a much richer, more satisfying and “wintery” dish. Serve over wild rice. Yum!

  4.  This dish looks yummy. Problem noted in recipe & directions: ingredients list ,5 Tbspoon dried basil, while directions refer to .5 Teaspoon of dried basil. Probably won’t make a difference but which is it? 

  5. I made this tonight and it was delicious! The only change I made was to adding extra garlic. We served it over multigrain rice. Great easy vegan meal!

  6. This was delicous! I’m growing purple kale in my garden, so that is what I used :)
    Instead of salt I used olive brine, which I highly reccomend!
    Thanks for another wonderful recipe.

  7. We have been making this every 1-2 weeks for over year and we love it! It is so quick/easy to make and super flavorful. We use a larger bunch of kale and the whole jar of tomatoes. We like to serve it with millet to make a full meal.