This garlic bread bowl requires the caveat that it is definitely not exactly garlic bread, but it gets pretty da*m close. This soup/curry/bean situation uses 100 cloves of garlic (give or take) but in a way that mellows out the garlic flavor, making it so that you can eat 20 cloves of garlic in one sitting and you WILL LOVE IT. Who am I kidding – if you’ve clicked on this you’re probably a garlic person, and you will probably love it no matter what.
This recipe is actually a huge winner though – the garlic gets smashed into pieces, making it a delicious base for a pretty quick and easy bean dinner. The only additional ingredients are onion, red pepper flakes, coconut milk, parsley, and parmesan, and if you’re dairy free you can skip the latter. It’s a remarkably filling and healthy meal for as indulgent as it seems, and the whole garlic bread beans bowl comes together in under 30 minutes, or even quicker if your mis en place is all set to go!
I love using this garlic beans bowl for meal prep, it’s a dream with rice, toast, or roasted vegetables. But if you’re looking for an easy weeknight dinner, it’s perfect for that, too. If you or someone you love is a garlic girl, you have to serve them this.
Read on for all my garlic bread bowl tips and tricks, as well as the full recipe at the bottom of the page!
Table of contents
Ingredients you will need for this garlic bread beans bowl
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 & 1/4 cup water, if needed
- 2 & 1/2 cups of garlic cloves, about 100 cloves, give or take
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup coconut milk, I used light, but any variety works
- 2 15 oz cans of butter beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 ciup loosely packed curly parsley, finely chopped, plus some for garnish
- 1/2 lemon for juicing
- 2 ounces fresh parmesan, for serving
- 4-5 slices fresh bread of choice, for serving
How to prepare the garlicky beans
I marked all the ingredients as they should be prepared, because if you get all of your prep done before you start cooking, this recipe comes together really quite quickly!
To make the garlic bread beans, place a large high-sided skillet over medium heat and add the onion. Cook, stirring often, for about 5-6 minutes to let the onion soften. If needed, add 1/4 cup of water so that the onion can continue to cook without scorching. Cook for another 6-7 minutes or until the water has evaporated away.
Add in the garlic cloves and stir to coat in the oil. Cook, undisturbed for 4 minutes, then give a few stirs to flip the cloves. Cook an additional 4 minutes until the garlic cloves are golden all over.
**Not disturbing the garlic for the first 4 minutes is an imperative step, you really want to get that color!
Add in 3/4 cup water and cover the pan, letting the garlic cloves simmer for 15-17 minutes, or until soft throughout. The onion might be pretty dark by now, don’t worry about it, the water will help loosen it up.
When most of the water has cooked off, add in the red pepper flakes, nearly a teaspoon of kosher salt and a generous amount of black pepper. Stir the garlic, smashing most pieces with your spatula, until only a few remain whole.
Pour in the coconut milk and stir again. It will become nice and thick, continue to smash garlic pieces as needed. Add 1/4 cup of water to thin it out, if desired. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. Let this simmer for a few minutes.
Add in the butter beans and swirl them into the garlic curry. Add the parsley and mix. Let this cook another few minutes before removing from the heat.
Taste and add a squeeze of lemon if you’d like (I always like). Then plate the beans in bowls, adding a slice of crusty bread to each. Grate a heaping pile of parmesan on top and garnish with more curly parsley.
Enjoy all the garlicky-creamy-beaniness. How could you not?
Looking for other bean-based recipes?
You are luckily in the right place! Here we love a bean, these are some blog reader favorites:
And that’s it for this garlicky, beany bowl of garlic bread beans!
If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3
Watch the recipe here
The video may not fully represent the recipe. For best results, follow the instructions as written.
Garlic Bread Beans
Equipment
- 1 high sided sauté pan
- 1 spatula or whisk
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 large yellow onion diced
- 1 & 1/4 cup water if needed
- 2 & 1/2 cups of garlic cloves about 100 cloves, give or take
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 cup coconut milk I used light, but any variety works
- 2 15 oz cans of butter beans drained and rinsed
- 1 ciup loosely packed curly parsley finely chopped, plus some for garnish
- 1/2 lemon for juicing
- 2 ounces fresh parmesan for serving
- 4-5 slices fresh bread of choice for serving
Instructions
- Prepare all your mis en place. This recipe starts slow but then moves quickly!
- Place a large high-sided skillet over medium heat and add the onion. Cook, stirring often, for about 5-6 minutes to let the onion soften. If needed, add 1/4 cup of water so that the onion can continue to cook without scorching. Cook for another 6-7 minutes or until the water has evaporated away.
- Add in the garlic cloves and stir to coat in the oil. Cook, undisturbed, for 4 minutes, then give a few stirs to flip the cloves. Cook an additional 4 minutes until the garlic cloves are golden all over.
- Add in 3/4 cup water and cover the pan, letting the garlic cloves simmer for 15-17 minutes, or until soft throughout. The onion might be pretty dark by now, don't worry about it, the water will help loosen it up.
- When most of the water has cooked off, add in the red pepper flakes, nearly a teaspoon of kosher salt, and a generous amount of black pepper. Stir the garlic, smashing most pieces with your spatula, until only a few remain whole.
- Pour in the coconut milk and stir again. It will become nice and thick, continue to smash garlic pieces as needed. Add 1/4 cup of water to thin it out, if desired. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. Let this simmer for a few minutes.
- Add in the butter beans and swirl them into the garlic curry. Add the parsley and mix. Let this cook another few minutes before removing from the heat.
- Taste and add a squeeze of lemon if you'd like (I always like). Plate the beans in bowls, adding a slice of crusty bread to each. Grate a heaping pile of parmesan on top and garnish with more curly parsley. Enjoy all the garlicky-creamy-beaniness.
What type of bread is that and where could I get some?
This is my sourdough recipe! It’s on the site, but you can also just pick up a loaf of sourdough from your preferred store 🙂
Did you use canned coconut milk?
I do!
This tasted odd and confusing. Neither East nor West. Coconut milk does not go with parmesan cheese. It may have worked better with cream.
This was extremely delicious – I forgot to buy butter beans so I just used other white beans we had and used a miso broth to pressure cook them (and then used the liquor wherever you said to use water.)
10/10. Adding a little chili crisp on top too was *chefs kiss*. Will be making this again – although I’ll probably buy the prepeeled garlic next time.
Pressure cooking in miso broth is GENIUS – I’m so glad you liked the recipe 🙂
Absolutely delicious
So glad you liked it 🙂
What can i use besides coconut milk? It tasted better after sitting overnight, but still don’t like the potent coconut flavor.
You can use cream or milk!
Holy yum. I used what I had on hand, subbing greek yogurt for coconut milk. Don’t skip out on the lemon, it really added a nice tang to cut through the creamy garlicky goodness.
Honestly will become a house staple. Only complaint is I’m too full to eat more. I’m not a huge parsley fan so I swapped it out for fresh chives! In the future I might swap one can of butter beans for northern beans for a lil bit of texture variety. I love it!!
Omg so good!! Such a cozy meal and so yummy. Will make again and again! Thank you for the recipe,
I’m so thrilled you liked it!
So delicious made as per recipe but instead of bread (low carb night sigh) served with simple broiled fresh fish. I would love to try with bread next time I’m sure it’s insane. Will 100% make again! Yummmmy!!
So so glad you liked it!! And with fish it sounds delish