These Marry Me White Beans might just become your new favorite side dish. Tender white beans get the famous “marry me” treatment with a creamy Tuscan-style sauce packed with sun-dried tomatoes, crispy pancetta, roasted red peppers, shallots, and smoky seasonings. The whole thing comes together in just 20 minutes, which means you can have restaurant-quality flavor on your table any night of the week. Serve them alongside roasted chicken, grilled pork chops, or seared salmon, and don’t forget crusty bread for soaking up every last drop of that incredible sauce.
Why I love these beans, and hope you will, too
If you’re starting to transition away from those insanely delicious baked beans of summer, I would humbly suggest this recipe as your winter replacement. It goes with everything from baked chicken to fish tacos to a quick pan-fried steak.
Canned beans are a quick shortcut, but there’s no shortcut on flavor. The famous Marry Me sauce makes just about everything taste amazing, and this simple bean dish is no exception. Bacony pancetta, savory shallots, and smoky paprika ensure there’s no end to the flavors going on here.
Clocking in at just 20 minutes, this side dish is easy to whip up while your entree is doing its thing in the oven or grill. Personally, as someone who sometimes drifts to the vegetarian side of things, these beans ARE a main dish. Serve with a nice, toasty, buttery baguette to dip in the extra sauce — and maybe a nice side salad, for something cooling — and this is dinner.
Marry Me White Beans are —
- Ready in just 20 minutes. Perfect for busy weeknights.
- Versatile enough to pair with chicken, pork, fish, or even served on its own with crusty bread
- An impressive but uncomplicated side dish for special guests.
- Perfect for leftovers (if there are any!) or meal prep.
- A budget-friendly way to create a restaurant-quality dish at home
If you love that yummy viral Marry Me sauce as much as I do, you might enjoy some of my other Marry Me recipes!
Key Ingredients
White beans — I used cannellini beans, but really, the options are wide open, from great northern beans to butter beans. Use what you have, or use your favorite. It’s all good. Canned beans are a not-cheating-at-all shortcut here that means this side dish is just minutes on the stove.
Sun-Dried Tomatoes — The star of the “marry me” style creamy sauce, sun-dried tomatoes add an earthy umami to the soup. Take care to buy tomatoes packed in oil, as they are hydrated and ready to use. Today, it’s pretty easy to find jarred, sliced versions, to save prep time, just needing a little chopping. If you have to buy whole, I recommend chopping them before using them in the soup. A whole sun-dried tomato has a chewy texture, like an overbearing raisin lol, that some people find off-putting, so avoid that problem altogether by giving them a good chop.
Aromatics — In addition to shallots and garlic, I chose roasted red peppers instead of plain bells, because they work so well with sun-dried tomatoes in flavoring the sauce.
Dairy — The other half of the creamy sauce, I use heavy cream for a nice, thick saucy result. And don’t forget the Parmesan cheese!
How to Make Marry Me White Beans
Ready to make the recipe? Skip to the recipe card now to see the full ingredient list, quantities, prep/cooking times, and printable, detailed instructions. Or, keep scrolling for a visual walk-through of making the dish.
Prep notes
Here’s a quick guide for prepping the ingredients, if you need it (not including anything that simply needs to be measured out of a container, such as dried herbs and liquids).
- If necessary, chop the pancetta into small cubes.
- Slice the shallot in half and peel away the dried outer layers. Chop into small dice.
- Peel the hard outer layer of the garlic cloves and then chop and mince into fine pieces.
- Chop the sun-dried tomatoes and roasted red peppers into small dice.
- Rinse the leaves of the spinach, basil, and parsley, pat dry, and then chop into small pieces. Spinach leaves are easy to slice into chiffonade by stacking several on top of each other, rolling them up, and then slicing down the roll. I always remove the long stems first, although they’re completely edible if you choose not to.
- Grate the Parmigiano Reggiano on the small holes of a box grater.
Cook the pancetta and aromatics
In a large skillet, cook the pancetta until most of its fat has rendered with crispy edges, and then stir in the shallots, sun-dried tomatoes, and roasted peppers. Sauté until the shallots are soft.
Add the spices and broth
Add the garlic, herbs, spices, and tomato paste to the pan, and stir everything well, letting the tomato paste cook for a minute or two to release its flavors. Pour in the broth and let simmer to thicken the sauce.
Add the beans and dairy
Add the white beans, followed by the dairy and cheese, stirring well until all is smooth and creamy.
Finish with the greens
Stir in the spinach and fresh herbs, and let the spinach wilt in the residual heat of the beans. Taste, and add more salt if needed.
Storing
Leftovers — if there are any! — store very well in the fridge for several days.
These creamy Marry Me White Beans might just steal the spotlight from the main dish. They’re cozy, comforting, and bursting with flavor in every forkful. If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear what you think. Leave a comment below or tag me on social to share your version (@soupaddict)!
Marry Me White Beans
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil from the jar of sundried tomatoes
- 4 ounces pancetta , chopped or cubed
- 1 large shallot , chopped
- 1/3 cup sundried tomatoes packed in oil , chopped
- 1/3 cup roasted red peppers , chopped
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning blend
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes , optional
- 15 ounces canned small white beans , such as cannellini or great northern beans
- 1/2 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
- 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh spinach leaves
- 2 tablespoons basil leaves , chopped
- 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley , chopped
- Salt
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium until the surface of the oil shimmers. Add the pancetta and cook until the pieces have rendered their fat, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the shallot, sundried tomatoes, and roasted red peppers and saute until the shallots have softened, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic, Italian herb blend, smoked paprika, and tomato paste to the pan and mix well with the vegetables. Let the mixture cook for a minute or two.
- Pour in the chicken broth and the red pepper flakes and stir until well mixed. Adjust heat upward as necessary to bring the contents up to a light simmer. Let the sauce cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium-low.
- Stir in the white beans, and let heat through for several minutes. Pour in the dairy, mixing well, followed by the cheese.
- To finish, stir in the the spinach and fresh herbs. Taste, and add salt by the pinch, if necessary.