Romesco is a nut and bell pepper-based sauce originally made by Catalonian fishermen as an accompaniment to fish. However, Romesco sauce is also amazing paired with pasta, pizza, sandwiches, burgers, or as a dip for veggies! My White Bean Romesco has white beans for an extra protein boost. This is a great way to get some plant-based protein into your meal as well.

All About my White Bean Romesco

You can make my White Bean Romesco with raw peppers or jar roasted peppers.  If using raw peppers, place them whole directly on gas burners to roast, turning occasionally and allowing the skin to blacken.  Once the skin is blackened, wrap the peppers in plastic wrap and allow them to steam.  Once cool, unwrap the peppers, peel off the blackened skin under cold running water, and take out the seeds and membrane.  Set your fire roasted peppers aside.

If using jarred roasted peppers, you can skip the above steps.

Next, set up a food processor and add garlic, mincing until fine.  Scrape down the sides, add almonds, multi grain pita, and red pepper flakes and process until minced.  Scrape down sides and add either your jarred or fresh roasted red peppers, tomatoes, white beans, parsley, paprika, salt and pepper.  Process until smooth.

With the food processor running, add vinegar and olive oil, process until smooth.  This allows your sauce to emulsify into a smooth texture.  Taste, and you have the option to add a little lemon juice to brighten the sauce.

Serve over pasta or vegetable noodles, use as a dip with pita bread and crudité, or as a great sandwich spread!

White Bean Romesco Nutrition

Beans are good sources of plant-based protein and fiber.  They contain complex carbohydrates that help slow down digestion and stabilize blood sugars.  Beans also contain potassium, copper, phosphorus, manganese and magnesium.  These are nutrients that many Americans lack in their diets.  They also contain iron, which is an important nutrient for vegetarians and vegans. Here’s a tip – pairing a plant-based source of iron with Vitamin C helps us absorb more plant-based iron!

I also add nuts to my Romesco, which contributes some healthy fat and some additional protein.  Tomatoes contain lycopene, a powerful antioxidant.  They also contain vitamins A and C, which are important nutrients of eye, bone, and skin health, and assists the immune system.

Add my White Bean Romesco to your pasta, sandwich, or use as a dip!

Beans, canned or dried?

Both canned and dried beans are healthy options.  Often times dried beans will be less expensive but take longer to cook.  You typically need to sort, rinse, soak, and cook your dried beans before they are ready to use, depending on the cooking method.

To use dried beans in this recipe, you will need to first soak your beans.  You have two ways to soak your beans.  The first way is to simply allow them to soak in water overnight.  The second option is to cover your beans with water in a pot, bring them to a boil, cover, remove from the heat and let them rest in the water for an hour.

Once your beans are soaked, place them in a pot on the stove, cover with water, bring to a boil, then cover and lower to a simmer. It will take approximately two hours for the beans to cook.

Have an Instant Pot or pressure cooker? No need to soak overnight, just cover your them with water, secure the lid and turn to the high pressure setting.  Once the pressure cooker reaches high pressure, cook for 30 minutes.  Allow the pressure to release naturally and your beans are ready to use!

Canned beans, on the other hand, are just as healthy and ready to use once you open the can.  If you are worried about sodium, choose a low- or no-sodium brand and rinse your beans before using.

Storage

Storing my White Bean Romesco for later?  My favorite way to store this sauce is in ice-cube container.  This way you can easily pull a cube out of the freezer, defrost, and add to your meal!

Similar Pages

Looking for some more sauces?  Check out my Pistachio Pesto, Healthy Spaghetti Sauce Marinara, and Lentil Bolognese.

References

“Bean Nutrition Overview.” Bean Institute, Northarvest Bean Growers Association, 2019, https://beaninstitute.com/bean-nutrition-overview/.

“Grape Tomatoes.” Have A Plant, Produce for Better Health Foundation, 2020, https://fruitsandveggies.org/fruits-and-veggies/grape-tomatoes-nutrition-selection-storage/.

White Bean Romesco

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Course: Appetizer

Keyword: dinner, dip, main entree, pasta, vegan, vegetarian

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 servings

Author: Chef Abbie Gellman RD

Ingredients

• 2 red peppers or 1 jar roasted red peppers in water, drained
• 2 garlic cloves peeled
• ½ cup roasted unsalted almonds
• 1 Multi Grain Pita torn into small pieces
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 14.5- ounce can diced tomatoes drained
• 1 14.5- ounce can white beans drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon parsley leaves
• 1 teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• Optional: spritz of lemon juice

Instructions

• If you are using raw peppers, follow these steps:
• a. place them whole directly on gas burners to roast, turning occasionally and allowing the skin to blacken (see the following pic)
• b. once skin is blackened, wrap peppers in plastic wrap and allow to steam (see the following pic)
• c. once cool, unwrap peppers, peel off blackened skin under cold running water, and take out seeds and membrane (see following pic)
• d. if using jarred roasted peppers, skip to step 2
• Set up a food processor and add garlic, mincing until fine. Scrape down sides, add almonds, Multi Grain Pita, and red pepper flakes and process until minced. Scrape down sides and add peppers, tomatoes, white beans, parsley, paprika, salt, and pepper. Process until smooth.
• With food processor running, add vinegar and olive oil, process until smooth. Taste, add a spritz of lemon juice to brighten if desired.
• Serve over pasta or vegetable noodles, use as a dip with pita bread and crudité, or great as a sandwich spread.

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