How to Cook Borlotti Beans

Close-up of podded borlotti beans in a bowl with pods and herbs around.

5 from 2 votes

If you've never cooked with borlotti beans aka cranberry beans you're in for a treat. These beautiful, speckled legumes are creamy and filling and they make perfect base for lovely stews and casseroles.

Course Beans

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword borlotti beans, cranberry beans

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 40

Total Time 50

Servings servings

Calories 150kcal

Author Jo Allison

Equipment

Medium saucepan*

Ingredients

600 g fresh borlotti beans in pods approx. 320g podded weight
500 ml fresh water The amount of water might differ depending on the amount of beans you've got, just make sure the beans are covered.
1 small onion peeled and cut in half
2 garlic cloves peeled and left whole
1 rosemary sprig
few sprigs of fresh thyme
few fresh sage leaves
1 bay leaf
salt to taste optional (see notes)

Instructions

Start by podding your fresh borlotti beans.
600 g fresh borlotti beans in pods
Put podded beans in a medium pan together with your chosen herbs and other aromatics and pour in enough fresh water to cover them.
500 ml fresh water, 1 small onion, 2 garlic cloves, 1 rosemary sprig, few sprigs of fresh thyme, few fresh sage leaves, 1 bay leaf, salt to taste
Put the pan on a medium to high heat and bring to boil (uncovered).
Lower the heat, cover the pan almost completely and simmer gently for about 35-40 minutes until beans are tender.
Make sure to check on them to make sure that they have enough water and top up if need be. At the end of cooking you should have very little to none liquid left.
Take the pan off the heat, remove the aromatics and your freshly borlotti beans are now ready to use.

Notes

Nutritional information is approximate, per serving (based on 4 servings of plain, cooked beans without salt) and should be treated as a rough guideline only.
Treat suggested aromatics as a guideline only and feel free to use whatever you fancy. Stick to woody herbs for cooking though.
I don't usually add salt when cooking my beans as will usually salt the dish I'm adding them to but feel free to add salt to cooking water. Add a bit at the start, you can always add more later.
For instructions on how to cook dried borlotti beans, see above - Cooking Dried Borlotti Beans.
Once cooked, borlotti beans can be stored in the fridge for up to a week or frozen for up to 3 months.

Nutrition