Butter Bean, Kale, and Sausage Stew
In the cold and snowy winter months, there’s almost nothing better than a hearty and cozy meal – one that warms you up, fills you up, and nourishes you. This butter bean, kale, and sausage stew is just that. It is super satisfying, full of flavor, and best of all, easy to make. This one-pot meal comes together quickly and is perfect to comfort and feed a crowd. This recipe feeds about four, but doubling the recipe would take the same effort and feed even more..
Don’t have a crowd to cook for? The leftovers are just as enjoyable and actually even more flavorful within the next few days after, making it a lovely make-ahead meal to keep in your fridge. I am all for having large batches of nutritious meals on standby, ready to reheat when hunger beckons. Stews and soups are perfect for exactly that purpose. Here is what else I love about this stew in particular, nutritionally speaking:
Butter Beans:
Butter beans, and all other beans and legumes, are undoubtably one of the best additions to anyone’s diet. For starters, they are full of my favorite F word – FIBER! It has been shown that most Americans do not consume the daily recommended amounts of fiber (25 grams for females, 38 grams for males). Why is fiber important? It promotes gut health, aids in digestion (aka helps you poop – sorry, no sugarcoating it), helps manage blood sugar levels, promotes satiety, and helps us maintain healthy cholesterol levels. If you are one of those people who are short on their fiber intake, adding beans to your meals is a great way to get a little extra fiber in.
Beans and legumes are also fantastic sources of satiating plant-based protein, which is great for vegans, vegetarians, and even omnivores looking to lower their animal-protein intake. The fiber and protein content of butter beans are perhaps what make this stew so filling and satisfying. But, if you can’t get your hands on some butter beans, you can definitely use another type of bean, like cannellini or chickpeas perhaps.
Kale:
I honestly don’t recall exactly when kale became so trendy, but I am happy that all the hype is here to stay. That hype was actually earned for good reason. Kale is a nutritional powerhouse loaded with a great amount of vitamins and minerals. Just one cup of raw kale contains well over our daily requirements of vitamins A and C! Kale and other dark leafy greens are especially rich in vitamin K, with one cup of kale containing over 600% of our daily requirements, and sometimes even more depending on the kale variety. Vitamin K is mostly responsible for normal blood clotting and plays a role in bone health, and so eating more kale can ultimately help with these processes. There are several varieties of kale that exist, and I bet any would be fine in this recipe, but I chose to use lacinato kale. Additionally, if you have another dark leafy green you’d like to use in this recipe instead, I’m not mad at it. Something like swiss chard and collard greens would also get the job done here.
Sausage:
Psssst, I have a secret to tell you. This stew is actually vegan! But Stasia, there’s sausage in there! How is it vegan? Surprise – I used a wonderful vegan sausage by Field Roast. If I am being completely honest, the vegan sausage was a last minute addition to this dish, as an attempt to use up some of these vegan sausages someone had given me (I love food gifts, hehe). But, it totally worked out and and actually made the stew even more hearty and satisfying due to the extra protein. Protein is of course important for maintaining healthy muscles, skin, hair, nails, and just about every organ in the body. But did you know that protein is also vital for giving us energy and carrying iron throughout our blood, and plays a role in immunity as well? Most of us do not lack protein in our diets, but it is great to know exactly what protein does for us and why our meals need a healthy balance of all macronutrients – that is carbohydrates, healthy fats, and protein.
If you do not prefer vegan sausage, by all means, feel free to use another type of sausage or omit it completely. I personally think a nice chicken sausage would be a great substitution in this case.
All these ingredients, plus a few more, come together to make one delicious and nourishing meal that will warm you up from within on the coldest of winter days. I know I definitely look forward to cozying up with a big bowl of this stew on a snow day. For even more flavor, I like to top it off with a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese. So good! If you want to keep it dairy free, you can even use a vegan parmesan or omit the cheese completely. Either way, this butter bean, kale, and sausage stew will not disappoint.
Butter Bean, Kale, and Sausage Stew
Ingredients
- 2½ Tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 large or 2 small shallots, diced (about ⅔ cup)
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 2 large or 4 small carrots, diced (about ⅔ cup)
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 bunch lacinato kale, stems removed and chopped
- 1 15.5 oz can butter beans, drained
- 1¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp dried thyme
- ¼ tsp dried rosemary
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 2 Tbsp sherry vinegar
- 2 sausage links (I used Field Roast vegan sausage)
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil over in a large pot over medium high heat.
- Add shallot, celery, and carrots, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occassionally.
- Add garlic and kale, and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring occassionally.
- Add butter beans, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, thyme, rosemary, red pepper flakes, bay leaf, tomato paste, sherry vinegar, and vegetable stock, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 25 minutes.
- While the stew simmers, cut the sausage links into roughly ½ to 1 inch pieces. Heat the remaining ½ Tbsp olive oil in a skillet. Add sausage pieces and cook until nicely browned. Flip the pieces while cooking, to ensure both sides brown evenly.
- Add the browned sausage pieces into the stew. Raise the heat to return stew to a boil. Once the stew comes to a boil, turn off the heat and stir in chopped parsley.
- Serve immediately in a bowl. Finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and enjoy.