giant beans

Greek Gigantes are, not surprisingly, GIANT beans! In this recipe, the gigantes are slow cooked in a rich tomato sauce until perfectly creamy and tender. Serve over toasted crusty bread for an easy vegetarian meal!

Greek Gigantes

dry gigantes beans,

onions,

garlic,

tomatoes

vegetarian chicken broth (or water)

bay leaves

oregano

thyme

red pepper flakes

salt

sugar

extra virgin olive oil

Crusty bread, black pepper,

Boil the beans for 10 minutes.

Place all of the ingredients in the bowl...

Place all of the ingredients in the bowl of a large slow cooker. Cook for 4-6 hours on high, or 8-10 hours on low. Taste and add more salt as needed.

Serve with toasted crusty bread. Garnish with freshly...

Serve with toasted crusty bread. Garnish with freshly ground black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.

There are so many great recipes all over Greece for braised or baked giant beans, called gigantes. These butter, comforting beans marry well with everything from tomatoes to feta and spinach. This recipe is one of my favorites and may be served as an appetizer, vegetarian main course, side dish or meze. You can also enjoy it hot, warm or at room temperature.

Baked Gigantes With Honey and Dill

lb. / 450 g dried Greek giant beans

/ 125 ml Extra-virgin Greek olive oil

onions

garlic

carrot

Plum tomatoes (peeled, seeded, chopped)

tbsp. Ikarian or other Greek pine honey (divided)

dill (chopped)

Greek balsamic vinegar (to taste)

tomato paste

Salt

Pepper (freshly ground)

Soak the beans overnight in ample water. Drain the next day. Place in a large pot with cold water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, skimming the foam off the top. Simmer beans for 1-1 ½ hours, until tender but firm.

Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).

Remove beans from heat and drain, but reserve the water.

Place beans in a large baking pan with 6 tablespoons extra-virgin Greek olive oil. Mix the the onions, garlic, carrot, bay leaves, and the tomatoes. Stir in about 1 ½ cups of the bean cooking liquid, just enough to barely cover the beans. Stir in half the honey. Mix thoroughly. Cover the pan with parchment then aluminum foil and bake for about 1 – 1 ½ hours, or until the beans are tender and the sauce is thick and creamy. Add more water throughout baking, if necessary, to keep the beans from drying out.

Fifteen minutes before removing from oven, add vinegar, tomato paste, salt and pepper. As soon as the beans come out of the oven, stir in additional honey and vinegar to taste as well as the chopped dill.

Serve hot, warm or at room temperature, sprinkled if desired with crumbled feta and drizzled with additional olive oil.

Gigantes plaki is a deliciously hearty vegan dish made with giant beans, which are cooked until soft and then baked in a delicious tomato sauce until the beans absorb all the juices and caramelize.

Gigantes Plaki sto Fourno (Baked Giant Beans)

giant beans,

bay leaf

red onion, finely chopped

olive oil

celery ribs, finely chopped

carrot,

¼ of a big red bell pepper, finely chopped

black pepper

tomatoes,

water

Soak the beans in plenty of water, overnight.

Drain and put them in a pot with...

Drain and put them in a pot with fresh water and bring to a boil.

Remove any froth forming on top, with a...

Remove any froth forming on top, with a slotted ladle. 

Drain them again and add fresh water as...

Drain them again and add fresh water as well as the bay leaf and bring to a boil. 

Add salt, lower heat and simmer until almost cooked...

Add salt, lower heat and simmer until almost cooked (about 1 hour and 30 minutes).

Drain and discard the bay leaf. 

Put the beans in a a Pyrex in...

Meantime, heat the olive oil in a skillet...

Meantime, heat the olive oil in a skillet and sauté the onion until translucent. 

Add the garlic and sauté for a few...

Add the garlic and sauté for a few seconds until fragrant.

Add the chopped celery, carrot and bell pepper. ...

Add the chopped celery, carrot and bell pepper.  Sauté for a few minutes

Season with salt and pepper.

Add the tomato and mix. 

Add vegetable stock or water with a vegetable...

Add vegetable stock or water with a vegetable bouillon.

Simmer for 10 – 15 minutes.

Pour the sauce over the beans. Add more...

Pour the sauce over the beans. Add more water, if necessary, to cover the beans.

Cover the Pyrex with aluminium foil.

Preheat the oven to 200o C / 400o...

Bake for about 1 hour and remove the...

Bake for about 1 hour and remove the aluminium foil and mix.

Lower heat to 180oC and continue cooking for...

Lower heat to 180oC and continue cooking for another half an hour, or until the beans absorb all the juices and the beans begin to caramelize.

Serve as a main dish or as part...

Serve as a main dish or as part of a mezze dish.

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Greek Gigantes Recipe

Plenty of Greek traditional flavours are used in this dish: earthy Greek giant beans baked with healthy spinach and traditional Greek feta. A traditional dish, appetizing in both taste and texture! To find authentic Greek giant beans as well as olive oils, herbs, tomato products and many other carefully curated Greek artisinal foods, visit my online store here.

Giant Beans Baked with Spinach and Feta

beans

flat-leaf spinach (trimmed, chopped, and washed well)

dill

½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

leek

extra-virgin Greek olive oil

feta cheese (preferably goat’s milk)

bread crumbs bread

Place the drained beans in a large pot with enough water to cover by 3 inches/8 cm and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the beans until al dente, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, place the spinach, herbs, and leek in a colander and sprinkle lightly with salt. Rub and press the mixture between the palm of one hand and the holes of the colander, almost in a kneading motion, so that the greens exude liquid. Do this for 10 minutes, then place a weighted plate over the greens and leave them to drain for 1 hour.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat and cook the onions, stirring, until wilted, about 5 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350˚F/180˚C.

Combine the drained greens with the cooked onions and 1 cup of the feta. Drain the beans, reserving 4 cups of the hot liquid. Toss the beans with the greens and 1 cup of the tomatoes. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, if desired, and pepper. Place the beans-and-greens mixture in a large ovenproof glass or ceramic baking dish and mix in a ¼  cup of the remaining olive oil and 2 cups of the hot cooking liquid. Pour the remaining 1 cup tomatoes over the surface of the beans and sprinkle the remaining ½ cup feta and the bread crumbs on top. Drizzle ¼ cup olive oil over the surface and bake, covered with a sheet of aluminum foil, until the beans are very creamy and soft but not disintegrating. Depending on the age and condition of the dried beans, this could mean anywhere between 1 and 2 ½ hours of cooking. Add more liquid to the pan if necessary during lukewarm, or at room temperature.

The best Greek giant beans are from the north, especially from Prespes and Kastoria, as well as from a region of the northern Peloponnses called Feneo. When cooked, they are creamy without being mushy, and that's the way gigantes -giant beans- should be. You can also substitute butter beans for this dish. To find authentic Greek giant beans, honey and olive oil to use in this recipe, go to my online store here.

Giant Beans Baked with Honey and Herbs

red onions (finely chopped)

tbsp. honey

red wine vinegar

In a large heavy skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the extra-virgin Greek olive oil over medium heat and cook the onions, stirring frequently, until wilted and lightly caramelized, about 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).

Place beans in a large baking pan with 6 tablespoons extra-virgin Greek olive oil, the onions, tomatoes, a little of their own water, and honey. Mix thoroughly. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for about 1 – 1 ½ hours, or until the beans are tender and the sauce is thick and creamy. Add more water throughout baking, if necessary, to keep the beans from burning. Fifteen minutes before removing from oven, add dill, vinegar, tomato paste, salt and pepper.

Sprinkle with crumbled feta, if desired, and serve either hot, warm, or at room temperature.

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Top 6 giant beans recipes from across the web

The most viewed giant beans recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Greek Gigantes

Baked Gigantes With Honey and Dill

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The most viewed giant beans recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine