We jokingly call these meaty, greeny, cheesy, beany, spicy baked chickpeas because, well, internet recipe naming conventions make us laugh but I really think of them as Pizza Beans 2.0. I introduced Pizza Beans 1.0 in my second cookbook, Smitten Kitchen Every Day, where I dreamed of a mash-up of Greek gigante beans in tomato sauce and an American baked ziti, with beans instead of noodles. I called them “pizza” beans to try to convince my then-kindergartener to try them with clever marketing. We still adore the recipe and all of the truly unexpected places it’s landed.

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If you’ve ever eaten at a classic Italian restaurant, you may have had the delicious lentil soup known as “zuppa di lenticchie.” It’s a simple, nourishing, and comforting soup that just so happens to be VERY quick & easy to make. The perfect soup for when you Just. Need. Soup! We get it. 

Just 9 ingredients and simple methods required for this vegan version, friends.

Italian Lentil Soup (Zuppa di Lenticchie) from Minimalist Baker →

We love a classic (tomato-based) chili, but a CREAMY chili? It’s hard to say no to! Mix up your chili rotation with this creamy vegan white bean chili with spicy green chiles, sweet corn, and nutrient-packed spinach or kale. 

It’s a cozy, subtly spiced, nourishing meal that comes together in just 30 minutes. Let us show you how it’s done!

This EASY vegan white bean chili starts with a simple yet flavorful base of sautéed onion, garlic, cumin, cayenne, salt, and pepper.

Creamy Vegan White Bean Chili from Minimalist Baker →

Busy, chilly days call for EASY, warming soups! Enter: Our 1-POT Spicy Pumpkin Soup with coconut milk, tomatoes, and warming Caribbean-inspired spices. It’s delicious, comforting, and comes together with simple pantry staples!

Even better? There’s minimal chopping and it’s ready in about 30 minutes. Let’s make soup!

This pumpkin soup is about as simple + flavorful as it gets! Chop onion, garlic, and ginger, then add a few everyday spices, open a few cans, and let it simmer.

1-Pot Spicy Pumpkin Tomato Soup from Minimalist Baker →

Cooler weather means one thing: cozy soups on repeat! Our new go-to is this Thai-inspired noodle soup with coconut milk, curry paste, veggies, and your choice of chicken or tofu. It’s creamy, gingery, spicy, nourishing, and SO satisfying!

Bonus? It’s versatile, working well with almost any veggies you have around! Simple methods. Big flavor. Let’s do this!

This EASY curry noodle soup starts with soaking rice noodles in boiling water until softened.

Cozy Curry Noodle Soup (Thai-Inspired) from Minimalist Baker →

It’s humbling that way every September, without fail, knocks me on my rump. One week, you’re breezy and unscheduled, reading books on a beach and tearing lobster apart with your bare hands (indeed, we were in Maine) and the next you’re realizing a certain fetid backpack was never emptied on the last day of school in June, scrambling for after-school care, and despite the fact that I work every week of the year, somehow there’s a lot more to do. If dinner can’t be made in one pan in which everything cooks at once, I haven’t been making it. And yet I’ve made this chicken dish four times in the last month; it’s clearly time to shout about it across the internet.

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Inspired by one of our go-to orders at True Food Kitchen, this roasted vegetable salad is fall at its best! Tender sliced butternut squash, crispy roasted Brussels sprouts, creamy white beans, and shredded kale in a zippy apple cider vinaigrette. It’s delicious, gorgeous, and a nutritional powerhouse!

Just 30 minutes required for this gluten-free and plant-based meal packed with protein, fiber, and vitamins and minerals galore.

Roasted Fall Vegetable Salad with White Beans from Minimalist Baker →

Fall is near, but summer veggies are still here. Enter: A cozy soup with a mix of fall and summer produce! This easy, flavorful, 1-pot minestrone is LOADED with veggies and white beans for a fiber- and nutrient-packed dish. 

It’s light yet satisfying, comes together with simple ingredients and methods, and is perfect for the seasonal transition. Grab your bread because soup is on!

We’ve shared a minestrone recipe before and this one is similar…but with a twist: potatoes instead of pasta!

Veggie-Packed White Bean Minestrone from Minimalist Baker →

This has been my go-to summer steak for the last several years and I have some audacity to have gatekept it for so long. Mostly, we’ve been too busy eating it for me to grab the camera and shoot it and then sit down and write the recipe, which is hilarious as that’s, like, my whole job. But my brain softens in the summer, especially when my kids are away at sleepaway camp, as they are now, and we quickly lose whatever tethers we had to things like to-do lists, responsibilities, and adulting. And while I do not expect a skirt steak with a cherry tomato and sweet corn salad to shake the cooking internet off its axis, there are a bunch of tips tucked into this recipe that make it a reliable favorite, and I hope become part of your repertoire too.

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