20-Minute Greek White Beans with Fresh Tomatoes, Dill and Spinach
Greek white beans with tomatoes, gigantes-style, made in one skillet. Ripe late-summer tomatoes, dill, oregano and spinach are ready in about 20 minutes.
- Prep
- 7 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Serves
- 4
20-Minute Greek White Beans with Fresh Tomatoes, Dill and Spinach is a vegan dinner recipe made with extra-virgin olive oil, yellow onion, garlic cloves. It takes 22 minutes of hands-on time, serves 4, and each serving has 318 calories, 15 g of protein and 11 g of fiber.
This skillet takes the flavors of Greek gigantes plaki and skips the long oven bake. Grating ripe tomatoes gives you a smooth sauce in minutes, and frying the tomato paste in olive oil first adds the deep, slow-cooked flavor the oven would normally supply. Canned cannellini beans simmer just long enough to soak up the sauce. Stir in plenty of dill and a squeeze of lemon at the end so the herbs stay fresh against the olive oil.
A cuisine (Greek gigantes-style tomato-dill-oregano sauce with fresh late-summer tomatoes instead of creamy Tuscan kale and lemon) take on our 15-Minute Creamy Tuscan White Bean Skillet with Kale and Lemon.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp41 gextra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium110 gyellow onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves9 ggarlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp32 gtomato paste
- 1½ tsp1.5 gdried oregano (Greek if you have it)
- ¼ tsp0.5 gred pepper flakes (optional)
- 1½ lb680 gripe tomatoes, halved and grated (skins discarded), about 4 medium; makes roughly 2 1/2 cups pulp
- 2 cans480 gcannellini beans, drained and rinsed, two 15-oz cans
- ⅓ cup78 gwater
- 1 tsp6 gsalt, plus more to taste
- ½ tsp1.2 gblack pepper
- 4 cups120 gbaby spinach
- ⅓ cup3 gfresh dill, chopped, divided
- 1 tbsp15 glemon juice
To serve
- 1 tbsp14 gextra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling (optional)
- 4 slices128 gcrusty sourdough bread, toasted (optional)
Kit: 12-inch skillet or sauté pan, box grater, large bowl
Tips
- Grating the tomatoes separates the pulp from the skins without blanching, so the sauce cooks down fast and turns out smooth.
- Very juicy tomatoes may need 1–2 extra minutes of simmering in step 4. Wait until the sauce looks glossy and the oil starts to separate before you add the beans.
- Like gigantes plaki, this tastes even better after it rests for 15 minutes, and it's good at room temperature.
Swap ideas
- Use one 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes instead of fresh
- Works outside tomato season. The sauce is thicker and more concentrated, so add 1/4 cup more water.
- Use large lima beans or butter beans instead of cannellini
- Brings it closer to classic gigantes, with bigger, creamier beans.
- Use chopped parsley or mint instead of half the dill
- Parsley gives a milder, grassier finish. Mint is brighter and more like a Greek island dish.
- Add a pinch of maple syrup if the tomatoes taste sharp
- Takes the edge off acidic or underripe tomatoes without making the sauce sweet.
The numbers
Nutrition per serving
318kcal per serving
Everything else · 4 servings per recipe
- Saturated fat
- 1.6 g 8%
- Sugars
- 7.3 g
- Sodium
- 629 mg 27%
- Potassium
- 1392 mg 30%
- Calcium
- 178 mg 14%
- Iron
- 6.3 mg 35%
- Vitamin C
- 38 mg 43%
- Vitamin B12
- 0 µg 0%
% Daily Value on a 2,000 calorie diet. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient; optional ingredients are excluded. Estimates vary with brands and portions.
Sources: Oil, olive, salad or cooking, Onions, raw, Garlic, raw, Tomato products, canned, paste, without salt added (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program), Spices, oregano, dried, Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average, Beans, white, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt, Beverages, water, tap, drinking, Salt, table, Spices, pepper, black, Spinach, raw, Dill weed, fresh, Lemon juice, raw
Method
Grate the tomatoes. Cut each tomato in half across the middle and rub the cut side against the large holes of a box grater set in a bowl, stopping when only the flattened skin is left in your hand. Throw away the skins.
Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of the salt and cook, stirring now and then, until soft and translucent with just a little color at the edges, 4–5 minutes.
Add the garlic, tomato paste, oregano and red pepper flakes (if using). Stir constantly until the paste darkens to a brick red and starts to stick to the pan, about 1 minute.
Pour in the grated tomatoes and scrape up anything stuck to the pan. Add the remaining salt and the pepper, raise the heat to medium-high and simmer briskly until the sauce thickens and the oil starts to pool at the edges, 5–6 minutes.
Stir in the beans, water and half the dill. Simmer gently until the beans are heated through and the sauce coats them thickly, 3–4 minutes. If it gets too thick, add a splash more water.
Take the pan off the heat. Stir in the spinach a handful at a time until it just wilts, about 1 minute, then add the lemon juice. Taste and add more salt if needed.
Scatter the rest of the dill over the top, drizzle with olive oil if you like, and serve warm or at room temperature with toasted sourdough for dipping.
Storage: Cool the beans, then refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to 4 days. The flavor gets deeper overnight. Reheat gently on the stovetop with a splash of water, or let them come to room temperature. Add fresh dill before serving. The spinach softens further in storage but still tastes good.
Questions
- How much protein is in 20-minute greek white beans with fresh tomatoes, dill and spinach?
- Each of the 4 servings has 15 g of protein, 11 g of fiber and 318 calories, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient.
- Is 20-minute greek white beans with fresh tomatoes, dill and spinach vegan?
- Yes. It contains no dairy, eggs, honey or other animal products.
- How long does 20-minute greek white beans with fresh tomatoes, dill and spinach take to make?
- 7 minutes of prep and 15 minutes of cooking, so 22 minutes of hands-on time.
- Can you make 20-minute greek white beans with fresh tomatoes, dill and spinach ahead?
- Cool the beans, then refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to 4 days. The flavor gets deeper overnight. Reheat gently on the stovetop with a splash of water, or let them come to room temperature. Add fresh dill before serving. The spinach softens further in storage but still tastes good.
- What can I substitute in 20-minute greek white beans with fresh tomatoes, dill and spinach?
- Use one 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes instead of fresh — works outside tomato season. the sauce is thicker and more concentrated, so add 1/4 cup more water.. Use large lima beans or butter beans instead of cannellini — brings it closer to classic gigantes, with bigger, creamier beans.. Use chopped parsley or mint instead of half the dill — parsley gives a milder, grassier finish. mint is brighter and more like a greek island dish.. Add a pinch of maple syrup if the tomatoes taste sharp — takes the edge off acidic or underripe tomatoes without making the sauce sweet..
- Does 20-minute greek white beans with fresh tomatoes, dill and spinach contain gluten?
- Yes — the ingredient list includes gluten. Check the labels on the products you buy if you're cooking for an allergy.
Nutrition is calculated from USDA data for every ingredient — how we work it out.
Published September 23, 2026 ·Greek
