Spicy Marinated White Beans

Marinated white beans soak up spicy Calabrian chile oil, garlic, and rosemary for a bold and completely delicious make-ahead side dish.

There’s something about crushed Calabrian chiles that makes me literally salivate like a dog.

They have a slow, strong burn, but they’re also a little fruity and punchy. The spicy pepper oil is vibrant red and dripping with flavor. I love tossing it on leftover pasta or scooping it onto scrambled eggs when I really need some heat.

But marinating cannellini beans in it? That feels like an actual stroke of genius.

The beans soak up the spicy, flavorful oil and become the perfect vehicle for those tangy hot chiles.

I lean in to gently infuse olive oil with fresh rosemary, plenty of garlic, and a big scoop of crushed chiles, then toss it over white beans. Brighten it all up with a splash of red wine vinegar, and boom.

The goal is to let these beans marinate in the fridge and soak up all that spicy oil—but honestly, they don’t always make it that far. They’re just so good.

This recipe is great for beans, but sometimes I make the spicy oil and toss it over cooked pasta instead. Make silky handmade spaghetti, toss it with the oil and slurp it down hot or cold!

here’s how to make the spicy beans:

a few more recipe tips:

• If you love cold marinated bean salads, you have to try this garlicky gigante bean salad with bits of olives and prosciutto. It’s one of those bean salads we keep on rotation in our house—we just can’t get enough of it.
• You can use any beans here! Chickpeas, borlotti beans, gigante beans—they all work great. I always recommend using high-quality dried beans and cooking them yourself. The flavor and texture are so worth it.
• Here’s a quick refresher on how to cook dried beans if you’re rusty!
• And if you suddenly find yourself with way too many cooked white beans (does this happen to anyone else?), whip up a batch of ultra-creamy white bean dip with herby gremolata and you won’t be mad. It was my solution to the same problem.

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