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Sun-Dried Tomato, Kale, and White Bean Skillet

Welcome back, Pinners! It’s been a little over a year since I’ve done any Pintestings, but I’m really excited to get going again. A lot has happened since I last posted, including a big change in our diet. Our family has chosen to eat more plant-based. Your diet, what you choose to eat, is more of a journey than a destination and we are somewhere between pescatarian and vegan/plant-based. So far, the results have been pretty outstanding. My HH and I have both lost 30 pounds since Thanksgiving and our biometrics are all in a much better place. Hooray for Healthy! In our research for plant-based recipes, I came across this pin for Sun-Dried Tomato, Kale, and White Bean Skillet by Beth from Budget Bytes.

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This looked like a healthy, flavorful, and filling meal. I also like that it’s a one-pot, rather one-skillet, meal. Beth served it with bread, but I thought it looked like something that would pair well with pasta. Either way, let the Pintesting begin!

The Pintesting:

The ingredients are very straight forward and simple. Most of them were already in my kitchen.

Saute the garlic in extra virgin olive oil.

Add the Kale and water. It looks like a lot of kale, but don’t worry. It will wilt down a lot.

Cook until kale is wilted. The pot was FULL, almost overflowing with the kale but it wilted down to a couple of inches in the bottom of the pot.

Add the beans and sun-dried tomatoes.

Once heated through, add the dressing. I did not get a picture of the dressing, but it combines the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes with apple cider vinegar, herbs, and salt & pepper.

That’s it!

In the original Pinterest recipe, Beth served it with slices of rustic bread, but we chose to pair it with pasta.

I have to say we LOVE this recipe! We made a few alterations for our own taste, which I mention below, but this is a great recipe whether you are watching your budget or not. Now for the Pintesting Results.

 

The Pintesting Results:

OVERALL RESULTS: 4.6 Pins

Accuracy: 

The dish was delicious and worked well, but the two cans of cannellini beans seemed too much for the amount of kale and sun-dried tomatoes. I chose to add more kale (because it’s a superfood) and more sun-dried tomatoes. To balance these additions, we doubled the dressing. With these modifications, the dish looked like the one in the picture. 4 Pins

Difficulty: 

Because the ingredients don’t require a lot of prep work, this recipe is very simple to make. The only knife work was to mince the garlic and you can get minced garlic in a jar. I did take the time to sort out the tough, thick stems from the kale but that is not a required part of the recipe. 5 Pins

Time:

If you need a quick dinner, this is a good choice. The meal comes together in less than half an hour. If you can find sun-dried tomatoes that are julienne cut, you will save even more prep time. 5 Pins

Cost:

This recipe came from Budget Bytes, so you know this is not an expensive meal to make. Not only are the ingredients economical, but this easily makes enough to serve 4. In our world, that’s two meals for two people. Since we served it with pasta, we got 6 meals from the recipe. This has become a regular in our meal rotation. While getting a big bag of kale is economical, we prefer to get the organic baby kale which doesn’t cost too much more because we don’t care for the tough stems. 5 Pins

Practicality:

This recipe is quick, easy, and delicious. It’s perfect for busy weeknights and it makes plenty to feed a family. The recipe calls for Cannellini beans but you could substitute any white bean such as Great Northerns. We prefer baby kale rather than the fully grown, but you can choose whichever you like. We also make a double batch of the dressing and just add the extra sun-dried tomatoes to the mix. The extra dressing makes the leftovers extra tasty. 5 Pins