Sicilian Pesto Butter Beans with Crispy Basil

Have you tried Sicilian pesto? This nutty, toasty, creamy, tomatoey pesto is delicious paired with tender butter beans for a quick and flavorful 1-pan meal! Ready in about 30 minutes. (gluten-free and soy-free with nut-free option)

Sicilian pesto is an almond based pesto that uses cherry tomatoes, garlic, and lots of fresh basil. It is a creamy, umami-packed pesto that is vibrant and saucy. It makes a delicious pasta sauce that works so well with butter beans!

Butter beans and all kinds of beans are kind of having a moment right now, and I wanted to make a very herby butter bean dish to share with you. So I happened upon Sicilian pesto, which is a chunky pesto made of cherry tomatoes and fresh basil, and it just sounded like it would be absolutely delicious with butter beans, and it totally is!

Instead of using all toasted almonds, we use a mix of toasted almond slivers or toasted almond flour and some hemp seeds to add more protein and then make our Sicilian pesto sauce mixture. We cook some aromatics, add the pesto, some stock, and butter beans, and bring it to a boil—that’s it.

Then, we top it with crisp basil! Fresh basil is crisped in a little bit of extra virgin olive oil along with some garlic. The combination of golden garlic and crisp basil is just heavenly and elevates this dish immensely. The fresh cherry tomatoes and basil in the sauce and crisp, fresh basil with toasted garlic create a fantastic flavor combination.

There are many sources of protein in this dish. There’s protein from the hemp seeds and almond in the pesto, as well as from whichever nut or seed is used to make the vegan parmesan and vegan mozzarella. Then there’s protein from the nutritional yeast and butter beans are another source!

You can add more protein by adding sides that are high in protein, such as multigrain or whole grain bread or serving it over higher protein pasta, such as whole grain pasta, lentil pasta, or chickpea pasta.

Why You’ll Love Sicilian Pesto Beans

• simple, creamy Sicilian pesto sauce. 1 pan 30 minute
• protein-packed with multiple protein sources
• versatile! Serve with bread for dipping or over pasta of choice.
• crispy, garlicky basil topping brings out the incredibly flavors of this pesto
• naturally gluten-free and soy-free with a nut-free option

Ingredients and Substitutions

• nuts/seeds – Traditional Sicilian pesto sauce uses almonds. I am using a mix of almonds or almond flour and hemp seeds for a protein boost. For a nut-free version, you can use all hemp seeds.
• tomatoes – Use cherry tomatoes for this recipe.
• basil – Fresh basil adds SO much flavor! Do not use dried.
• salt and spices – For the Sicilian pesto sauce, you will use pepper flakes, salt, and nutritional yeast. The butter beans also use a little salt, and you can add optional dried oregano for extra flavor.
• aromatics – A clove of garlic adds umami to the sauce, and more garlic gives the crispy basil an amazing flavor! You will also cook up some onion for the butter beans.
• vegan cheese – For the pesto, you will need a mix of vegan parmesan and vegan mozzarella. Choose soy-free and/or nut-free, if needed.
• olive oil – The oil in the pesto is optional but does make it creamier. You will use some oil to crisp up the basil and to sauté the onion for the butter beans, as well.
• butter beans – You can use canned or homemade, as long as you have about 1 ½ cups cooked butter beans.

How to Make Sicilian Pesto Sauce Beans

First, toast the almonds or almond flour, if they aren’t already toasted, add the almond slivers or almond flour to a skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring continuously, until they smell nutty and turn golden. 3-4 minutes

Remove them from the skillet and add them to a food processor along with the rest of the Sicilian pesto ingredients. Process for about 30 seconds, until the mixture becomes a coarse paste. It should have some texture but no large seeds or pieces of tomato. 

In the same skillet, heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium-low heat. Once hot, carefully add the basil leaves, and distribute them all over the skillet. Let them cook until crisp. 1 minute. Once the basil is somewhat crisp, add the garlic and mix it in. Continue cooking for another 30 seconds, until the garlic starts to turn golden. Remove most of the crisp basil and garlic from the skillet, leaving behind one or two leaves and a couple of garlic slices.

To the same skillet, add the onion and ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Increase the heat to medium and cook until the onion turns golden. Add splashes of water in between to help conduct heat evenly and brown the onion evenly.

Once the onion is golden brown, mix the Sicilian pesto and the oregano to the skillet. Then use ½ cup of water to rinse out the food processor and add that water to the skillet, as well. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add the remaining salt and mix well. Taste and adjust the salt and flavor. 

Mix in ¼ cup of water and the butter beans. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes. If the sauce thickens too much, add more water to adjust the consistency, and bring it back to a boil.

Top the pan with the reserved crisp basil and garlic, then turn off the heat. If you prefer more heat, sprinkle with additional pepper flakes. The butter beans will have a strong basil flavor right after cooking, but the flavors will meld and settle in the next 5 to 10 minutes.

Serve these butter beans with toasted sourdough, garlic bread, multigrain bread, over pasta, or with roasted vegetables. They are creamy, fresh, and full of basil and tomato flavor.

What to Serve with Sicilian Pesto Butter Beans

You can serve this as an entree with multigrain bread or garlic bread on the side. It’s also a great sauce over your favorite pasta!