Beans can be an inexpensive way to add more protein and fiber to meals, but that does not help much if you dislike their taste or texture. Serving more beans on the side was never going to work for one Reddit cook who described them as “mealy bland bits.”
Reddit user u/tenaciouslyteetering wanted to eat more beans without turning them into the focus of the meal. After seeing someone blend beans into pasta sauce, she tried one can of pinto beans with one jar of sauce. Her husband had no idea they were there.
The experiment worked well enough that this is now how the household eats pasta sauce. Instead of leaving the beans whole, blending changes their texture and lets them disappear into a food already on the menu.
Blend the Beans Into the Sauce
The method does not require a separate bean recipe. One can of pinto beans goes into one jar of pasta sauce, then the two are blended together.
That distinction matters for someone who dislikes biting into whole beans. The beans become part of the sauce rather than another ingredient scattered through the pasta.
White Beans Can Work in Soup Too
Pasta sauce was not the only place Reddit cooks suggested using the idea. Several commenters blend white beans into soup, where the puree can change the body of the broth without leaving whole beans behind.
One adds white beans to tomato soup, while another blends northern beans into butternut squash soup. A separate commenter cooks northern white beans, liquefies them with an immersion blender, then freezes portions for future soups.
Pasta Sauce Was Only the First Test
After the pasta sauce worked, u/tenaciouslyteetering kept experimenting. Beans went into a berry-and-banana smoothie and then into muffins made with fruit and muffin mix. The muffins came out denser than standard muffins, but she liked the taste enough to consider making them a regular breakfast.
The smoothie was less convincing for another person in the discussion. They tried half a can of cannellini beans with pineapple, strawberries, and orange juice and said they could taste the beans.
Black Beans Went Into Brownies Next
Commenters kept pointing toward another unexpected use: black bean brownies. The original poster tried them after reading the suggestions and returned to report that she could not tell the brownies contained beans.
Other Reddit users backed up the idea, with one describing black bean brownies as a good match for people who prefer a fudgy texture.
For someone who does not enjoy a bowl of beans, the answer may not be finding a better way to serve them whole. Blending them into pasta sauce changes the part that can be hardest to get past: knowing there is a spoonful of beans waiting in every bite.
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