Borlotti Beans: Facts and Recipes

28 CommentsWednesday • March 10, 2010 • by michelle

Borlotti beans are one of the staples of our diet in my house in Calabria, so it’s about time we talked more about them, don’t you think?

Borlotti beans are also known as cranberry beans or French horticultural beans and are some of the cutest darn beans around if you ask me.

Don’t get too excited about how festive they look, though, as that color goes away with cooking. They eventually turn brown.

What do they taste like? I’m not a bean expert or anything, but to me, borlotti beans taste most like what those of us who enjoy baked beans are used to having. They’re meatier than your average white cannellini bean, aren’t at all sweet, and hold up *extremely* well with tomatoes in particular. I speak from experience (we’ll get to that in a minute).

Here you can find borlotti in all kinds of ways–dried, fresh, jarred, canned. If you get the dried version, you’re going to have to soak them overnight before using them.

And they’re good for you! They’re high in protein (23.03g in 100g dried) and fiber (24.7 g). See more nutritional information at (where else?!) Borlotti.com.

So now I’m sure you’re wondering what to do with these loverlies. Well, they’re great in just about any type of dish from soups and stews to cold salads, so I do encourage you to use your imagination.

For some guidance, though, I posted a recipe a very long time ago, my very first recipe ever posted in fact, so you may have missed it:

Borlotti Beans with Tomatoes, Garlic, and Basil

We eat this literally once a week here throughout the winter, so it comes *highly* recommended. By the way, please don’t mind the photos in that post; I didn’t have a digital camera yet, but I assure you the beans are *delicious.*

For some other ideas on what to do with borlotti, check out what some of my blog friends have shared:

• Barbecue Baked Beans with Bacon at Sara’s Ms Adventures in Italy
• Braised Borlotti Beans with Red Peppers, Parsley, and Berbere Spice at Ilva’s Lucullian Delights
• Cowboy Beans with Smoked Sausage at Jenn’s The Leftover Queen
• Cranberry Beans, Kale, and Sausage Stew at The Passionate Palate
• Minestrone with Fresh Borlotti Beans and Farro at Susan’s Porcini Chronicles

What is your favorite bean dish, borlotti or not?