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These tender Kung Pao white beans are served in a delicious Chinese-inspired sauce! It’s an impressive yet simple dish that packs the perfect balance of sweet, salty, spicy, and sour. Plus, it has an addicting crunch thanks to the addition of bell peppers, roasted peanuts, and Jalapeño peppers!
⭐️ Why You Should Try This Recipe
- It’s made in one skillet. This recipe is made in one skillet in less than 30 minutes, making it perfect for a quick weeknight dinner.
- It’s superbly seasoned and packs a ton of flavor. There is a lot going on here with the textures, white beans are soft and melt-in-your-mouth, while the peppers and peanuts add a crunch to every bite, and the syrupy sauce adds sweetness.
- Nancy, a reader, said: “★★★★★ This pantry-and-fridge dish tasted fantastic, with the right amount of heat, the right amount of sauce, and a good balance between the veg and the beans. It was just as pretty as the pictures, easy to prepare and to clean up. What’s not to love? Try it!”
📘 What is Kung Pao
If you have never heard of Kung Pao, it’s originally a stir-fry made with marinated chicken, peanuts, and chili peppers. It originally appeared in China, more specifically in the Sichuan province, in the mid-19th century.
This recipe is a healthier and meatless version of this popular Chinese dish. We are swapping the chicken with white beans and bell peppers for a hearty and high-protein plant-based dish!
🌶 Ingredients Notes
This recipe requires only 30 minutes, and everything is done in ONE skillet. A simple preparation for a very flavorful meal! Here is what you will need:
- Jalapeño peppers – For a bright and spicy flavor. You can replace them with Chilaca peppers, which are a bit less spicy.
- Onion and garlic
- Ginger – Fresh ginger brings a citrusy and peppery aroma.
- Bell peppers – For some crunch. I went with a mix of red and green bell peppers, but use what you have on hand.
- Cooked white beans – Any type of cooked white beans will work. Navy beans, cannellini, or even Lima beans. You can use canned beans or freshly cooked beans.
- Roasted peanuts – For a nuttiness and extra crunch. Those are optional, so feel free to leave them out if you want to make this dish nut-free.
Then, to prepare the sauce, you will need the following ingredients:
- Soy sauce – For umami and saltiness. You can use coconut aminos if you want to keep the recipe gluten-free.
- Shaoxing wine – Optional, Chinese cooking wine adds a deeper layer of flavor and a bit more saltiness.
- Toasted sesame oil – Toasted sesame oil is not usually used as a cooking oil but more as a flavoring since it has a very strong aroma. There are different types of sesame oil. Make sure you use the toasted kind.
- Balsamic vinegar – For a hint of sourness.
- Sugar – To balance the saltiness and sourness. You can use granulated sugar, coconut sugar, or even maple syrup.
- Cornstarch – We are using cornstarch to help the sauce thicken.
🥣 How To Make Kung Pao White Beans
Here is the process for preparing this fantastic skillet dish:
- Fry the aromatics. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the diced onion, garlic, ginger, and Jalapeño peppers. Fry for 3-5 minutes or until the onions are slightly golden brown.
- Add the peppers. At this point, add the diced bell peppers and cook for another 8-10 minutes. I personally like to slightly undercook them for more texture.
- Prepare the sauce. In the meantime, you can prepare the magical Kung Pao sauce: in a small bowl, mix together the water, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine if using, toasted sesame oil, balsamic vinegar, sugar, and cornstarch.
- Add the beans and sauce. Finally, add the cooked white beans and the Kung Pao sauce to the skillet. Let simmer for 3-5 minutes and serve!
🍚 How To Serve It
These Kung Pao beans are delicious served over white rice, but you can also serve them with quinoa, brown rice, or toasted bread. Before serving, feel free to garnish with roasted peanuts and/or green onions or cilantro for freshness!
📔 Tips
- Double the sauce. If you want to get a stew consistency, feel free to double the sauce ingredients.
- Use different vegetables. This dish is quite versatile, so feel free to replace the bell peppers with any vegetable you have on hand!
- Taste and adjust the seasonings. Depending on the brand of soy sauce and canned beans used, you might have to slightly adjust the saltiness. After simmering the beans, give it a try and adjust the saltiness and sweetness to your liking.
💬 FAQ
While it all depends on your spiciness tolerance, I would say this dish is mildly spicy.
Kung pao beans will keep for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. Reheat gently over medium heat.
I hope you are going to love this one-skillet bean dish! In addition to being incredibly tasty, each serving is packed with 16g of protein!
🫛 More Bean Recipes
Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!
Kung Pao White Beans Skillet
Ingredients
Kung Pao
- 3 tbsp sliced jalapeño pepper about 1 pepper
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 inch ginger minced
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1/2 red bell pepper diced
- 1/2 green bell pepper diced
- 2 15-ounce can white beans rinsed and drained
- 1/3 cup roasted peanuts optional
Sauce
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine optional
- 2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
Sauce
- In a small bowl, combine the water, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, balsamic vinegar, coconut sugar, and cornstarch. Stir until well combined and set aside.
Kung Pao
- Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.
- Add the sliced jalapeño pepper, onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the onions are soft and start to caramelize. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper.
- Add the diced red and green bell peppers and cook for another 10 minutes or until the peppers are soft.
- Stir in the sauce, cook for 20-30 seconds until the sauce becomes thick and syrupy. Add the drained white beans and stir to ensure everything is coated with the sauce. Cook for another 3-5 minutes.
- Serve the beans on top of rice, top with roasted peanuts, and garnish with chopped green onions or cilantro!
Notes
-
- Double the sauce. If you want to get a stew consistency, feel free to double the sauce ingredients.
-
- Use different vegetables. This dish is quite versatile, so feel free to replace the bell peppers with any vegetable you have on hand!
-
- Taste and adjust the seasonings. Depending on the brand of soy sauce and canned beans used, you might have to slightly adjust the saltiness. After simmering the beans, give it a try and adjust the saltiness and sweetness to your liking.
Nutrition
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
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I looking forVegan recipes for my son who is on Chemo and nutrition is so important. I can’t wait to try this and see how he likes it.
I’m sorry to hear about your son being on chemo, yes I also believe healthy eating can play a big role in the healing process. I hope he will get well soon!
Thank you for the kind words Thomas.
No one needs to die of cancer. The Chinese have used homeopathic cures for it for millenia. Try cooking with curry leaves, turmeric, star anise, goji berries, ginger, galangal, deer horn, cinnamon [casia],chinese pyracantha, bird chili. Most of these can be found in 5 spice powder or chinese curry powder.
Do you start out with raw peanuts, or roasted?
I start with raw peanuts. If you have roasted ones, then add them at the end.
It would be helpful in the recipe list of ingredients to state raw peanuts.
Updated, thanks!
I made this as directed and it was delicious! Flavorful, just the right amount of spicy, filling, and healthy. I used low or no salt options everywhere I could and with the peppers it was far from bland. Thank you for this tasty recipe!
Glad you liked it Amy! Thanks for your feedback 🙂
This was really good! I used one can of beans and some asparagus that I needed to use up. Nice and spicy and the peanuts add a good texture
Glad you liked this recipe Lenore!
I made this recipe yesterday after learning about it from Nisha at Rainbow plant life. It was DELICIOUS and I look forward to trying more.
Thanks Tonya! 🙂
Excellent recipe, Thomas! I added some broccoli to the dish, and it was splended! Thanks so much!
Thanks for your rating Maneesha!
Good inspiration for ways to bring beans to Chinese food, thanks
Thanks!
This was just as delicious as the other fullofplants recipes I have tried. I have lots of trust in Thomas’ recipes now and it’s become my first stop for the answer to “what’s for dinner.”
This recipe saved me from having to go out in the rain today. I had everything in the pantry or fridge, with the exception of an onion (are you kidding me? No onion???) So I used pickled cocktail onions and grilled onions in oil from the usual half jars of stuff cluttering up my fridge. And hot peppers in oil, same opened-jar stash. And oh yeah, those roasted garlic cloves aging out…peppers and carrots I chopped for a salad yesterday…the last of a box of basmati rice…maple sugar instead of coconut sugar…
This pantry-and-fridge dish tasted fantastic, with the right amount of heat, the right amount of sauce, and a good balance between the veg and the beans. It was just as pretty as the pictures, easy to prepare and to clean up. What’s not to love? Try it!
Thanks so much for your feedback Nancy!
I’m happy to hear you are liking the recipes 🙂
I loved this. So easy and quick. Only had 1 tbs Soy sauce left so used coconut aminos. Love the idea of adding broccoli. Will do that next time. This my first time making one of your recipes. Can’t wait to try another. Thank you.
Thanks Denise! Glad you liked the recipe 🙂
I absolutely love it when your recipes include ingredients that are easy to find (locally). Thank you, Thomas!
You are welcome Rose Anne!
Amazing for a meatless recipe. I’ll try it. Thank you for sharing Thomas.
This is such a genius recipe! So much flavour and the crunch of the roasted peanuts is wonderful in contrast to the creamy beans. I love beans, but I often miss a crunchy element in the dish.
Thanks for your feedback Christine! 🙂
I’m late to the game with this recipe, but I’m in love! I doubled the sauce and used to whole bell peppers and two broccoli crowns to make it a little more substantial. My nutritionist has been pushing me to get more plant based proteins, and this totally fits the bill. It was simple to make and came out great. Thanks!
I’m glad you liked this skillet dish Jeannie 😉 Thanks for your feedback!