Chorizo and Bean Stew (in Under 30 Minutes)

Smokey, chunky slices of chorizo, smothered in a flavourful sauce, dotted with tender, creamy butter beans. Absolutely delicious and comforting. This chorizo and bean stew not only packs a punch with it’s bold, deep flavours – the whole dish comes together in under 30 minutes! Bonus – it’s a one-pot meal, so less dishes to clean! Does it get any better than this?!

I know what you are probably thinking. Anything that takes less than 30 minutes to make can’t have that much flavour, right? Wrong! Because we are using chorizo, not just any regular sausage, you have tonnes of flavour right from the start! Chorizo is truly a cooking hack for infusing flavour into a dish really quickly, with minimal effort. The result is a chorizo and bean stew with incredible depth of flavour, and couldn’t be easier to make. It’s no surprise this dish is such a classic across Spain and Portugal!

Ingredients in this Chorizo and Bean Stew

Chorizo

Of course I’m starting with the all-important hero of the dish – the chorizo. The chorizo sausage originated from the Iberian Peninsula, mainly from Spain and Portugal. It’s a sausage made of pork, often with garlic, oregano, paprika, and other spices, depending on the region. There are so many regional varieties of chorizo these days – for this recipe, just pick your favourite!

I use longaniza Chilenas chorizo in this recipe, which I buy from Theo’s Cecinas. They’re a family-run South-American butcher who, in my humble opinion, make the best chorizos ever. (I promise they did not pay me to say this!!). If you’re in the Sydney area, check them out to see what I mean!

Otherwise, my only word of advice is to pick the best quality chorizo you can find in supermarkets or delis. The more flavour in the chorizo itself, the more flavour will be in your chorizo and bean stew. We’re getting serious about chorizos here!

The longaniza Chilenas is a Chilean variety of chorizo. It’s much longer than a standard chorizo, and I use it for a few reasons. It’s a bit firmer than some other chorizo varieties, which makes it easier to slice. I often use them as a breakfast chorizo in my omelettes, for this very reason. Also, it’s smoked and aged, giving it an extra rich, deep flavour. Perfect for this dish!

Beans, Tomato and Stock

I use butter beans for this dish (often called lima beans – although butter beans sounds much lovelier to me)! Their texture is creamy, and they taste, well, kinda buttery! But you could use other types of beans or legumes if you prefer, like chickpeas, lentils, or black beans!

Crushed tomato, or finely diced/chopped tomato and chicken stock are the liquid base for this chorizo and bean stew. You’ll notice there’s not huge amounts of liquid – you want just enough so that you get a thick stew without it turning into a soup!

Vegetables and Spices

This recipe calls for red onion, garlic, and capsicum. The onion is for added sweetness, and the garlic gives that robust depth of flavour we are aiming for – that’s why we use six cloves! The capsicum also gives extra sweetness, and complements the flavour of the chorizo and beans perfectly. It also adds some extra texture to the stew.

As for the spices, there are six (including salt and pepper). But feel free to add chilli flakes or powder if you want your chorizo and bean stew to be spicy!

The spices are ones you would traditionally find within a chorizo, depending on the region. But I think the perfect combination is paprika, smokey paprika, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper. These enhance the spices in the chorizo, and give beautiful depth of flavour to the dish – all in less than 30 minutes, as promised!

Making and Serving the Chorizo and Bean Stew

Part me just wants to write, ‘throw everything in the pot and wait 15 minutes – done’! It really is that quick and easy to make this stew.

You start by sautéing your chorizo for a few minutes to release the fats and the spices (the oil will turn a beautiful red from the paprika!). Then you add your veg, spices, beans, tomato, and stock. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, and that’s it!!! A one-pot, no-fuss meal that is seriously delicious and hearty. The most work you’ll have to do is chop up the veg and chorizo!

I like to serve this just on its own – sometimes with a thick slice of crusty sourdough bread. You could also serve alongside some rice, pasta, polenta, or mashed potato for a really hearty meal!

If you like, garnish with some fresh parsley for a pop of green and some freshness. Some grated cheese melted on top would also work nicely. But honestly… it’s so good without doing anything to it at all.

I truly hope you love this recipe! xxx

Print Recipe

Chorizo and Bean Stew (in Under 30 Minutes)

Author: Hasti Cuisine: European, Portuguese, South American, Spanish Courses: 30 Minutes and Under, Dinner, Lunch, Soups, Stews & Curries

Difficulty: Beginner Prep Time 5 mins Cook Time 20 mins Total Time 25 mins

Servings: 2

Description

A one-pot, no-fuss meal that's ready in less than 30 minutes! This chorizo and bean stew is packed with spices, capsicum, onion, garlic, and the bold flavours of chorizo. Perfect for when you're short on time but refuse to compromise on taste!

Ingredients

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Scale

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• 250 g good quality chorizo (See Note 1)
• 400 g tin of butter beans (drained. See Note 2 for substitutions)
• 400 g tin of crushed tomato
• 1 small red onion (diced)
• 1 red capsicum (cut into chunks/strips)
• 6 garlic cloves (finely chopped/minced)
• 250 ml chicken stock
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp paprika
• ¹⁄₂ tsp smokey paprika
• ¹⁄₂ tsp cumin
• ¹⁄₂ tsp salt (may need to adjust based on saltiness of chorizo and stock)
• ¹⁄₂ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• chilli flakes/powder (to taste - optional)

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a pot on medium-high heat. Throw in your chorizo slices, and sauté for 2-3 minutes, or until the fat and spices start to release from them, and they begin to caramelise. The oil will be a beautiful red colour when this happens (see Note 3). 

2. Add in your onion, capsicum, and garlic, and sauté for 2-3 minutes, until they start to soften. Then throw in the paprika, smokey paprika, oregano, cumin, pepper, and salt. Mix briefly so that the spices coat everything.

3. Add the butter beans and mix so they are coated. Then add your crushed tomato and chicken stock. Scrape any caramelised bits from the bottom of the pot. 

4. Bring to the boil then simmer for 10-15 minutes, depending on how tender you want your capsicum to be. Enjoy!

Note

1. If you can't find chorizo, then any kind of smoked sausage will do. Because we are relying on the flavours of the chorizo to form the base of the stew, you will probably need to increase the amounts of the spices to make up for this.
2. If you can't find butter beans, a few options include chickpeas, black beans, lentils, or red kidney beans! Any kind of bean or legume would work well. However, the closest alternative to butter beans would probably be cannelini beans. 
3. This step is what is going to maximise the flavour of the chorizo and add depth to the stew - please do not skip it! Browning the chorizo creates the Maillard reaction which contributes to depth of flavour in the dish!

Keywords: chorizo, bean, stew, one-pot meal, quick

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