Traditional Croatian Baked Butter Beans: Simple Side Dish 🇭🇷

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Baked Butter Beans Croatian-style is a traditional side dish featuring large white beans cooked with sautéed onions, smoked bacon, paprika and a simple roux, baked to thicken and blend the flavours.

Recipe Intro

I want to share one of my favourite side dishes; Croatian-style baked butter beans.
This recipe differs from the classic baked beans, which often use small white Haricot beans in tomato sauce. so it is rather runny. It also stands apart from many Central and Eastern European versions that feature red kidney beans. It is prepared with large white butter beans and has a thicker, more compact consistency, without extra sauce. Smoked bacon and paprika add a distinctive savoury flavour.
It’s a tasty side dish and goes well with various meat dishes.

Croatian Baked Butter Beans Ingredients

  • beans – Use butter beans (large white beans), they are the best for achieving the desired texture and taste. For convenience, you can use canned butter beans, which are ready to use and save cooking time.
  • bacon – Buy smoked bacon and you can add some cured sausage for extra flavour.
  • onion, garlic – use yellow onion and fresh garlic ( don’t use powdered)
  • paprika – Buy smoked or sweet paprika. If you prefer a bit of heat, you can use hot paprika if available.
  • sugar – You can use white or brown
  • parsley – Fresh
  • flour – All-purpose plain white flour
  • milk
  • tomato concentrate
  • chilli flakes (optional)

How to make Croatian Baked Butter Beans

This dish is really quick and easy to make, especially with canned beans. Just a few minutes of frying, a 5-minute simmer, and around 20–30 minutes in the oven, it’s ready to serve with hardly any effort.

Frying finely chopped onion, bacon and sausage in a pot.
Fry chopped onion, bacon, sausage (if using) and garlic
Butter beans with other ingredients simmering in a pot.
Add water, beans and other ingredients. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Butter beans in sauce transferred to a white rectangular baking dish, ready to bake.
Transfer to baking dish.
Freshly baked Traditional Croatian butter beans in a white casserole dish with a golden, slightly crisped surface.
Delicious baked butter beans Croatian style.
  • To make this Croatian-style baked beans dish, fry finely chopped onion and bacon in a medium-sized pot for 2–3 minutes until they release their flavour and become fragrant. Be careful not to let the onion brown.
  • Pour water and stir well.
  • Next, drain a tin of white butter beans and add them to the pan with water. Stir in salt, ground paprika, a pinch of chilli, tomato purée, sugar, and plenty of black pepper. Mix well to combine the flavours.
  • In a small cup, mix flour and milk until smooth and free of lumps, then pour it into the beans. Stir in finely chopped parsley and let it simmer for another 5 minutes until it slightly thickens.
  • Transfer everything to a baking dish and bake at 200°C for about 20-30 minutes, allowing some liquid to evaporate and create a thick, rich consistency. If you prefer a looser texture, reduce the baking time accordingly.

Serving:
These Croatian butter beans make an excellent side dish and pair well with any meat.
I usually serve them with Croatian-style Veal Cutlets in Tomato Sauce. Mmmm. Give it a try!

Recipe Card

Traditional Croatian Baked Butter Beans

A simple Croatian side dish made with large butter beans, smoked bacon and paprika.
Servings 4 portions
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 can Butter beans - 400g can
  • ½ cup smoked bacon
  • cup cured or smoked sausage - (optional)
  • 1 onion
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbsp parsley
  • 150-170 ml milk
  • 1 tbsp smoked or sweet paprika
  • ½ tsp chilli flakes or powder
  • 1-2 tsp tomato purée
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp plain white flour
  • ½-1 tsp black pepper
  • salt - to taste
  • sunflower oil - for frying

Instructions

  • In a medium pot, fry the finely chopped onion and bacon for 2–3 minutes until fragrant, without browning the onion. Then add the chopped garlic and fry for 1 minute.
  • Pour in water, then add drained butter beans, paprika, a pinch of chilli flakes, tomato purée and sugar. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Stir well and simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Mix flour and milk in a small cup until smooth, then pour into the pot with beans. Stir in finely chopped parsley and mix well.
  • Transfer to a baking dish and bake at 200°C for 20–30 minutes, allowing some liquid to evaporate for a thicker consistency. Reduce baking time if you prefer a looser texture.

Notes

The total calories for the whole dish are about 1,087 kcals. This estimation depends on the specific types and brands of products used. Assuming the dish serves 4 as a side, each portion would contain approximately 272 calories.
Calories: 272kcal
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Croatian
Diet: Low Fat

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