Slow Cooker Gigante (White) Beans
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
These gigante beans cook in the slow cooker for 6-12 hours with tomatoes, thyme, onions, garlic, and olive oil until they become stewy, creamy, and delicious! If you can’t find gigante beans, the method works well with Great Northern, Cannellini, Lima, or other dried white beans.
On Wednesday morning, inspired by a Dinner, A Love Story post, I dumped half a pound of dried gigante beans into my crockpot followed by half a can of crushed tomatoes, a bay leaf, pepper flakes, water, smashed garlic, chopped onions, thyme, and a drizzle of olive oil.
I whisked the kids off to soccer tots then to the bagel shop, and when we returned three hours later, the house smelled as if I had been working away all morning.
Dried beans in the crockpot for the win! This is where the crockpot really excels: No browning required. No measuring required. The crockpot keeps the one-pot wonder simmering at the steadiest simmer, ensuring creamy, not mushy beans.
How nice to be able to leave the house while a machine works away? And to have the oven and stovetop free should I feel like making bread or the children their favorite dinner.
The beans cooked all day — they needed 8 hours in the pot — and when the dinner bell rang, I toasted bread, placed a slice in each of our bowls and ladled the stewy white beans overtop. With a few cracks of pepper and shavings of parmesan, dinner was served.
More Slow Cooker Bean Recipes to Try
- Slow Cooker Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
- Simplest Slow Cooker Black Beans
- Slow Cooker Flageolets, Gratinéed
- Simplest Slow Cooker Chickpeas
How to Make Gigante (or other white) Beans in the Slow Cooker
Here’s the play-by-play:
Select your bean. I love gigante beans but they do take a long time to cook, anywhere from 8 to 12 hours, so plan ahead. Great Northern, Cannellini beans, Lima, or other white beans would all work here, and those varieties will cook in 6 to 8 hours. Also, if you get on the Rancho Gordo mailing list, they’ll let you know when they get beans (such as these Corona Beans) back in stock:
Dump all of the ingredients into a slow cooker. (I never add pancetta anymore.)
You can use whole peeled tomatoes — simply crush with your hands. Or use crushed tomatoes.
Give everything a stir. Then cover the pot and cook on high heat for 8-12 hours.
When done, the beans will be creamy and cooked through, and the broth will be plentiful.
Ladle the stewy beans over a hunk of bread.
Shave parmesan over top if you wish.
Crack lots of pepper over top, too.
Slow Cooker Gigante (White) Beans
- Total Time: 12 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Adapted from this Dinner, A Love Story post. As Jenny notes, the beauty of this sort of meal is that you really don’t have to measure.
If you don’t have a slow cooker, here’s my mother’s oven method.
Beans: I love gigante beans but they are hard to find, and they’ve gotten so expensive. Use any white bean you like here. Cooking time will vary depending on the age and type of bean you are using.
Note: You can soak the beans prior to cooking if you wish, and I recomm end doing so if you are using Gigante beans, but you do not have to. If you do soak, the cooking time may be shorter. Gigante beans take anywhere from 8 to 12 hours, so plan ahead.
I love these spooned over this oven-roasted polenta.
Ingredients
- 8 oz dried white beans, such as Gigante, Great Northern, or Cannellini (see notes above)
- 1 bay leaf
- pinch red pepper flakes (I use 1/2 teaspoon)
- a few cloves garlic, smashed
- two onions, chopped to yield about 2 cups
- 1.5 cups crushed tomatoes (I love Pomi finely diced tomatoes)
- a few sprigs thyme
- parmesan rind if you have one
- 4 cups water
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt or to taste
- fresh cracked pepper to taste
- shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano for serving
- toasted bread for serving or oven-roasted polenta
Instructions
- Place everything with the exception of the Parmigiano Reggiano and toasted bread or polenta, into your crockpot. Cook on high for at least 6 to 8 hours. Depending on the type of bean you are using, the times will vary. If using unsoaked gigante beans, it may take as long as 12 hours to cook.
- When the beans are done, taste the broth. Add more salt to taste.
- Ladle broth into bowls over toasted bread or serve toasted bread on the size. Shave Parmigiano Reggiano over top. Crack pepper over top. Drizzle more olive oil over top if you wish.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 hours
- Category: Beans
- Method: Slow Cooker, Crockpot
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: slow cooker, crockpot, beans, simple, winter, gigante, white
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
141 Comments on “Slow Cooker Gigante (White) Beans”
To thicken the broth (if desired) add about 3 ounces of tomato paste near the end.
★★★★★
I doubled the recipe and cooked according to directions and it turned out very soupy.
I used great northern beans bc I couldn’t find gigante beans.. they are smaller tha gigante so possibly the amount of water/oil needs to be adjusted if not using gigante beans?
Bummer… sorry Allison. Yes, water amounts probably need to be scaled down when doubling. If it’s still too soupy, you can reduce the liquid stove top; then add it back to the beans.
Can this be done in the instant pot? Looks delicious!
Tried the recipe today in my instant pot. Soaked gigante beans for 24 hours, the used manual setting > high > 20minutes. Worked perfectly. Simmered after because I prefer it less saucy.
Added: 1 cup chopped celery and 1 cup chopped carrots. Only 1 onion. Added a Parmesan rind. Finished with some vinegar.
Amazing!
Thank you for sharing these notes, Deepa!
Would this recipe work for dried scarlet runner beans? Should I make adjustments re the amount of liquids, etc? Thanks for your help. I have jars of these beans and I’m not sure how to use them.
Should work out just fine!