Hearty and packed with flavor, Greek Beans with Sausage is an easy-to-make dish that combines large beans and crumbled sausage stewed with vegetables in a tomato broth and finished with fresh parsley, lemon, and feta cheese.
While my version of Greek Beans and Sausage is not 100% authentic, it is based on the Greek dish, fassolada loukaniko, which is essentially stewed beans and sausage.
This incredible dish is super easy to make and is excellent for weeknights, and the leftovers are even better the next day.
Serve with warmed pitas, or rice pilaf, and a Greek salad for a full and nourishing meal.
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Beans. Gigante beans are larger butter beans that are grown in northern Greece. Amazon sells them, however, they are not cheap. Storebought butter beans are an excellent alternative. I’m using canned butter beans, but you can also used dried. If using dried beans, be sure to soak them overnight and cook them until almost soft before using.
- Sausage. I’m using bulk Italian sausage since that is what is available to me, but if you can access Greek sausage, certainly use that!
- Feta. I love to finish the dish with feta as it adds wonderful flavor and a nice salty bite. While a block of Greek feta will yield better results, you can certainly use the precrumbled feta found in the dairy aisle of your grocery store.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- If using overnight-soaked dried gigante or butter beans, place them in a large pot and fill with water. Bring the beans to a boil then lower the heat to a moderate simmer. Once almost tender, drain in a colander and set aside. Note: If using canned beans, skip this step. Preheat the oven to 350°F and chop 1 large onion, 1 large carrot, and 2 ribs of celery. Mince 5 cloves of garlic and 1/4 cup worth of flat-leaf Italian parsley. Heat a large pan to medium and add 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil and 1 pound of bulk Italian sausage and cook until the sausage is brown, breaking it up with a wooden spoon along the way. Once brown, remove the sausage with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- To the same pan, add the onions, carrots, and celery along with a pinch of salt and cook until the vegetables are soft and translucent, stirring along the way, about 12-15 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes or until fragrant.
- Add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste and cook for another 5 minutes while stirring. If the paste starts to burn, add a splash of water.
- Add 1 1/2 cups of low-sodium chicken stock, or homemade chicken stock, and bring to a boil scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to dislodge any brown bits.
- Add 24-ounces of cherry tomatoes, the softened dried beans (or 4 15-ounce cans of gigante or butter beans), 1 tablespoon of Greek oregano, and 1 teaspoon of dried thyme and bring back to a boil.
- Once boiling, turn off the heat and pour the contents of the pan into a baking dish and cover with foil. Bake in the oven for 1 hour. Note: you can also bake it an oven-safe pan. In the pics I am using an oven-safe hard anodized pan.
- After 1 hour, remove the foil from the baking dish and if the beans are at all dry, add 1/2 to 1 cup of stock or water.
- Add 3/4 cup of feta cheese and bake for another 30 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from the oven and add the parsley and 2 teaspoons of lemon zest. Taste test and adjust salt and pepper if needed. Serve the Greek sausage and beans with warmed pitas, more feta, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Enjoy!
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Greek Sausage and Beans
Greek Sausage and Beans is a hearty and flavorful dish that's easy to make and combines beans and sausage stewed with tomatoes and finished with feta, lemon, and fresh parsley.
Ingredients
- 1 pound (454g) dried gigantes beans or butter beans soaked overnight or 4 15-ounce cans
- 1/2 cup (120ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound (454g) bulk Italian sausage
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 large carrot chopped
- 2 ribs celery chopped
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 24 ounces cherry tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon dried Greek oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 1/2 cups (360ml) low-sodium chicken stock
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3/4 cup (110g) feta cheese plus more for serving
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1/4 cup minced flat-leaf Italian parsley
Instructions
- Place the presoaked beans in a large pot and fill with water. Bring the beans to a boil then lower the heat to a moderate simmer. Once the beans are almost tender, drain in a colander and set aside. Note: Skip this step if using canned beans.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Heat a large pot to medium with the olive oil. Add the sausage and cook until brown while breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Once brown, remove the sausage with a slotted spoon to a plate and set aside.
- Add the onions, carrots, and celery to the pot along with a pinch of salt. Cook until the vegetables are soft and translucent (12-15 minutes) then add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the tomato paste and cook for another 5 minutes while stirring. If the paste starts to burn, add a splash of water or stock.
- Add the chicken stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to remove any brown bits. Add the tomatoes, beans, sausage, oregano, and thyme and bring back to a boil. Once boiling turn off the heat and pour the pot into a baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour remove the foil from the baking dish. If the beans are dry, add a 1/2-1 cup of stock or water. Add the feta cheese. Bake for another 30 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Remove from the oven and mix in the lemon zest and parsley. Taste test and make final adjusmtents to salt and pepper. Serve with pita or crusty bread along with more feta and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Enjoy!
Notes
- Giagantic beans can be subbed with butter beans, cannellini, or great northern.
- Dried beans should be soaked overnight and then cooked until almost tender before using. 4 15-ounce canned beans can be subbed for 1 pound of dried beans.
- Feta can be baked during the last 30 minutes or served at the table.
- Leftovers can be saved in the fridge for up to 3 days and can be reheated in the microwave or oven.
Nutrition
Calories: 761kcal | Carbohydrates: 56.8g | Protein: 37.2g | Fat: 44.5g | Saturated Fat: 12.2g | Cholesterol: 78mg | Sodium: 837mg | Fiber: 21.5g | Sugar: 8.2g | Calcium: 230mg | Iron: 9mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Tasty recipe. It’s actually better the next days as is often the case with stew-like dishes. Next time I’ll make this on my Cuisinart slow cooker to make it a one-pot meal.
So happy you enjoyed, Mark!
Another 5 star recipe, thank you Jim and Tara. From your Deli Tuna to Coq au Vin, you have made me a decent cook and I know this because my wife has enjoyed everything that I have made! I used cannellini beans and turkey Italian sausage and it was delicious. Although I did miss not being able to watch a video of you making the dish (always enjoyable) the recipe instructions were efficient and easy to follow. Keep up the excellent work 🙂
We’re so happy to hear that, John! Jim may do a video for this one soon but we wanted to get the print version up.
Amazing dish! Thank you so much for sharing. So easy, and makes a lot.
We’re so happy you enjoyed!
Saw this in the morning, and made it for dinner. Delicious!!!!
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Mark!
Can’t wait to make this, I use Gigandes beans often as I’m from a Greek family. When I lived on Long Island I recall they were fairly easy to get but now in Florida I get them online from two sources. Rancho Gordo sells Royal Corona beans,they import them from Europe and are very close to size and texture to Greek Gigandes. I also get Gigandes from Diane Kochilas’ web site, terrific Gigandes. I make your escarole and bean soup using the Gigandes. I am anxious to spiff things up using this new recipe with sausage. Thank you for your continued terrific recipes. Next up will be treating friends to dinner using your recipe for Italian stuffed pork roast. YUM