beans – College Cooking with Celia

I made this pasta for dinner on Tuesday night and let me just tell you, it was delicious. Plenty of protein, a little spice, and so quick and easy (ready in 15 minutes!!). Which was especially good because I was a little hangry when I got home that night after my club meeting (big apologies to my roommate <3)

This pasta was another round of improvising with what I had: a can of tuna, a can of Cannelini beans, crushed tomatoes, and pasta. This would be just as delicious if you added more veggies to it too! Just cook with the tuna and beans before you add the tomatoes 🙂

A short post today, but leave any requests or suggestions below! I’m always looking for new recipes to try.

Tuna and White Bean Pasta

Serves: 2-3

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 pound of pasta (I made this with farfalle, but any short pasta will work great)
1 can of white albacore tuna
1 can of Cannelini beans
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Salt
Pepper
Red pepper flakes
About half a cup of crushed tomatoes
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Bring a pot of water up to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions
Add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a sauce or frying pan over medium heat. Add the tuna and break up into small chunks.
Add the can of beans as well as the garlic, and the salt, pepper, and red pepper to taste.
Cook until warm, about 5-7 minutes.
Add the crushed tomatoes, and about 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, and cook until bubbling, about 7-8 minutes.
Serve sauce over pasta with parmesan cheese!

Some days I get home and I have a sum total of 20 minutes to eat dinner before I have to go off to club meetings or band rehearsals or study sessions. On days like this it’s tempting to just pick up takeout, but that gets expensive quickly and it rarely the healthiest option.

On these days, I have one recipe that’s my go to. It literally takes 5 minutes to make and it’s super healthy and super delicious. It’s my Tuna and Bean Salad. When I first moved into my apartment and was grocery shopping with my mom, she told me that this is something my dad made a lot and it’s great because it’s cheap, quick, and easy. As a busy college kid I was immediately on board, so thanks mom and dad 🙂

This is another recipe (there’s clearly a theme here) where you really just use what you have. I always have canned tuna in my pantry, which is my starting point. Usually I’ll use Cannelini beans, but the ALDI where I grocery shop didn’t have any, so I bought garbanzo beans instead. What you do past that is up to you! This is delicious with diced bell pepper or cucumber, and sometimes I even mix it with pasta, but this time around I decided to just put the beans and tuna over spinach.

However you decide to make this, it’s a wicked easy, filling, and delicious lunch or dinner that has very quickly become a go to.

Tuna and Bean Salad

Cook time: 5 minutes

Serves: 2 (perfect to bring for lunch the next day!)

Ingredients

1 can of solid white albacore tuna

1 can of beans, drained (Cannelini or garbanzo are best)

Olive oil

Salt

Garlic powder

Red pepper flakes

Spinach

Instructions

In a medium bowl, break up the tuna into small chunks with a fork
Add the can of beans (and any other diced vegetables you decide to add)
Drizzle with about 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, or until moist
Season with plenty of salt and red pepper, and garlic powder (be careful with the garlic powder, it’s super potent so a little goes a long way).
Top spinach (or pasta or rice) with half the tuna mixture and serve