Beans are an extremely versatile food product. With over varieties of beans, the skies the limit on what you can make with beans. For the longest time, beans have been associated with side dishes, casseroles, and chili, but rarely as a snack. This is unfortunate because there a ton of snacks you can make using beans.

Arguably the most popular bean snack is hummus. Made using chickpeas, hummus is a Middle Eastern dip eaten with bread or vegetables. Chickpeas by themselves can be transformed into a healthy and delicious snack with a little seasoning and roasting.

High in fiber and protein, roasted chickpeas are one of the best energy snacks you can eat. Beyond hummus, bean snacks come in all shapes and sizes.

From sweet dessert black bean snacks to battered and fried green bean snacks, there are many snack options to choose from. Best of all, most bean snack recipes require only a few ingredients and are super easy to make. Looking for more chickpea snacks? Check out our recommendations for the Best Chickpea Snacks.

Or, check out our recommendations for The Best Healthy Bean Recipes. Increasingly, we are looking for more ways to include healthy and sustainable foods into our diets. Traditional snack foods like chocolate bars, cookies, and chips, are loaded with sugar and artificial flavorings.

Making snacks using beans not only provides needed vitamins and minerals, but beans are a highly sustainable food source. Looking for more healthy snacks? Check out our Vegetarian Zucchini And Lentil Fritters recipe.

Some of the benefits of beans comes from them being great sources of fiber and protein. Fiber helps regulate our digestive system making beans one of the best snacks for IBS.

Research has shown that beans are a great source of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents. A heart-healthy food, beans have been shown to help reduce cholesterol and control appetite. All of these benefits make it easy to understand why making your own bean snacks instead of resorting to store-bought snacks is the right choice for good health.

They are a way to keep kids happy without the extra salt, fat, and sugar that comes with typical snacks for kids. We make some dessert hummus recipes, like snickerdoodle hummus , which are great to sneak protein to kids when they least expect it.

Our list includes both sweet and savory snacks, for every budget and with dietary restrictions taken into consideration. We offer recommendations for black bean snacks, roasted bean snacks like a protein-packed trail mix, and even a green bean snack. Here are our recommendations for fabulous bean snack recipes that are easy to make and delicious.

With over varieties of beans to choose from, we have tried to include a wide range of bean types. As we find and test out new recipes, we will continue to update.

Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed. Looking for an alternative to fried chicken wings? This buffalo hummus recipe is a more heart-healthy alternative, even with a little guilty-pleasure blue cheese. Hummus isn't limited to chickpeas.

This black bean hummus recipe is a great alternative and a perfect pairing for fresh veggies. It's one of our go-to black bean snacks. Healthy and delicious homemade falafel with a crisp outside and a succulent herb inside. This easy to make fava bean snack can be baked or cooked in an air-fryer.

This is one of the most classic fava bean snacks. This Best 7 Layer Dip recipe combines lots of southwestern flavors into one unbeatable appetizer. When you are getting ready for your next get together, make sure you include this easy dip recipe.

Gluten-free Parmesan and Garlic White Bean Patties feature the flavors of white beans, garlic, rosemary, and olive oil in little nibbles that are perfect for a party or picnic. Protein dense white bean crackers are crunchy, savory, and delicious!

Perfect for munching or dipping with hummus. These creamy vegan black bean taquitos are fabulously delicious and so fun to make! Perfectly crispy and chewy, you can bake them in the oven for a healthier take on traditional recipes or pan-fry them for a delicious black bean snack!

Do you have a favorite family bean recipe? Something everyone gobbles up happily? A soup or chili perhaps? A casserole or salad?

A bean-based dessert? If recipes like Fiesta Lime Black Bean Salsa, Cheddar Black Bean Burgers, and Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough sound like something your kids and families would love, then read on and enjoy the offerings in this bean-tastic roundup.

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we shop, cook, and eat. Most of us are cooking a lot more at home these days, and the shared family meals we once struggled to schedule each night, have become a new normal in many households.

I see the increase in shared family meals as a silver lining. People are more focused than ever before on their food budgets, and affordable and accessible pantry staples including beans of every stripe—pinto, chickpea, black, cannellini, kidney—have become the new mealtime superstars.

Click To Tweet. Want to learn more about beans? Fiesta Lime Black Bean Salsa by Josten at Muscle And Manna shown above. Healthy and Simple Black Bean Dip by Melissa Mitri. Homemade Hummus Without Tahini by Melissa at Fad Free Nutrition.

Vegan Black-Eyed Pea Dip with Avocado by Ginger at Champagne Nutrition. Tex-Mex Layered Dip by Rosanne at Rust Nutrition. Ensalada de Garbanzo by Sarah at Sarah Pflugradt Nutrition.

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Vegetarian Chili by Meg at Mostly Balanced. Vegetarian Southwest Quinoa Casserole by Megan at The Oregon Dietitian.

Mexican Lasagna with Black Beans by Melissa at Melissa Traub. Cheddar Black Bean Burgers by Ann at Peas And Hoppiness. Loaded Southwest Sweet Potatoes by Karman at The Nutrition Adventure. Mushroom Black Bean Veggie Burger by Kara Lydon shown above.

Instant Pot Chana Masala by Grace at First Bites Nutrition. One-Pan Sweet Potato and Black Bean Quesadillas by Chelsea at Chelsea Dishes shown above. Roasted Cauliflower and White Bean Tacos by Jenny at My Cape Cod Kitchen.

Vegetarian Tostadas by Lexi at To Taste.

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Amy Whiteford runs the blog Healthy Little Foodies. She is a mum to two, has a BSc Hons Food Science, PGDE Primary Education and a Certificate in Childhood Nutrition.

She uses her experience and knowledge to create healthy and delicious recipes for kids. Explore the site for creative ideas, tips, and inspiration! Read more. Receive family friendly recipes, delivered weekly to your inbox, for FREE! And receive this FREE ebook - "How to Raise a Healthy Little Foodie".

Another AMAZING recipe -- thanks, Amy! My daughter loves these and so do I. I had to restrain myself from eating all of them. Hi, would this recipe work without courgette? I'm thinking of adding peas instead. My fussy toddler loves your recipes so I'm going to give this a try today! Hi, in your Ingredients section, you list egg twice in the coating ingredients, but do not list eggs with the nugget ingredients.

The post says to add an egg to the nugget mixture in the food processor. Is one of the eggs listed under the coating ingredients meant to be listed with the nugget mixture?

Really excited to try this recipe! Hi Amy, thanks for picking that up. Yes, you are correct, I must have moved it to the wrong section by mistake. Thank you and I hope you enjoy them. Hi Bec, yes you can freeze them either before or after baking.

Freeze on a baking tray until solid. Once solid transfer to a freezer bag and store for up to 2 months. Love this recipe! So tasty and easy to make! Yummy also for adults. And receive a FREE ebook - "How to Raise a Healthy Little Foodie". Skip to primary navigation Skip to baby navigation Skip to header navigation Skip to privacy navigation Skip to recipe navigation Skip to main content Skip to primary sidebar New?

Start Here About Work with Me Contact. Free ebook. Recipe Index Learn Cooking with Kids Lunchboxes Baby. Join the Free Recipe Club Sign Up.

How do I store leftovers? Are these suitable for babies? What age are they suitable from? Vegetable Croquettes. Author: Amy. Delicious nuggets made from cannellini beans and veggies. A creamy centre with a crispy coating.

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes. Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes. Total Time: 35 minutes minutes. Serves: Print Recipe Pin Recipe.

Instructions Squeeze as much juice as you can from the grated carrots and zucchinis i use a clean tea towel to do this. Put the cannellini beans into a food processor and process until smooth. Add the carrots, zucchini, garlic, cheese and herbs and continue to process until combined.

Place the mixture into the fridge for approx. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Place the beaten egg in a bowl and the breadcrumbs on a flat plate. With wet hands, take 1 tablespoon of mixture and form a nugget I made mine round disks but you could also make them small tots.

Fortunately, most individuals with peanut or soy allergy are able to tolerate other legumes. Oral Allergy Syndrome typically results in short-lived itching, tingling, or burning in the mouth and is unlikely to result in a dangerous reaction.

As you would when introducing any new food, start by offering a small quantity for the first few servings. If there is no adverse reaction, gradually increase the quantity over future meals.

Undercooked beans can contain toxic compounds, such as phytohemagglutinin, that can lead to gastrointestinal upset and serious illness.

Kidney beans in particular contain high amounts of this toxin. Boiling the bean for a minimum of 10 minutes has been found to destroy these compounds, though it is recommended to boil for at least 30 minutes to make sure. Slow cookers such as Crock Pots are not recommended as a method for cooking kidney beans, since they often do not adequately get hot enough to break down the toxin.

No, although soaking dried kidney beans before cooking can help significantly reduce cooking time, as well as reduce the content of lectins and a gas-producing carbohydrate, raffinose, therefore making the bean easier to digest.

Here are a couple of soaking methods:. Overnight soak : Use a ratio of 1 lb g of dried beans and 10 c 2 ½ liter water, and soak the beans in water for 4 or more hours or overnight.

Drain and rinse the beans prior to cooking. Hot soak method : Use a ratio of 1 lb g of dried beans and 10 c 2 ½ liter water, and bring the mixture to a boil for minutes. Turn off the heat, then soak for a few hours. Beans are well-known for their ability to produce gas and poop. While gas is normal and expected, excess gas can be uncomfortable for baby.

Remember that pooping patterns can vary significantly from baby to baby. Every baby develops on their own timeline, and the suggestions on how to cut or prepare particular foods are generalizations for a broad audience.

Read More. Crush or blend cooked kidney beans into a textured mash or smooth paste. For added nutrition, stir in breast human milk, formula, olive oil , butter , or yogurt.

When introducing beans, start with a small amount and gradually increase portion sizes to minimize any digestive discomfort. Let baby scoop the mash or paste, and if help is needed, pre-load a spoon or thinly spread some mash on another food. Alternatively, share kidney beans from your chili, salad, or stew.

Simply pick out some of the beans and mash them for baby. Babies with a developing pincer grasp where the thumb meets the pointer finger may graduate to whole kidney beans that are fully cooked until soft and gently flattened.

Alternatively, continue serving mashed or pureed kidney beans. By this age, toddlers are typically able to handle whole kidney beans that are fully cooked until soft.

To encourage self-feeding with utensils, spear a kidney bean with an age-appropriate fork and lay the utensil next to the food for the child to try to pick up. If help is needed, pass the utensil in the air for the child to grab from you.

If serving a whole bean makes you nervous, continue to mash or flatten the beans. Sign up for weekly tips, recipes and more!

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