When you purchase a jar of Randall Great Northern Beans or Randall Pinto Beans, what you’re actually buying is potential. With that jar and some imagination, you can make a nearly limitless number of delicious, healthy meals quickly and easily.
When your meal preparation creativity runs dry, you may be wondering how to turn what seems like a plain jar of beans into a memorable meal for you and your family. You can always turn to the tried-and-true ideas that our customers love!
Here are some of the best Randall Beans food pairings we’ve found.
1. Seasonings
By default, you’ll want to add pepper to most dishes you make. Randall Great Northern Beans and Randall Pinto Beans already have the perfect amount of salt added—you can eat them straight from the jar! There are many types of pepper you can add, including black pepper, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, and even fresh hot peppers from your garden. The choice is yours.
If you’ve ever heard the cooking advice to use “salt, acid, fat, and heat” in your dishes, you can probably guess the next seasonings we’re about to recommend. Great sources of fat include bacon, beef (including ground beef), and fatty parts of ham such as the hock. The acid can come from lemon juice, tomato juice, vinegar, or your choice of other acidic foods.
In addition to these pillars, you can always add items such as these for extra flavor:
• Garlic
• Sage
• Rosemary
• Cumin
• Onions
• Broth
• Tomato paste
• Anchovy paste
• Liquid smoke
• Smoked ham
2. Stock
The best stock for your needs will depend on whether you’re cooking with Randall Great Northern Beans or Randall Pinto Beans.
Randall Pinto Beans work best with beef or chicken stock, depending on whether you’re preparing beef or chicken as part of the meal. Randall Great Northern Beans pair best with chicken or vegetable stock, and you can often get away with using either even if the rest of your recipe doesn’t contain chicken or vegetables.
3. Cornbread
A southern classic, cornbread pairs especially well with both Randall Pinto Beans and Randall Great Northern Beans. The slightly nutty, sweet flavor of the beans meshes perfectly with the flavors of traditional southern or Mexican cornbread, and the protein and fiber of the beans balance out the carbohydrates of the bread. You could say it’s a match made in heaven. To spice things up, try jalapeno cheddar cornbread or another fun variation.
4. Pork, ham, and bacon
Pork and beans, ham and bean soup, and baked beans with bacon are all testaments to the fact that pork products pair exceptionally well with beans. You can chop or dice the pork into pieces and stir it into the beans, serve the beans as a side to a juicy, delicious pork chop, or use any other interesting combinations you can think of, such as this Dr. Pepper glazed ham recipe.
5. Barbecue classics
There’s a good reason baked beans feature heavily in backyard barbecues. They just naturally fit alongside hamburgers, hot dogs, ribs, mac and cheese, cole slaw, and fruit salad.
The good news is, you can easily recreate the flavors of a summer night out on the lawn. Even on busy work nights in January, you can still use a jar or two of Randall Great Northern Beans or Randall Pinto Beans in the baked bean recipe of your choice and serve it alongside one of the barbecue classics mentioned above.
6. Fried chicken
There’s just something about Randall Pinto Beans paired with fried chicken that makes us think of laid-back summer nights in the south. Beans and chicken are both lean proteins on their own, so don’t be afraid to experiment with adding fats to the beans for flavor. Add a light salad or fresh vegetables on the side and it’s dinner time.
7. Rice
Rice and beans are comfort foods, they’re inexpensive kitchen staples, and together they provide a well-balanced meal of lean protein and carbs. But there’s no need to think of this historical classic as boring when rice recipes such as Texas Roadhouse Seasoned Rice and this fresh take on rice pilaf exist. Plus, these side dishes pair exceptionally well with a traditional meal of rice and beans.
8. Pot roast
Can you think of a heartier, more protein-rich meal than a pot roast with Randall Pinto Beans? You’d be hard-pressed to find one. If you have a crockpot or a similar slow cooker, you can toss everything into it in the morning and come home to a house that smells like a delicious, ready-to-eat dinner.
9. Greek salad
If you feel like you’re stuck in a “southern-style” rut with your bean recipes, why not add a Mediterranean twist? Add Randall Great Northern Beans to a traditional Greek salad, which usually includes fresh greens and produce such as tomatoes, olives (kalamata olives are traditional, but you can also use black or green olives), cucumbers, and peperoncino. Add a homemade lemon-garlic-dijon vinaigrette and top with feta cheese. Your taste buds will shout for joy!
10. Cucumber salad
If feta isn’t your style but you’d still like a light and fresh accompaniment to your bean entree, a cucumber salad could be what you’re looking for. A great thing about cucumber salad is there’s no right or wrong way to make it. You can customize it with seasonings and sauces to mesh with whatever your main course might be.
11. Mashed potatoes
Pairing potatoes with a main meal of beans might not sound intuitive, but if you give it a try, you’ll understand why mashed potatoes have made our list of the best Randall Beans food pairings. Swapping garlic and spices in place of gravy in your mashed potatoes will also add a pop of flavor next to a meal of pork and beans or beans and veggies.
12. Cajun-roasted vegetables
When you’re short on time but you don’t want to compromise on nutrition or flavor, try cajun seasoning on a simple bowl of roasted vegetables mixed with Randall Great Northern Beans or Randall Pinto Beans. You’ll be filling up on lean protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals as soon as your veggies finish roasting. Classic choices include peppers, brussel sprouts, onions, and asparagus, but you can easily customize your choices to your own tastes.
13. Quesadillas
Picture Randall Pinto Beans dripping with cheese and toppings and sandwiched between two crispy, hot layers of tortilla. If your mouth is watering already, you can use this recipe to put pinto bean quesadillas on the table in under half an hour.
14. Vegetables and quinoa
If a heavy meal doesn’t sound appealing but you still want to feel satisfied and nourish your body with plenty of healthy veggies and protein, you can’t go wrong with roasted vegetables and quinoa. You can stir Randall Great Northern Beans into the mixture for an extra pop of creamy texture or serve your veggies and quinoa as a side to a larger bean dish. If you really want to make this meal your own, feel free to play around with the spices and vegetable combinations.
15. Creamed spinach
Creamed spinach is another dish that doesn’t usually pop to mind when you think of Randall Pinto Beans or Randall Great Northern Beans. However, creamed spinach packs plenty of nutrition and flavor into a side dish that you could easily serve alongside ham and bean soup or a bean and rice dish.
16. Okra
Perhaps you prefer traditional fried okra, or maybe you’re in the mood for something new, such as this recipe for okra jalapeno fritters. Either way, you’ll be delighted to know that okra pairs beautifully with most southern-style Randall Pinto Bean or Randall Great Northern Bean dishes.
17. Desserts
Once you’ve prepared and enjoyed a tasty, protein-packed meal using Randall Pinto Beans or Randall Great Northern Beans, what’s for dessert? We recommend something along the lines of these baked cinnamon apples, southern banana pudding, or carrot cake. These options all contain fruits and vegetables, so we believe they technically could appear on the dinner table alongside the main course.
