Delicious Ways To Add Canned Beans To Your Breakfast

Most Americans cringe at the thought of having beans with their breakfast. But for those who have traveled outside of the U.S. or have friends and family who have shared different cultures with them — they know the true magic of beans at breakfast.

There are many cultures that commonly eat beans with their breakfasts. The most well known is the United Kingdom, as their classic breakfast famously includes baked beans. Princess Diana was even known to request Heinz Baked Beans multiple times a week for breakfast. Other parts of the world where you would see breakfast beans commonly served are New Zealand, Mexico, parts of the Middle East, South and Central America, and some countries in Africa.

Many people are confused why Americans generally don't eat beans on toast. There has even been some funny discourse about it on TikTok, where particularly the Brits find it a bit of a shock. Generally, our cuisines aren't that different. How did we deviate so far for breakfast?

Well, here's your sign to give it a try. Using canned beans makes recipes quick and easy, and there are so many varieties that you can pick up at the grocery store. They are also usually very affordable, costing between $1 to $3 per can. Beans offer great nutritional value that can get your day started on the right foot, and can add some great flavor to a dish.

Some people love a simple breakfast that doesn't take up too much time in the morning to prepare. Originally made popular in 1927 by the Heinz company itself, it is now a traditional UK breakfast.

It's quite simple. Start by toasting your bread of choice. Plain white bread is how the meal is traditionally done, but you can truly use any kind. Sourdough is a great option because it's usually a bit thicker and can hold more beans. Next, slather that toast in butter. For a classic UK recipe, you'll want to use one of the Brits' favorite butters – Kerrygold. It's an Irish butter, but was originally sold in and around the United Kingdom.

After your toast is ready, it's time for the star of the show. For the beans, the classic type to use is Heinz Beans. If you grab a can of those, they are already baked and doused in a traditional tomato sauce. You can use any type of baked bean can, as there is a variety of sauces to change up the flavor. A popular choice for an American to use would be Bush's Baked Beans. Its Brown Sugar Hickory flavor would taste great on a piece of buttery toast. After you load your beans on top of each piece of toast, you're all set. Take a nice bite and enjoy!

This recipe comes from way across the world in New Zealand. Similar to Australians, New Zealanders are big about breakfast, or "brekkie," as they call it. They take beans on toast to a different level with a baked beans and cheese toastie.

"We love our baked beans here in New Zealand! My favourite way to have them is definitely in a toasted sandwich (with a deep pocket inside to fit all the good stuff), baked beans, cheese and a good slather of butter and toasted till crispy," shared John Tetley-Jones, native New Zealander and ancestor to the famous Tetley Tea.

You can make your sandwich in the same way that you make a grilled cheese, and just cook it right on your stovetop. If you have a sandwich press, that may work even better by solidifying the beans into the sandwich and really pressing it together. That way, you might have less of a mess eating it. If you don't have a sandwich press, don't stress! It'll taste just as good if it's cooked on the stove.

A way to add even more flavor to the recipe would be to spread Worcestershire sauce over the beans. You could also added bacon, really making the meal extra filling. These extras aren't necessary for a delicious toastie, but go ahead and give it a whirl!

Many Americans who travel to Ireland have no idea what ingredients are in their "full breakfast." Many expect it to be similar to a breakfast back in the U.S., like a simple plate filled with eggs, toast, and bacon. Many Irish restaurants don't list the ingredients on their menus, as it's such a common dish. You may be surprised to see a huge heap of beans on a plate sitting next to unidentifiable rounds of what is maybe meat or bread. Other ingredients will be familiar, like fried eggs, bacon, tomatoes, and mushrooms. 

The Irish breakfast is usually done with a can of Heinz baked beans. If you're making it at home, that's quite a simple step: After you secure the beans, all you have to do is fry up a few eggs and some bacon, sauté your white-button mushrooms, cut up a few pieces of tomatoes, then toast and butter your bread of choice.

Now, as for the mystery bread or sausage rounds that are served in Ireland — those are what the Irish call black or white pudding. White pudding is made with oatmeal and animal fat. Black pudding is made with animal blood and a filler like oatmeal. They come in sausage form that are cut into round pieces, and are cooked on the stove like regular sausage. If you want to skip adding these two ingredients to your plate, we don't blame you; if you like the taste, we're not judging, either.

If you love a savory breakfast, you're going to want to try this recipe. At the core, it's a mixture of all of the best savory breakfast items thrown into a bowl. It's also a great breakfast that you can meal prep, which can make early mornings just a little bit easier.

To start, you'll want to roast up some potatoes. Cut them into little cubes, douse in olive oil, salt, pepper, and throw it into the oven. Cook them at 475 degrees Fahrenheit for about 35 minutes (mixing around every so often), and you're set! While they're cooking, you can cook up some hard-boiled eggs. These are the two items that you can meal prep, saving you time in the morning.

The next ingredients are easy to throw in. In a bowl, place the potatoes and cut up some hard-boiled egg. Then layer some canned beans on top. You can really go in any direction when it comes to your bean choice here. Black beans are popular for a dish like this, but baked beans and garbanzo beans will taste great as well. Next, cut up some tomatoes and throw them in. Sprinkle on your favorite cheese (Mexican blend cheese never fails) and drizzle Frank's Hot Sauce on top. Mix it all together, and you've got a delicious, savory breakfast that'll fill you right up.

If you're vegan, or looking to get more veggies into your diet, we have a great vegan recipe that gets you to have multiple servings of vegetables with your breakfast. It's not an easy feat to start the day strong with veggies, but if you find a recipe you enjoy, it makes it a lot easier.

This recipe includes black beans, potatoes, bell peppers, spinach, zucchini, yellow squash, and mushrooms. With everything chopped up together, and the beans replacing meat, it makes a delicious veggie breakfast hash. With the base ingredients, you can add things to make the dish your own as well. You can conveniently make the entire dish with a skillet — so start by getting those potatoes sizzling! Once they're cooked, you can add the other ingredients except the spinach and the beans — wait to add those for the last 3-4 minutes of cooking.

Some great seasonings that'll enhance the hash is onion, garlic, paprika, and chili flakes. You could also top it with avocado and salsa, which will make it even more delicious. To add a bit more protein, you could mix in some high protein plant-based yogurt, like Siggi's or Kite Hill.

Shakshuka is a dish that originally came from Northern Africa, but is now incredibly popular in Israel. It's served at many types of restaurants and diners in the U.S., too. If you haven't had it before, it's a delicious meal, often served in a skillet, with poached eggs served in a tomato sauce. People serve this dish in many different variations, but we will share our favorite version with you.

First, you'll need the following ingredients assembled: four to six eggs, a can of white beans (cannellini beans would be perfect), diced tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, cumin, coriander, fennel, and paprika. In your skillet, you should start by sautéing the vegetables. Once they've been cooking for a few minutes, you can go ahead and sprinkle in the spices to your liking.

The next step is the most visually pleasing part. On top of the veggie mixture, layer the can of beans and mix it together. Then, you're going to crack your eggs strategically on top of the veggie bean mixture, placing them around so they have room between each other. After the egg whites turn solid, its time to throw your skillet into the oven. About 8 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit should do the job. Once you remove it, top it with a generous amount of feta cheese. Let it cool, and enjoy!

Breakfast burritos are a beloved breakfast staple. They pack tons of nutrients and can be incredibly tasty if you make them right. Surprisingly, the dish didn't pick up popularity until around the '70s, when a restaurant in New Mexico decided to put it on a menu.

Breakfast burritos can be made many different ways, but the two ingredients that usually stay consistent are eggs and a tortilla. Average, non-breakfast burritos are usually filled with various types of beans — but not all breakfast burritos have them. Adding beans to this delicious breakfast will give you more protein and carbohydrates to get your day going, plus it'll add flavor that you didn't know you needed.

Start your breakfast burrito how you usually would, with a tortilla and some cooked scrambled eggs. Next, grab a can of black beans. Rinse them thoroughly and pour a generous amount on top of the eggs. If you want your burrito to be a bit spicy, you can add some hot sauce or salsa. After that, top with your shredded cheese of choice and some sliced avocado to cool it down. Wrap it up nice and tight, and enjoy.

When people think of Greek food, they usually think of lots of meats, like chicken souvlaki, goat, or lamb. What may surprise you is that beans are a large part of their diet. Usually eaten for lunch or dinner, there are many popular recipes that are commonly eaten by the Greeks. One popular dish, called Gigantes Plaki, is Greek version of baked beans.

Now, when it comes to beans at breakfast, that's not really a common thing we see within the Greek culture. However — just like we've seen how easy it is to add beans to common American breakfasts, we thought, why not do it with a common Greek meal too?

For this recipe, you'll need a can of large white beans (butter or cannellini will be perfect), tomatoes, a chopped onion, minced garlic, olive oil, parsley, feta cheese, and an egg cooked over easy. Rinse the beans and heat them up on the stove. Immediately add the garlic, onion, parsley, and tomatoes. Once the tomatoes are nice and soft and have started to mix with the rest of the ingredients, take the dish off of the stove and put everything into a bowl. Lay your over-easy egg on top, and sprinkle with feta cheese, and enjoy.

Making your own breakfast skillet at home can feel like you're a gourmet chef. It's also a great way to make a big breakfast for your family, with little clean-up needed. There are many ways to make a breakfast skillet — so it really is up to you and your taste buds what kind of ingredients you want to throw in. For this skillet that we'll share, we decided to go with a Mexican influence.

You'll need a large can of rinsed black beans, five eggs, a large can of diced tomatoes, cumin, shredded Mexican cheese, and salsa. Start by putting the black beans, tomatoes, and cumin in your skillet on the stove. Continue mixing them on medium heat and cook until the tomato juice is almost gone — this will take approximately 10 minutes. After that, create five small pockets in the bean mixture and crack your eggs into them. Then bake for about 5 minutes in the oven at 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once the skillet is ready, take it out, and sprinkle with the shredded cheese right away so it melts nicely on top. Serve with salsa and a drizzle of plain yogurt to cool it down. This should serve about 4-5 people, and can be an incredibly filling breakfast.

Cottage cheese has really become the it-girl lately. People are putting cottage cheese in everything — pasta sauce, scrambled eggs, a dip, or even using it in place of pizza crust. This is mostly thanks to creators on TikTok, who have taken the idea and run with it. They have good reason, because not only does it taste delicious with many types of meals, but it's also a great way to get more protein into your diet.

Now, let's take the popular ingredient cottage cheese and pair it with some beans for a delicious, hearty breakfast tostada. A tostada is basically an open-faced taco, made with a fried corn tortilla as the base. For this specific recipe, you'll need corn tortillas, eggs, a can of refried beans, cottage cheese, and an avocado. Start by scrambling your eggs and frying the corn tortillas on a skillet.

Once the tortillas are nice and sturdy, you're ready to put together the dish. On a large plate, take two or three tortillas and lay them down. Spread the refried beans generously all over each tortilla. From there, you can spread a thick layer of the cottage cheese right on top. Next, place the scrambled eggs and a few pieces of avocado on top. Finish with a drizzle of hot sauce.

If you've never been to New Jersey, you probably don't know what pork roll is. It is a staple at any bagel place in New Jersey, to the point where "porkrolleggandcheese" is practically considered a real word. Also known as Taylor Ham in parts of Northern Jersey, this meat is a processed type of pork packaged in tube-like casing. You slice it (kind of like deli meat) and cook it like you'd cook bacon on the stove.

A common way to eat pork roll is on a bagel with fried eggs and cheese. Many restaurants around New Jersey get creative with pork roll and serve it on top of hamburgers, in omelets, or plain with cheese. Another great option is to pair pork roll with refried beans. The smooth, creamy texture of the beans matched with the crunchy (if it's cooked right) pork roll is a match made in heaven.

We recommend trying this pairing on a bagel. Get any toasted bagel you'd like — this would taste great on sesame, poppy, or everything. Then spread a thick layer of refried beans on each slice of the bagel, and drizzle hot sauce onto the beans. On the bottom bagel piece, layer on three or four slices of pork roll. Then, while the pork roll is still hot, put a slice of American cheese on top. Place on top the other slice of the refried bean and hot sauce bagel, and you're set for breakfast.