Bold Bean Co
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ALL ABOUT: THE QUEEN BORLOTTI BEAN
Here’s everything you need to know about the Queen Borlotti Bean – from what they taste like and where they come from, to their nutritional powers + the MOST DELICIOUS ways to cook with them. Whether you're looking to level up your pasta + salads, boost your fibre intake or just fall in love with a truly BEAUTIFUL bean – this guide is for you.
The Lowdown
Creamy, nutty and a little sweet – our Queen Borlotti Beans have a velvety texture that’s hard to beat. A bit larger in size than a cannellini bean, and with more bite than a soft butter bean, they have tender skins with a creamy interior and like with our entire range, we encourage you to eat these beans STRAIGHT FROM THE JAR to fully appreciate them in their FULL GLORY. You might recognise them better in their dried from, with their beautiful pink speckled skins. This skins fade when cooked, but their rich, earthy flavour remains the star of the show. They’re the ultimate stew bean. They soak up all the goodness in a ragù, Pasta E Fagioli, or tomatoey sauce – but they also stand up brilliantly in a zingy salad or sharing plate.
They’re sometimes confused with pinto beans – and while they do share a similar size + shape, borlotti beans (also known as cranberry beans) have a sweeter flavour and creamier interior. Think less mushy, more buttery.
Long beloved across Italy, you’ll find borlotti beans in everything from the CLASSIC pasta e fagioli to rustic casseroles. Harvested at the end of August when their flavour peaks, they’ve been a staple of Italian kitchens for centuries.
QUEEN BEANS
Where They Come From
Each bean we use is chosen for one reason: FLAVOUR.
Each bean variety is suited to different growing conditions, we source our beans from the best possible climate for each one. We also choose the best beans from the most recent harvest, meaning we have the FRESHEST beans, specially selected for quality and FLAVOUR.
Our borlotti beans are grown and harvested in the Piedmont region of Northern Italy, where the soil, sun and conditions are ideal for bringing out their natural sweetness and depth. We wait until late August to harvest them – right when the flavour hits its peak.
QUEEN BEANS
How we cook them
Once they reach our factories in Spain, they get poured into glass jars with just water + a pinch of salt. They are then cooked in the jars in a giant pressure cooker, and cooked low + slow. This method locks in flavour, keeps the skins intact, and gives you a bean that’s creamy, tender, and perfect to eat STRAIGHT FROM THE JAR. It also gives you that luscious, creamy “bean stock” - aka, the liquid in the jar. We season our beans throughout the cooking process like proper chefs do! Their natural flavour is then enhanced in a way you simply CAN'T replicate after.
Bog standard supermarket beans are heated up quickly, to a SUPER high temp, losing the banging beany flavour along the way.
We NEVER add anything artificial. No preservatives, no weird sulphites, just what you’d use at home: beans, water + salt.
Hungry for more?
Are they good for you?
ABSO-BEANY-LUTELY. Like all of our beans, borlotti beans are a nutritional powerhouse!
Per 100g, they offer around:
- Protein: ~7g | Fibre: ~6g | Calories: ~110 kcal | Iron: ~2mg
They’re packed with gut-loving fibre, slow-release carbs (great for our blood sugar), and plant protein to keep you feeling full and energised all afternoon. Add to that their natural richness in folate and potassium, and you’ve got a bean that does as much for your body as it does for your tastebuds!
HOW TO USE THEM – BEANSPO!
(That’s bean-inspiration, if you’re new here)
We always recommend trying them first with just a drizzle of good olive oil, and a little lemon zest to appreciate them in their true glory. But if you’re ready to start cooking, these are our favourite ideas.
After that? Visit our Top 10 Borlotti Bean Recipes
OUR FAVOURITE WAYS TO USE THEM
