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Vegetarian piccata with cannellini beans makes a quick, easy, super-satisfying meal. These smooth, creamy white beans pair beautifully with silky, savory piccata sauce.
Why we love this recipe
Vegetarian piccata takes a very good thing — a classic silky, lemony sauce studded with capers — and pairs it with creamy white beans. I’ve been making this meal once or twice a month for at least a decade, and it’s high time to share it. Our recipe:
- Uses just enough butter to make things delightful without overdoing it
- Amps up the flavor with shallot, garlic, and a little bit of pecorino
- Leans into the tanginess of caper brine and lemon juice
Plus, it’s make-ahead and freezer-friendly and easy to make vegan and gluten-free if you like.
What you’ll need
Here’s a glance at the ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe.
- Cannellini beans are also called white kidney beans. They’re mild, creamy, and fairly large. You can substitute any other white beans of your choice, or even chickpeas.
- Use capers in brine for this recipe. As compared to salt-packed capers, they’re less — though still plenty — salty and more vinegary. You’ll add them right to the pan, brine and all.
- Imagine No Chicken lower sodium is my favorite vegetable broth by far. If you don’t care about making this meal vegetarian, chicken broth works very well too.
How to make it
Here’s what you’ll do to make a beautiful pot of vegetarian piccata. You can see the steps in action in the video that accompanies this post, and get all the details in the recipe card below.
- Melt the butter and cook the shallot and garlic until softened. Then stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for one minute.
- Pour in the broth and capers. Bring to a boil, then simmer for five minutes.
- Stir in the beans and simmer five minutes more.
- Off the heat, stir in the pecorino and lemon juice.
Looking for chicken piccata?
If you’d like to make the classic version of this dish, you can find our extra-saucy chicken piccata right here.
Expert tips and FAQs
Piccata refers to the pounding flat of meat (often veal or chicken) or fish. In this classic Italian dish, the prepared protein is dredged in flour, browned in butter and olive oil, and then glossed with a buttery, lemony sauce studded with capers.
White beans make a beautiful vegetarian pairing with what we’ve come to think of as “piccata sauce.”
Sure thing. To make it vegan, use olive oil instead of butter and either omit the cheese or swap in vegan parmesan. To make it gluten-free, use a measure for measure gluten-free flour blend.
Absolutely. Make it anytime during the week and reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave. Once cool, leftovers keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to six months.
How to serve it
Cannellini beans piccata make a flexible vegetarian main dish and an equally good side dish for roast chicken or slow-roasted salmon. As a main dish, try serving it with:
- Rice (pictured) or noodles
- Broccolini or spinach (pictured)
More favorite white bean recipes
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Vegetarian Piccata with Cannellini Beans
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons (28 grams) butter
- 1 large shallot, minced
- 8 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons (15 grams) flour
- 2 ounces (57 grams) capers with their brine
- 1 ½ cups (355 ml) good vegetable broth
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 cans, 46.5 ounces (1318 grams) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup 1 ounce (28 grams) grated pecorino or parmesan cheese
- Juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a 12-inch frying pan. Add the shallot, garlic, and salt and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 3 minutes.
- Sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for one minute.
- Pour in the broth and capers, grind in some black pepper, and stir well to incorporate all the flour.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for five minutes.
- Stir in the beans and simmer for about five minutes more, until warmed through.
- Off the heat, stir in the pecorino and lemon juice. Serve warm.
Notes
- Cannellini beans are also called white kidney beans. They’re mild, creamy, fairly large white beans. You can substitute any other white beans of your choice, or even chickpeas.
- Use capers in brine for this recipe. As compared to salt-packed capers, they’re less — though still plenty — salty and more vinegary. You’ll add the right to the pan, brine, too.
- Imagine No Chicken lower sodium is my favorite vegetable broth by far. If you don’t care about making this meal vegetarian, chicken broth works very well too.
- If you’d like to make this recipe vegan and dairy-free, you can swap in olive oil for the butter and omit the cheese (or use vegan parmesan). To make it gluten-free, use a measure for measure gluten-free flour blend
- You can make this recipe in advance and reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave. Leftovers will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, or freeze for up to six months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Just outstanding. This is so simple, I was able to pull it together on my lunchbreak with ingredients already in my pantry. This is my favorite type of comfort food.
For reference, I served it over brown rice with a side of broccoli. And I barely used any parmesan, I’ll probably omit it next time because it just doesn’t need it.
Woohoo! So glad you enjoyed it, Jenna. Thank you for the comment.
I LOVE this recipe and make it almost weekly. Thank you so much!! <3
Thank you, Gina! I’m so glad.
I love this – quick, easy, tasty! I use vegan butter, skip the cheese and also the lemon if I don’t have it and it’s always great.
This is amazing! Cutting down on meat meals and found your recipe on Pinterest, a combination of everything I love, delicious! I would omit the salt altogether otherwise followed exactly. Truly addicting! Thank you so much for sharing.
Thanks, Sheila! So glad.
Hi Carolyn, I just made this for the umpteenth time and feel the need to thank you again (that’s me in the previous comment) for this fabulous recipe. I love serving it with an egg and a couple of slices of toasted baguette for the perfect breakfast/lunch/dinner. You are forever in my kitchen. <3
Pat, thank you so much. That’s why I do this work. Really appreciate your taking the time to come back and share. xx
This recipe is my idea of the perfect comfort food. Lemon is absolutely my favourite flavour, and I may have added more than the recipe calls for. Other changes I made were to use vegan Parmesan, because regular Parmesan has rennet, which is not vegetarian. Also, inspired by your photo of a side of spinach, I added spinach to the simmering beans and it wa not only delicious, but pretty to look at. I you wanted to put more effort into this dish, which it certaily doesn’t require to be fantastic, a topping of crispy Panko crumbs mixed with butter, cheese and maybe garlic (powder or sauteed fresh) would be lovely as well. Thanks for a great recipe!
Love this, Vivian! Thank you for sharing, and so glad you liked the recipe.
For the benefit of others who may have questions: If you’re looking for a vegetarian parmesan that isn’t vegan (i.e. a cow’s milk parmesan), it’s totally possible to find brands that don’t use animal rennet.
This recipe is nothing short of fabulous! Made it with Romano bans because that’s that I had and it was amazing. Then I had it for breakfast and lunch with an egg on top because….why not? I love the fact that one can of beans makes four or five fabulously flavourful meals. Thanks so much for this keeper.
Wonderful, Pat! Thanks so much. That’s how I feel, too.