It’s the end of a long day, and you need to get some dinner on the table fast with as little fuss as possible. Where do you turn? If you’re like a lot of us, fast food is your go-to for nights like these; it’s quick, it’s easy and it tastes good. Perhaps that’s why, from 2013 to 2016, about a third of U.S. Americans ate fast food on any given day.
These days, though, fast food prices aren’t what they used to be. CBS News reports that the cost of fast food rose by 13% in 2022 alone, making what used to be cheap meals markedly less affordable for regular consumption. And with fast food consumption linked to a slew of lifestyle diseases, it’s probably for the best that we’re not eating it on the regular anyway. Add in the fact that fast food workers are often subject to poverty wages, and it becomes even less appealing.
For many who depend on fast food to feed themselves, though, regularly cooking meals from scratch isn’t always an option. If you don’t have access to a full kitchen, nutritious, accessible ingredients or just enough time to prepare food, it can feel like feeding yourself without fast food is nearly impossible.
But I’m here to preach the gospel of the canned bean. It’s nothing new or groundbreaking; I’m obviously not the first to suggest that beans are a nutritious and budget-friendly option for those looking to reduce their grocery bill while still filling their stomachs. That being said, I still feel like canned beans are too often overlooked, relegated to the back of the pantry behind all the stuff you actually want to eat. Canned beans can be an afterthought, a sad, unseasoned side dish that everyone picks around at dinner. But treating canned beans in such a manner is doing them a disservice.
Canned beans are fast food at their finest. They require essentially no prep work: You can literally eat the beans straight from the can or add them to a recipe without even worrying about cooking them beforehand. Seasoning them can be as easy or as involved as you want it to be, but ultimately, you’re not going to have to spend a ton of time preparing canned beans of any kind. This is useful for those who just don’t have the time and energy to prepare a meal from scratch; microwaving some rice and plopping canned beans on top guarantees a healthy, potentially flavorful meal that can be prepared in less time than it takes to get through the drive-thru.
Blessedly, canned beans are also cheap. Beans are consistently one of the least expensive (and most nutrient-dense) foods you can buy at the grocery store. Beans and rice, potatoes or pasta are almost always going to be less expensive than a fast food meal, rendering this a good option for those who are trying to watch their grocery bills. Since grocery prices have been on the rise for the past few years, there is perhaps no food swap I’ve made that’s saved me more money than forgoing meat for beans more often. Turning to beans instead of meat for my main source of protein has been a game-changer on the grocery bill front.
Plus, there’s a huge variety of beans to choose from. Don’t like black beans? No problem; opt for chickpeas instead. Prefer to avoid the earthy flavor of pinto beans? You may be a candidate for cannellini. On the flavor front, the possibilities are endless. Of course, the natural flavors of beans are only enhanced by the extra ingredients you include in the dish. Green chilies can add some heat, while a wide range of spices can up the flavor ante considerably. Spinach, kale or cabbage pair well with many kinds of beans and allow you to work more veggies into your diet, and a small portion of meat can allow beans to take center stage by flavoring them with fat.
So many of us are struggling to make ends meet, worried about both our food budgets and the amount of time we’ll have to spend in the kitchen to get a decent meal on the table. But the next time you’re considering fast food as a solution to your dinner dilemma, ask yourself whether a can of beans would do the trick instead. By keeping them on hand for those times when fast food seems like the best option, you could be saving yourself a considerable amount of time and money. Isn’t that what we’re all looking for at the drive-thru, anyway?
Samantha Maxwell is a food writer and editor based in Boston. Follow her on Twitter at @samseating.