Growing up, my mom always had a can of beans in the pantry for nights when time just wasn’t on her side. This Portuguese Quick Stewed Beans recipe was her solution — a fast, deeply flavorful dish that never felt like a shortcut. Made with Portuguese linguica or chouriço, tomato paste, and finished with a generous grating of aged São Jorge cheese, it’s the kind of meal that tastes like it simmered all day.
What are Portuguese Quick Stewed Beans?
Portuguese Quick Stewed Beans are a simple, hearty side dish rooted in everyday Portuguese home cooking. Made with canned beans, Portuguese sausage, onions, garlic, and tomato paste, this dish comes together in under 30 minutes. It’s the kind of recipe you’ll find on a weeknight table across Portugal and in Portuguese-American homes alike — humble ingredients, big flavor.
How to Make This Recipe
The key to this recipe is building flavor in layers. You start by sautéing onions and linguica together so the fat from the sausage coats everything. Garlic goes in next — keep the heat low enough that it softens without burning. Once the tomato paste is added and the beans go in, patience is your friend: let it simmer and thicken before you serve. A cast iron skillet holds heat evenly and gives the best result here.
Tips for the Best Portuguese Quick Stewed Beans
- Use linguica or chouriço — the smokiness is what makes this dish. Mild Italian sausage is not a substitute.
- Drain and rinse your canned beans well before adding them. It keeps the sauce from getting starchy and muddy.
- Don’t rush the simmer. Ten to fifteen minutes of low heat lets the flavors come together properly.
- Grate the São Jorge cheese yourself rather than using pre-shredded — it melts cleaner and tastes better.
- Any aged cheese works if you can’t find São Jorge: Pecorino Romano or a sharp Parmesan are solid alternatives.
- A cast iron skillet isn’t required, but it makes a difference — even heat, no hot spots, and it goes stovetop to oven if you want to finish the top under the broiler.
- Leftovers reheat well. Add a splash of water when warming so the sauce loosens back up.
If you need a cast iron skillet, I highly recommend this one from Amazon. If you take care of it as Lodge suggests it will be something you can pass along from generation to generation. They’re made in USA, as good on the stove top as on a campfire, and comes pre-seasoned!
Purchases made from using the links on this page means that we may earn a commission without costing you anything extra.
Serving and Storing
Serve Portuguese Quick Stewed Beans as a side alongside grilled meat or fish, or pair it with crusty bread for a simple weeknight meal. Leftovers keep in the refrigerator for up to three days in a covered container. Reheat on the stovetop over low heat with a splash of water to loosen the sauce.
Portuguese Quick Stewed Beans
This recipe is an amazing side dish and as it states, it’s a quick recipe! My mom would make this recipe when she didn’t have the time to use dried beans, or when she had enough canned beans in her pantry. My husband loves baked beans, but this comes second to my mom’s traditional baked bean recipe.
- Yield: Serves 4-6 1x
Ingredients
1/2 cup of olive oil
4 tablespoons of butter (half a stick)
Two small onions, finely chopped
1 pound of Portuguese sausage such as linguica or Chourico, remove casing and cut into small rounds
5 to 6 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup of tomato paste
Three (1 lbs. 13 oz.) cans of beans, make sure to drain and rinse them first before using. Or (9 cups of cooked beans) any type you like.
Paprika to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups of liquid either water or chicken broth as well as wine or a combination…
1/3 cup of chopped parsley
Grated Sao Jorge cheese or any aged cheese of choice.
Instructions
1. In a large skillet heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and sauté until translucent.
2. Add the chopped sausage and sauté for 5 to 6 minutes then add the garlic. Stir and sauté together for about another couple of minutes. Reduce the heat to prevent garlic from burning.
3. Add the tomato paste then add the beans, paprika, salt, and pepper. Stir in the liquid and bring to a low simmer. Keep stirring until it begins to thicken (10 to 15 minutes) and stir in the chopped parsley.
4. Last but not least, grate in some aged cheese.
Notes
*If your skillet is oven proof you can also add the skillet with 350° oven and bake for about 15 minutes until the top is golden.
