If you’re looking for a traditional Greek vegetarian dish, we have one that you’re guaranteed to love! Greek Gigantes (Plaki) with its large buttery white beans, rich tomato sauce, and fresh herbs is a quintessential Greek dish!  It can be enjoyed as a main course, side dish, or as a tasty appetizer on top of crusty bread drizzled with olive oil.  Greek Gigantes are easy to make–don’t let the amount of time required sway you–it’s worth it! Gigantes are not only filling but also super healthy: the beans are low in fat content and an excellent source of fiber (if you’re looking to lower your cholesterol, these are for you!). Now you know why we’ve included these as part of our heart-healthy diet!  

What are Gigantes?

So what exactly are gigantes (pronounced yee-gahn-dess)? The name sounds daunting but the literal translation from Greek is “giants.” Simply put, we are making giant white beans in a luscious tomato sauce.  Once baked, the beans will become creamy and tender. To prepare the dish, purchase gigantes beans at your local Greek, Mediterranean, or specialty market. If you don’t have a market near you, the beans can be purchased online at titanfood.com.  Look for beans that are not dry or wrinkly looking, as these beans may take longer to cook.  Sounds easy enough, right?

Starting the Gigantes: Soaking the Beans

The beans do need to soak overnight, so a little prior planning is needed when preparing the Greek Gigantes (Plaki). Soak the beans in cool water for at least 8 hours (preferably overnight).  Soaking your beans makes a huge difference, so this is a very important step in preparing this dish. After soaking, you’ll notice that your beans will double in size.

If you forget to soak your beans or decide on this dish at the last minute, no need to fret. You can put the beans in a pot and cover them with 2 inches of water. Bring the water to a boil, turn off the heat and let the pot sit until the water naturally cools. This isn’t the ideal method, but if you’re in a pinch, it will do! Cooking times and texture of the beans may vary if you have not soaked the beans overnight.  That’s why we say that a little bit of preparation goes a long way when making this dish. 

Let’s Finish the Greek Gigantes (Plaki)

After your beans have soaked overnight (or you’ve boiled the beans and let the water cool), drain the water from the beans. Fill a large stockpot with water and add in your beans. Bring the water to a boil and simmer the beans for 45 minutes to an hour. Here’s an important tip- while the beans are boiling, do NOT go too far from the stove or you will have a pot boiling over with foam. That’s one mess we can do without!  As the beans begin to foam, skim off the foam and discard it. While boiling, you should preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Drain the beans, reserving the liquid.  We’ll use the liquid not only to make the sauce but also as needed while baking. Place the beans in a baking dish and add in diced tomatoes, onion, celery, garlic, and spices.

In a small bowl, mix together 2 cups of the reserved liquid with the tomato paste and olive oil. Pour the liquid over the beans and stir carefully. If the beans are not covered with the liquid you can add more of the reserved liquid. Cover with a lid (or aluminum foil) and place in your 350-degree preheated oven. Cook for 1 hour, checking at 30 minutes to see if more liquid is needed.  If so, add in more of the reserved liquid. After 1 hour, uncover and continue cooking for another 30 minutes.  Remove the baking dish from the oven and let it cool slightly. Top with fresh parsley and serve.

We hope you will enjoy this traditional Greek dish! We recommend serving with a loaf of crusty bread as you’ll want to soak up all those delicious juices. And don’t forget to add a drizzle of heart-healthy olive oil too! 

We hope you enjoy these Greek Gigantes Plaki!  If you try this recipe, we’d love to hear from you! Leave us a comment below. And be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #hearthealthygreek.