We spill the beans on the best legumes and pulses recipes from classic beans on toast to Mexican dishes and hearty soups. Everything from black beans, chickpeas, cannellini beans, mixed beans and even broad beans feel the love with this dishes.

Smoky baked beans

Smoked baked beans. Images and text from In Praise of Veg and The Little Box of Veg by Alice Zaslavsky, photography by Ben Dearnley.

"Is there anything more satisfying than having some flavour-packed baked beans to look forward to for breakfast? These fully loaded baked beans take advantage of paprika-laden chorizo sausage, as well as the piquancy of tomatoes, to offer a warming bowl of beans that are much grander than the sum of their parts (which, let’s face it, simply involves opening a few tins and stirring ). If you’d prefer to go chorizo-free, that’s totally cool – just up the olive oil, paprika and cumin factor and we’ll call it square." Images and text from In Praise of Veg and The Little Box of Veg by Alice Zaslavsky, photography by Ben Dearnley. Murdoch Books RRP $65.00/RRP $29.99

White bean, leek and mixed mushroom stew

This white bean and mushroom number is just as hearty as its meaty counterparts – and just as 'lick the bowl clean' good, too!

Spicy sugo eggs with sausage and cannellini beans

"A twist on Italian ‘eggs in purgatory’, we’ve turned this one-pan wonder into a filling meal by adding sausages and beans." – Tracey Pattison

Spiced black beans, chorizo, fried eggs and herbs

Credit: Chris Court

Darren Robertson shares a shakshuka-esque meal made with canned black beans.

Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa soup with taco fixings

When the weather turns chilly, nothing hits the spot better than a hearty pot of warming soup.

Yotam Ottolenghi's brown-butter butter beans with lemon and pesto

You’ll be going back for second servings of Yotam Ottolenghi's rich, buttery beans. He takes the humble legume to delicious new places with this simple recipe.

Mixed beans with olives, greens and feta

Darren Robertson turns cans of mixed beans into a fresh side salad.

Pappardelle with spicy 'nduja, greens and beans

"Hailing from Southern Italy, spicy 'nduja adds richness to this dish, which is balanced by the creamy white beans."

Jacket potatoes with chilli con carne

Darren Robertson puts a spicy bean twist on a classic comfort food. Eat one potato for dinner and keep the other for tomorrow's lunch.

Pork sausage, bacon and bean pie

Lucy Busuttil shares the ultimate comfort dish - a steaming hot pie packed with sausage, bacon, and beans.

Goat's cheese crostini with garlic beans and silverbeet

Goat's cheese crostini with garlicky beans and silverbeet

You could also use kale or cavolo nero in place of the silverbeet.

Spicy pineapple, black bean and jalapeno salad

This speedy salad is super tasty and refreshing. Enjoy on its own for a vegetarian light meal or pair with some grilled meat or fish to assemble some quick tacos. And if you don’t demolish this in one go, you’ll be happy to discover that the flavours only intensify over time for a stronger chilli kick.