Cannellini beans find their way into everything from salads and dips to braises and wraps. Like mushrooms, they suck up the flavours of everything around them, and act as the perfect go-between for meat and stock, thickening braises and stews. But, they have enough flavour to stand on their own as well, and white bean dips are an excellent alternative to hummus.

Cannellini beans have a tendency to turn soft and creamy (read: pleasantly mushy) more quickly than other beans. If you want your beans to collapse slightly and thicken the dish - like in ribollita or Tuscan farro soup - dried cannellini are the way to go. On the other hand, if you want a firmer bean, dried beans can be challenging as they turn soft very quickly.

For recipes where you want cannellini beans to hold their shape, such as salads which are going to be put in a lunch box and shaken around a bit, canned beans are a much better choice. Canned beans contain a firming agent, typically calcium chloride, which allows them to stay bean-shaped even if mixed around or stewed.

Check out our full collection of cannellini bean recipes below.