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Tomato butter beans with toast with yogurt
youryum.com/recipes/tomato-butter-beans-with-toast-with-yogurt · serves 4

Hot tomato beans with cool yogurt

Cool lemony yogurt cuts through the rich tomato beans and gives crisp toast a creamy sauce to drag through.

  • Vegetarian
  • high-fiber
Maren Ashby in her kitchen, in a dark apron, looking away from the camera
By Maren Ashby · Writes and tests everything here
Published 30 August 2026
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Tomato butter beans with sourdough toast and lemony yogurt
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Prep
10 min
Cook
25 min
Total
35 min
Serves
4
Per serving
519kcal
Effort
Easy

Yogurt is the quietest finish in this set, but it changes the dish more than you might expect. Hot tomato beans taste deeper beside something cold and tangy, and the toast becomes a way to carry both textures in the same bite.

Make the finish first; the final texture depends on it staying distinct.

Mix the yogurt before the pan starts. Garlic grows stronger as it sits, lemon zest perfumes it without making it watery, and the fridge gives the sauce time to thicken. Spoon it over the beans only after they have left the heat.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

Tomato beans

Toast

Yogurt

Equipment

  • Wide saucepan
  • Small frying pan
  • Toaster or grill

Method

  1. Start the tomato base

    Warm the olive oil in a wide saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt, then cook for six to eight minutes until soft and translucent. Stir in the garlic for one minute. Add the tomato paste and paprika and fry for 45 seconds, stirring constantly. It should darken slightly and smell sweet rather than raw.

    Let the sauce settle before you taste and adjust the salt.

  2. Simmer the beans

    Add the chopped tomatoes, butter beans and stock. Bring to a steady simmer, then cook uncovered for 18 to 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes. The sauce should coat the beans and leave a slow trail when you drag the spoon across the pan. If it is still watery, give it another five minutes before seasoning.

    Do not let the pan boil hard. Butter beans have thin skins, and a rough bubble breaks them against the base of the saucepan. A quiet simmer leaves some whole and lets the sauce thicken around them. Stir from the outside towards the middle, where the heat is strongest, and scrape the tomato paste off the bottom before it catches.

    Hands stirring tomato beans in a wide saucepan before finishing

  3. Toast the bread

    While the beans simmer, toast the sourdough until the cut sides are deeply golden. Brush with olive oil while hot. Do not rush this part: pale bread goes soft as soon as the sauce touches it, while a proper crust stays crisp long enough for the first few bites.

    The bread should crackle before the sauce touches it, then soften slowly.

  4. Finish with the special topping

    Stir the yogurt with the lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and salt. Taste it cold; it should be sharper than you think because the hot beans will soften the impression. Keep it chilled until serving.

  5. Serve while the textures are clear

    Spoon the tomato beans into warm bowls or onto a wide platter. Add the toast at the side and finish with the prepared topping described above. Serve straight away. The sauce should be thick enough to hold a bean on the toast without running across the plate.

Butter beans tomatoes toast and lemony yogurt arranged for cooking
Set out the beans, tomatoes, bread and finishing ingredients before the pan gets hot.

Why the lemony yogurt belongs at the end

Temperature is part of the seasoning here. If the yogurt warms completely, the plate loses the contrast that makes the tomato sauce taste lively. Let the beans stand for two minutes after cooking, then spoon the yogurt onto each portion rather than stirring it through the pan.

Full-fat Greek yogurt holds its shape and is less likely to split against the hot sauce. A thinner yogurt still works, but strain it briefly or use less water in the tomato pan so the finished bowl does not turn soupy.

Nutrition

Per serving, for 4 servings. Estimated from ingredient weights — it moves with the brands and cuts you actually use.

NutrientPer serving
Calories 519 kcal
Protein 20 g
Carbohydrate 71 g
Fibre 15 g
Fat 16 g

Source: Estimated from ingredient weights, USDA FoodData Central

Questions

Can I use dairy-free yogurt?
Yes. Choose an unsweetened thick yogurt and add lemon slowly because coconut-based versions can already taste sharp.
Can I serve the beans cold?
They make a good lunch at room temperature. Keep the yogurt chilled and add toast just before eating.
Why did my yogurt split?
It was probably stirred into the boiling pan or was too thin. Let the beans cool briefly and spoon the yogurt over each serving.

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