When fall hits and you need a speedy dinner, these 10-minute cheesy, creamy pumpkin beans on toast are exactly what you need. They are not only incredibly convenient as they are made with pantry staples only but also very high in plant-based protein. One serving is packed with 31 grams of protein!!

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10-Minute beans
Key ingredients and substitutions
Make your own pumpkin puree
Step-by-step instructions
Storage tips
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The recipe

10-Minute beans

If you know me, you know that creamy skillet beans have my heart. I've already shared my lemony spinach white beans and creamy harissa chickpeas for quick and fuss-free dinners because they are such a staple in my house. These pumpkin beans are a fall favorite!

The easiest way to serve them is with some toasted sourdough bread because it requires no extra prep. But they also taste amazing over rice, quinoa, or stuffed in a baked sweet potato.

Key ingredients and substitutions

Pumpkin puree: You can use homemade (see tips below!) or canned pumpkin puree for convenience. This pumpkin bean recipe is also a great way to use up an open can of pumpkin puree as you only need ¼ cup for 1 can of white beans.
White beans: I love giant butter beans for this recipe but any sort of white beans works (e.g., Cannellini beans).
Nut butter: It's the key ingredient to create the sauce. Cashew butter and white almond butter have the most neutral taste and work best in this recipe but they can be a little pricy. Tahini is more budget-friendly—just look for one that's light in color for a milder taste.
Nutritional yeast: It adds a yummy cheesy flavor and a serious boost of plant-based protein. Did you know that 1 tablespoon (10 grams) of nutritional yeast is packed with 6 grams of protein? That's huge!
Curry powder: It brings a nice hint of flavor to the pumpkin beans and ties everything together.

Make your own pumpkin puree

This may sound controversial for a 10-minute recipe but hear me out. You can easily bake a pumpkin during the weekend. It only takes 2 minutes to prep and 5 minutes to blend–the oven does the rest and you have homemade pumpkin puree for the week.

Instructions: Cut a small pumpkin in half (I like Hokkaido pumpkins), remove the seeds, and place it cut-side down on a baking sheet. Bake it at 400°F (200°C) for 40-50 minutes until soft. Scoop out the pumpkin flesh and blend it into a puree.

You can use this homemade pumpkin puree for this pumpkin bean recipe but also to make a 3-ingredient pumpkin soup, a creamy pumpkin pasta sauce, or even a pumpkin breakfast smoothie.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Drain and rinse the white beans in a colander.

Step 2: Sauté the garlic and curry powder. Heat a medium pan or skillet with olive oil. Sauté some grated garlic over medium-high heat while stirring constantly to prevent it from burning.

Step 3: Sauté the white beans. Reduce the heat to medium. Add in the drained and rinsed white beans. Sauté for another 2 minutes for them to soak up all the flavors.

Step 4: Make the sauce. Add the pumpkin puree, cashew butter, water, nutritional yeast, and salt to the skillet. Stir until well combined.

Storage tips

You can store these creamy pumpkin beans in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 days. They are great for meal prepping as part of a grain bowl or a dinner, too.

To reheat them, add them to a saucepan with a splash of water and stir over medium heat until warm and creamy.