Gigantes Plaki (Quick & Easy Greek Beans in Tomato Sauce)

Gigantes Plaki is Greek Mediterranean comfort food at its best. Creamy butter beans are baked in a rich tomato sauce with olive oil and herbs until soft, sweet and deeply flavourful. The beans turn meltingly tender as they soak up the sauce while baking in the oven.

I love this Greek taverna-style Gigantes Plaki — creamy butter beans baked in a rich tomato sauce. Baked beans from a can simply don't cut it once you've experienced the authentic marvel of these Greek-style treasures.

My recipe is a fast-track version which dispenses with the need to soak beans in favour of canned. If you have the time to soak and cook your beans, great, but I've tried both ways and conclude that this dish doesn't suffer in the slightest by using canned butter beans.

That in itself cuts down the traditional recipe time immensely, meaning this can be whipped up in no time at all. Lastly, because it's typically eaten at room temperature, you can make them well in advance and enjoy them in seconds.

This recipe is part of my curated Mediterranean Collection and Quick and Easy Mediterranean Recipes hub, where you'll find more healthy favourites from the Med.

What's Ahead?

What is Gigantes Plaki?

The word gigantes means “giants”, referring to the large beans used in the dish, while plaki describes the traditional Greek method of baking food in a tomato-based sauce in the oven. In Greece native beans (Gigantes - Γίγαντες) are used, but outside Greece, butter beans (lima beans) are a very close match.

It’s a staple of Greek home cooking and often appears as part of a mezze spread or as a simple vegetarian main. The beans become creamy and tender as they bake, soaking up the sweet tomato sauce and fragrant herbs. Like many Mediterranean dishes, it’s even better served at room temperature with plenty of crusty bread to scoop up the sauce.

Why You'll Love Them

Simple Ingredients - This dish relies on a handful of humble ingredients — beans, tomato, olive oil and herbs — nothing too taxing to find at any supermarket.

Creamy, hearty & Healthy - The beans become wonderfully soft and creamy as they bake, soaking up the rich tomato sauce and fragrant herbs.

Versatile - Serve it as part of a Greek mezze spread, alongside grilled meats or simply with crusty bread for a simple vegetarian meal.

Stuff You'll Need

The ingredients you'll need for Gigantes Plaki are simple to find. Here's what you'll need:

• Butter Beans (Lima Beans) - a couple of cans will suffice. You can also buy them dried and soak overnight then cook until tender if you have the time.
• Aromatics - come in the form of onion, celery, carrot, and garlic. They're the backbone to the sauce.
• Tomato - passata (blended) and some puree to add tomato richness to the sauce.
• Cinnamon - while not ultra traditional, I like to add a little ground cinnamon to the tomatoes for an extra Greek undertone.
• Stock/Broth - For depth of flavour, but can be substituted for water too.
• Herbs - I choose fresh oregano and parsley. You can use a little dried Greek oregano if you don't have fresh.

Step by Step

This is so easy! Here's what you'll need to do to pull these delicious Greek beans together. Start by preheating an oven to 180ºC/350ºF.

1. Step 1 - In a little oil, fry the onion, celery, carrot and garlic together until soft and lightly golden.
2. Step 2 - Add the herbs and cinnamon along with some salt and pepper and stir well to combine.
3. Step 3 - Add the tomato puree and sauté briefly before adding the passata, stock and then drained beans. Bring this to a simmer.
4. Step 4 - Decant the contents of the pan to a shallow baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a final 10 minutes.

You can eat hot if you like, but traditionally they're served at room temperature. I like to scatter over a little feta cheese and serve with crusty bread. I'll also serve hot on occasion as a side dish for roasted fish, meat or chicken with a crisp green salad like Maroulosalata.

Pro Tips

• Use good quality (Greek) extra virgin olive oil - This dish relies on good quality ingredients, so a good extra-virgin olive oil make such a difference. For extra flavour, once cooled, I'll drizzle over more extra-virgin olive oil.
• Serve at room temperature - many Mediterranean dishes are served at room temperature. The flavour is better and the beans continue to soak up the tomato sauce, making them creamier with more flavour.
• Add feta for serving - while not traditional, I love the salty pops of crumbled feta flavour over the tangy beans.
• Don't skip the baking - while the dish is technically cooked before baking, it's this process that develops all the flavour by reducing the sauce into its rich and tangy result. Don't skip!

Serving & Storage Suggestions

• Serving - Serve at room temperature, Greek-style for the most authentic version of the dish. You can also serve hot, direct from the oven too if you like.
• Accompaniments - I'll often serve on its own with a few wedges of crusty bread and a simple salad for a lighter lunch or if I'm looking for a heartier meal, I'll serve it as a side dish with something else, typically some marinated and grilled lamb chops, chicken skewers or on occasion a roasted whole fish.
• Fridge - Gigantes Plaki keeps very well in the fridge. Store the cooled beans in an airtight container for up to 4 days. In fact, the flavours often improve after a day as the beans continue to absorb the tomato sauce. Bring to room temperature to eat or warm in the microwave.
• Freezing - Gigantes Plaki freezes well. Allow it to cool completely, then freeze in airtight containers for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge before bringing to room temperature.

Ready to get cooking?

This is such a wonderful dish that works all year round - hearty enough in the colder months to satisfy as comfort food, and light enough to serve on any summer al fresco feast. It's little wonder it's one of Greece's most treasured recipes. Hope you enjoy!

More Greek recipes

If you liked this recipe for Gigantes Plaki, I'm sure you'll love some more of my favourite Greek recipes.

• Youvetsi Chicken (Greek Chicken & Orzo Bake)
• Arakas Latheros (Greek Peas)
• Briam (Greek Roasted Vegetables)
• Greek Strapatsada

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