11 Great Northern Beans Substitutes You Need To Try

Great Northern Beans Substitutes

Great northern beans are a variety of common beans that are also known as large white beans. It has a flattened shape that will remind one of Lima beans. Great northern beans are also known for their lovely and delicate taste. 

Great northern beans are also known for their ability to absorb the flavor of other ingredients it is cooked with, this makes them blend in when making lots of recipes. Over the years, great northern beans have been used frequently when making stews, salads, soups, dips, mash, casseroles, and white bean chili. 

Apart from their great taste, great northern beans are known to be a good source of low-fat plant-based protein and dietary fiber. The latter helps to control blood sugar levels, improve digestive health, and also helps manage weight better.

It is also a great source of useful minerals like calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, and potassium. These minerals help the body to carry out a lot of useful processes like transporting oxygen, regulating body fluids, and building bones. Great northern beans also contain useful vitamins like thiamine, folate, niacin, riboflavin, and vitamin B6. 

If you are making a recipe that calls for great northern beans as an ingredient, only to find out that you’ve run out of it, you must be looking for great northern beans substitute that would do the job very similarly if not better. 

Well, I’m here to help you out as in this article, I will be sharing with you some of the 11 best substitutes for great northern beans in your recipe.

Substitute For Great Northern Beans

• Cannellini beans

Cannellini beans, also known as white kidney beans, are a variety of common beans it originates from Argentina, however, it is now a popular ingredient used when cooking in other parts of the world.

Cannellini beans are a little bit bigger than great northern beans and it has a slightly nutty flavor with a fluffy texture as opposed to the grainy texture of great northern beans. Apart from this, there seems to be no other noticeable difference so it can serve as a good substitute for great northern beans. 

Cannellini beans are also as nutritious as being nutritious goes. They are a great source of fat-free protein which a lot of people will appreciate. They are also a good source of other useful minerals and vitamins like calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, folate, and many more.

Before using cannellini beans in place of great northern beans, you may need to prepare them before they can be added to the dish. If the beans are fresh, you can add them to the dish as soon as you start cooking. However, if the beans are dry, you will have to soak them in a bowl of cold water for around 18 hours then drain and rinse them before adding them to the dish.

• Canned great northern beans

If you run out of dried great northern beans when you are about to make any recipe, you can quickly go to the store to get canned great northern beans. Canned great northern beans are the same thing as dried great northern beans except for the fact that it has been parboiled and packaged. This makes the canned version lose a bit of its natural flavor.

When using canned great northern beans, make sure to rinse the beans thoroughly with cold water before adding them to your dish. Take about 1 cup of canned great northern beans in place of half a cup of dried great northern beans. 

• Black beans

Black beans, also known as black turtle beans, are a variety of common beans that originates from the Americas and it is a popular ingredient used when making different local recipes around different cultures.

Black bean is a small-sized bean that has a slightly sweet taste with a mild flavor. This makes it great at absorbing the flavor of other ingredients it is cooked with. Black turtle beans are known for their hard outer shell which makes their texture to be a bit different from great northern beans. As the name says, the beans are black, and this makes them completely different from large white beans. 

Black beans are a good source of folate, dietary fiber, thiamine, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, sodium, and calcium. It helps to lower blood sugar levels and also to improve the digestive process of the body.

If you are about to make soups, stews, bean burgers, burritos, chili, etc, you can choose to use black beans in place of great northern beans.

• Chickpeas

Chickpeas, also known as Egyptian pea, is one of the first legumes to be cultivated in the world and it is a popular ingredient used when cooking in many places around the world. Chickpeas are native to Turkey but right now, India is responsible for the majority of the global production. 

Chickpeas have a creamy feeling with a slightly nutty flavor. Just like great northern beans, chickpeas have a grainy texture and they can easily take in the flavor of other ingredients it is cooked with. 

Chickpea is a great source of dietary fiber, plant-based protein, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and vitamin B6. Due to their dietary fiber and calcium content, chickpeas help with digestion and give you better bones. It can also help to boost your mental health. 

When making dishes like soups, salads, and many more, you can choose to use chickpeas as substitution for great northern beans.

• Pinto beans

Pinto beans are a variety of common beans that originates from the Peruvian highlands and it is one of the most popular beans by crop production in parts of America.

Pinto beans are speckled and it has an earthy, slightly sweet, and nutty flavor. They do not look like great northern beans but do a good job of replacing them.

Over the years, pinto beans have been used when making soups, stews, salads, or as a filling for tacos in Mexican cuisine. It is a great source of protein, manganese, folate, dietary fiber, and phosphorus, all of which the human body needs. 

Pinto beans are good at absorbing flavor so they can easily replace great northern beans in any recipe that you are making.

• Navy beans

Navy beans, also known as white pea bean, is a variety of common beans that originates in the Americas and it is a common ingredient used by many people around the world.

Navy beans have a creamy white color and it is small. It has a mild flavor with a slightly nutty flavor and a velvety texture. It is not 100% perfect at being a replacement for great northern beans because of its texture. Navy beans are good at absorbing flavor from other seasonings and ingredients so they will do a good enough job at being a substitute. 

As for nutritional value, navy beans happen to be a great source of protein and dietary fiber and they can also help to lower cholesterol levels in the human body.

When making soups, stews, white bean chili, and tacos do not hesitate to use navy beans if you run out of great northern beans.

• Red kidney beans

Red kidney beans are a variety of common beans and it is also known as rajma or common kidney beans. It is said to have originated in Peru and it is now a common ingredient used when cooking different meals by a lot of people around the world. Red kidney beans are shaped like the human kidney and it is a little bit large.

Red kidney beans have a slightly sweet and nutty flavor when cooked. It is not exactly similar to great northern beans but when it is cooked for a long time, it can absorb the flavor of other ingredients making it good at being a substitute.

Over the years, red kidney beans have been used when making rice, salads, bean burgers, tacos, soups, baked beans, etc. It is also rich in nutrients as you get low-fat protein, folate, phosphorus, magnesium, thiamine, and zinc when you eat it.

When looking for a substitute option for great northern beans, red kidney beans can do a good enough job even though they don’t have the same color.

• Butter beans

Butter beans are also known as Lima beans and they originated in Peru and were named after the capital city of the country. They have a color that varies from white to pale yellow. 

Lima beans are a great source of fat-free protein, dietary fiber, calcium, iron, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, and vitamin B6. Butter beans have a mild buttery flavor with a velvety texture.  It does not taste or feel similar to great northern beans but the fact that butter beans can easily absorb flavors when cooked well makes them a good enough substitute. If you frequently cook with butter beans you might want to check out some substitutes for butter beans and how excellent they could be.

We have gotten to the end of the list of best great northern beans substitute, mention other alternatives you think are good but not mentioned as viable substitutes for great northern beans. Also, share this article with your friends who are in need of this. In the next section I would answer some of the popular frequently asked questions about Great Northern Beans Substitutes.

FAQs About Great Northern Beans Substitutes

• What beans taste like Great Northern beans?

One beans that tastes like great northern beans is the cannellini beans, among the many varieties of beans out there, cannellini beans tastes similar and almost looks similar to the great northern beans and it makes it a perfect substitute for the great northern beans.

• What beans are the same as Northern beans?

Beans that are the same as the northern beans are the cannellini beans and navy beans, they both share a lot of similarities with the northern beans as well as all three being known as white beans.

• Can I use pinto beans instead of Great Northern beans?

You can use pinto beans instead of great northern beans because pinto beans are equally used in making same recipes which great northern beans are used for and known for. This makes pinto beans a choice not too far from great northern beans itself.

• Are cannellini beans same as Great Northern beans?

No, cannellini beans are not the same as great northern beans but rather they are similar and both belong to the same beans variety known as ‘white beans’, these make them substitutes for each other.

• What is the closest bean to Great Northern beans?

The beans closest to great northern beans is the cannellini beans because they are both white beans and are quite similar in shape, color and texture.

• Are Great Northern beans just like navy beans?

Great northern beans are not very like navy beans though they are both from the white beans variety and work perfectly as substitutes for each other, they are still quite different because great northern beans are significantly larger than navy beans which are smaller in size.

• Can I substitute butter beans for Great Northern beans?

Yes, you can substitute butter beans for great northern beans because of their similar color and flavor. Butter beans easily substitutes great northern beans in recipes without changing anything negatively about the recipe.

• Are Great Northern beans similar to white beans?

Great northern beans are part of the white beans variety of beans. They are not different but great northern beans alongside a few other types of beans like cannellini beans and navy beans are part of the group.

• Can I substitute black beans for Northern beans

Yes you can substitute black beans for northern beans, even though northern beans are whitish in color black beans are not, that is mostly where their differences end, they are easily swapped in recipes and the recipes turn out fine.

• Which is smaller cannellini beans or Great Northern?

Cannellini beans are larger than great northern beans. Great northern beans are the smaller beans of the two types of beans.

• Can you substitute Great Northern white beans for cannellini beans?

You can absolutely substitute great northern white beans for cannellini beans in your recipe because they are both very similar to each other in color and texture, they even belong to the white beans group of legumes.

• Can I substitute Great Northern for navy beans?

Yes, you can substitute great northern beans for navy beans in your recipe and get the excellent result you’ve ever wanted. Great northern beans and navy beans are both members of the white beans group of beans and that makes them share a lot in common.

• Can I substitute Northern beans for navy beans?

Yes, you can substitute northern beans for navy beans in your recipe and get the excellent result you’ve ever wanted. Northern beans and navy beans are both members of the white beans group of beans and that makes them share a lot in common.

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