A 1970s vintage British bean recipe made vegan! Witches' Cauldron Beans are an easy and quick Halloween meal that's cosy, easy, quick and frugal. It is a meat-free bean recipe that makes good use of a pantry ingredients: canned haricot beans (navy beans), dried herbs and vegetable stock, and a few fresh ingredients: meat-free bacon (or mushrooms) and onion.
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🧙♀️ Why you'll love this Witches' Cauldron Beans recipe 🧹
- 🎃 Fun & spooky recipe: Perfect for Halloween parties, autumn dinners, or Bonfire Night as it's hearty, homely, and just a little bit magical. If you have a food-safe cauldron or similar pot serve these beans up within it for a frightful Halloween meal.
- 🕯️ Quick & easy: Made with simple store-cupboard ingredients like canned beans, dried herbs, and vegetable stock and can be ready in around 20 minutes.
- 🪄 Budget-friendly & wholesome: Packed with beans for frugal, protein-rich comfort food that fills you up and stretches the budget.
- 🍞 Versatile: Serve as a side dish, spooned over baked or jacket potatoes, on toast, or alongside Guy Fawkes Stew for a cosy Bonfire Night meal.
- 🧛♀️ Meat-free crowd-pleaser: Smoky vegan bacon and savoury herbs make this a great dish for vegans, vegetarians, plant-based diets, gluten-free diets and even meat-eaters will enjoy it.
- 📜 British vintage recipe: Adapted from a 1970s Hamlyn recipe card using everyday vegan-friendly ingredients. Vintage & retro families would have enjoyed this fun recipe for Halloween and in modern times it's fun to recreate retro meals for our own families.
Witches' Cauldron Beans is a great addition for a Halloween party spread or spooky meal, as well as for a vintage or retro themed vegan meal. A scoop of these beans makes a lovely accompainment to our vegan Guy Fawkes Stew.
🎃 Origin of Witches' Cauldron Beans recipe 🎃
This old-fashioned and vintage recipe was originally published by Hamlyn as part of a British recipe box set. The recipe was included within the traditional dishes section. I have included a photo of the original recipe card photo and text side as some visitors may find the history behind the recipe interesting.
Haricot beans (navy beans) have been a British staple pulse since at least Victorian times where recipes such as haricot bean soup, stew, and patties were very popular. During the first and second world war haricot beans were seen as a frugal replacement for meat dishes and as they provided valuable nutrition lots of interesting haricot bean recipes were devised for everyday home-cooks.
I have adapted the original recipe into a vegan bean recipe as I love vintage recipes re-created with vegan-friendly ingredients as the recipes usually end up frugal, tasty and fun, and the fact that they connect us with our ancestors is a great bonus.
🎃 More savoury vegan Halloween recipes
🔮For more savoury vegan Halloween recipes do have a look at our family favourite Pumpkin and Lentil Pie, Roast Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup, Medieval Potage Stew, and this Lentil Lasagna which has a butternut squash or pumpkin cheesy sauce. These recipes are great for using up Halloween pumpkins. The potage stew doesn't contain pumpkin but there's no reason why it can't be included. 🔮
**please note: for US measurements click the 'US customary button' within the recipe and the measurements will switch to tablespoons, cups, and ounces.***
📖 Recipe
Witches' Cauldron Beans (Vegan Halloween recipe)
Equipment
- non-stick deep frying pan, skillet or pot, with lid
- mixing spoon
Ingredients
- 120 grams vegan bacon (chopped, or vegan deli ham, or finely diced mushrooms or smoked tofu)
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 cans haricot beans (navy beans) (400 grams / 14 oz cans, or about 480 grams / 17oz of cooked beans)
- 2 small onions (about 180 grams, diced)
- 2 teaspoons dried mixed herbs
- 250 millilitres vegetable stock
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan. Cook the onion for 3 minutes, stirring a few times.1 tablespoon oil, 2 small onions
- Add the chopped vegan bacon and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.120 grams vegan bacon
- Stir through the dried herbs.2 teaspoons dried mixed herbs
- Add one of the cans of beans along with the canned bean liquid. Drain the liquid from the second can and add the drained beans to the pan.2 cans haricot beans (navy beans)
- Add the vegetable stock.250 millilitres vegetable stock
- Add a bay leaf to the bean mixture in the pot.1 bay leaf
- Add a pinch of salt and black or white pepper.
- Pop a lid over the pan and bring to the boil.
- Over a low-medium heat simmer the beans for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Season to taste, and remove the bay leaf.
Notes
- 🧊 Storage: Leftovers will keep well in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The flavours deepen overnight.
- ❄️ Freezing: Freeze for up to 2-3 months. Cool completely before transferring to freezer-safe tubs. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
- 🔥 Reheating: Reheat gently on the stovetop over medium-low heat until piping hot. Add a splash of vegetable stock or water to loosen the sauce if necessary.
- 🌾 Gluten-free: To make the recipe gluten-free, simply choose a gluten-free vegan bacon or substitute it with chopped mushrooms, and ensure your vegetable stock is gluten-free.
- 🧄 Oil-free option: Skip the frying stage and use a splash of water or vegetable stock to soften the onions instead. The vegan bacon can be chopped and added to the onions. Stir through a teaspoon of white miso paste or a few tablespoons of nutritional yeast flakes after cooking to add extra flavours.
- 🎃 Serving ideas: Serve as a spooky side dish for Halloween buffets or Bonfire Night dinners. These beans are delicious spooned over baked or jacket potatoes, scooped over toast, or alongside any meal or stews.
- 📜 Swaps: Swap out the vegan bacon for finely diced mushrooms or smoked tofu. Optional: Smoked paprika or liquid smoke can be added to give a smoky flavour to the beans if using mushrooms.
- 🕯️ Make-ahead tip:These beans taste even better the next day, making them a perfect prepare-ahead dish for Halloween parties, Bonfire Night, or autumn meals.
Nutrition
🫘 More vegan bean recipes 🫘
I love meat-free bean recipes as they make for amazingly budget-friendly meals that are creative and fun as well as being very delicious. All these bean recipes are ideal for quick and easy meals served on top of toast or for sides alongside a main meal. Our family favourites are these Boston Baked Beans, these traditional British Baked Beans and my vegan take on the Mexican classic Refried Beans, and this Vegan Bean 'chicken' Supreme which is adapted from the British retro chicken supreme!
💬 Comments
It would be wonderful if you would drop us a comment below to let us know what you think of our Witches Cauldron Bean recipe! It's a fun addition to any Halloween meal or just for everyday meals.
Jacq says
My family loves this vegan bean recipe, but we'd love to know what you think! It would be wonderful if you could drop us a comment below. All your feedback is very much appreciated as it helps me to know which recipes you are enjoying. That way I can create more of the recipes that you actually want and need. Thanks! Jacq x