Pulses: The Powerhouse Ingredient We All Need to Eat More Of
February 10, 2025, is World Pulses Day, a time to celebrate the nutritional and environmental benefits of one of the planet’s most sustainable protein sources—pulses.
But you may be asking yourself: What is a pulse, exactly?
Pulses are the dried seeds of legume plants and include ingredients such as beans, chickpeas, peas, and lentils. They provide a complete nutritional package: low in fat, high in protein, rich in fiber, abundant in various vitamins and minerals, and free of cholesterol. They are inexpensive and also require less water, land, and fossil fuels compared to other protein sources, particularly livestock or dairy.
Due to these advantages, pulses hold a significant place in global cuisines. You would be hard-pressed to find a country that doesn’t prominently showcase at least one—if not many—of the hundreds of different varieties of pulses available.
In celebration of World Pulses Day, we’re going on a globetrotting journey to explore how different countries prepare their favorite legumes. We worked with our Meatless Monday global partners to identify their favorite recipes.
Creamy Butter Beans (United Kingdom)
Because of their soft, smooth interior, butter beans are well-suited for all sorts of comfort foods. Brits typically use them in stews, casseroles, vegetarian pâtés, and mixed bean salads, but they’re particularly tasty when cooked down into a creamy dip. This recipe pairs the butter beans with fresh herbs, garlic, and spring onions to elevate their simple flavor. Serve them alongside toasted bread for a light lunch, or add extra broth and vegetables to make a quick soup. For the Creamy Butter Beans recipe, click here.
Porotos con Mazamorra (Chile)
In Chile, beans are an integral part of every meal. They’re often prepared as stews alongside other native ingredients. Porotos con mazamorra (Chilean summer bean soup) is one of the country’s signature dishes. It pairs the humble bean with corn, tomatoes, basil, and winter squash. The beans are added after the rest of the soup has been blended to maintain their shape and texture. For the Porotos con Mazamorra recipe, click here.
Guiso de Lentejas (Argentina)
Argentinians love lentils and eat more of them than any other pulse. Guiso de lentejas is a simple lentil stew that’s hearty, nourishing, inexpensive, and easy to prepare. This recipe uses sweet potato, bell pepper, mushrooms, tomato paste, and tons of spices—specifically, paprika—to complement the lentil’s natural earthiness. For the Guiso de Lentejas recipe, click here.
Bunny Chow (South Africa)
Bunny chow is fusion at its finest. The dish is believed to have originated in Durban, South Africa, where time-crunched laborers needed a convenient way to transport—and eat—their hot lunch. The large Indian community living in Durban went about hollowing loaves of bread and stuffing them with fragrant vegetarian curries. Although typically made with the speckled sugar bean, any legume will do.
For the Bunny Chow recipe, click here.
Tatale and Aboboi (Ghana)
Bambara beans originated in West Africa and remain a staple in Ghanaian cuisine. They are often prepared in a stew called aboboi and served alongside something crispy or fried. In this recipe, the beans are boiled and then simmered before being mixed with tomatoes, whole peppers, and fresh ginger. The plantain pancake, known as tatale, is fragrant, slightly sweet, and spicy, thanks to the inclusion of fiery scotch bonnet peppers. For the Tatale and Aboboi recipe, click here.
Easy Refried Beans (United States)
For such a popular dish, there’s a lot of misinformation about refried beans. First, they’re not fried (or refried, for that matter). The name is a mistranslation of the Spanish word refrito, which means “reheated.” The refried beans so popular in the United States are cooked with onions, spices, and water and mashed into a creamy paste that can be added to soft tortillas, crunchy taco shells, seven-layer dips, nachos, tostadas, or corn chips.
For the Easy Refried Beans recipe, click here.
Kongguksu (Korea)
Kongguksu is a cold Korean soup made with whole wheat noodles and a smooth soy milk broth. A bowl is a welcomed respite from the summer heat, but the dish is popular all year round. The soup is made from a blend of soybeans, pine nuts, and toasted sesame seeds, resulting in a creamy and pleasantly nutty broth. Although typically made with yellow soybeans, some recipes incorporate seoritae (Korean black soybeans) to create a different taste and color. Seoritae kongguksu, a cold soup with wheat noodles and a nutty soy milk broth. For the Kongguksu recipe, click here.
Black Bean Tofu (China)
Soybeans are foundational to Chinese culture and cuisine. Yellow soybeans are ubiquitous, but black soybeans—referred to as “black beans” throughout East Asia—are harder to come by. The black soybean has a vibrant green interior. When made into tofu, the resulting color is a muted wintergreen. For the Black Bean Tofu recipe, click here.
Feijoada (Brazil)
This traditional Brazilian stew is often served during festivals and celebrations. It’s made with black beans, pumpkin, yam, smoked tofu, and vegetable sausage and is typically served alongside rice, collard greens, farofa, and orange.For the Feijoada recipe, click here.
Zuppa Frantoiana (Italy)
For centuries, this vegetable bean soup has been a popular meal with the Tuscan peasantry. Now, it represents the bounty of the region, showcasing seasonal produce, spices, and ingredients. It’s made with potato, pumpkin, kale, beans, herbs, spices, and a finishing drizzle of good Tuscan olive oil. For the Zuppa Frantoiana recipe, click here.