One-pan meals are the ultimate on a boat (or RV, or small apartment, right?) and this one is super easy and packed with protein. But please follow my cardinal rule about white beans. Use dried beans, not beans from a can. You will get a nutty, crunchier, more flavorful bean that doesn’t “mush out” like canned beans.

There is a debate amongst offshore cruisers on “canned vs. dried” for your bean provisioning. Dried makes much more sense. They are lighter in weight and you can pack far more beans into a space when they are dried. But looking beyond that is something more critical—fresh water and fuel consumption. Dried beans take a LOT of water and propane to reconstitute. So for offshore cruising go with the canned beams. Just remember to take all the paper labels off and label them with a sharpie.

But for this recipe, use dried!

Chicken Thighs with White Beans, Tomatoes & Spinach

1 cup dried cannellini or navy beans
4-5 cups water
4 cups chicken broth made from Better Than Bouillon

4 slices bacon or 2 tablespoon bacon fat
4 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin on
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 onion sliced
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 sprigs rosemary
¼ cup dry vermouth
½ cup chicken stock
2 cups cherry tomatoes
3 cups chopped baby spinach

Prepare the dried white beans. Place 1 cup of dried beans in a sauce pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Boil for one minute, then remove from heat and let sit for over 30 minutes.

Rinse the beans and place back into the pan, cover with broth and bring to a boil again. Let simmer until “crisp-al dente”, about 10-15 minutes. They will simmer again later in the broth so best if they are a little under cooked at this point. Drain and set aside.

Fry the bacon until just crispy. Remove the bacon, leaving at least 2 tablespoons of bacon fat in the pan. Chop the bacon. Or if you have reserved (I usually freeze it) bacon fat, melt 2 tablespoons in the pan.

Re-heat the bacon until smoking. Lay the chicken breasts into the grease, skin side down.  Brown well on one side in the bacon fat over medium-high heat. Be patient, this takes some time to get nice crispy skin, about 8-10 minutes. Flip the thighs and cook for another 6-8 minutes on the other side. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

Prep the vegetables. Mince the garlic, slice the onion, chop the spinach and halve the cherry tomatoes. Add the onion, garlic and bacon bits to pan and sauté until onions start to soften, about 3minutes. Add the rosemary and continue to sauté for about a minute. Pour in the vermouth or white wine and deglaze the pan, scraping with a flat spatula.

Add the chicken stock and white beans to the pan. (adjust the chicken stock to your desired saltiness with more or less bouillon) Return the chicken thighs to the pan, nestling them into the broth and beans. Cover and simmer for 15+ minutes, until thighs are thoroughly cooked through.

Add the cherry tomato halves to the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes until they start to soften.

Finally, remove the rosemary and add the chopped spinach to the pan. Cover the pan, turn off the heat and let the spinach wilt.

Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve the thighs on a bed of the white bean, spinach and tomato.

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Chicken Thighs with White Beans, Tomatoes & Spinach

A one-pan dish that's healthy, flavorful and packed with protein

Author: GalleyPirate

Ingredients

Cannellini beans (or Navy beans)

• 1 cup Dried cannellini or navy beans
• 4-5 cups Water
• 4 cups Chicken broth made from Better Than Bouillon Chicken

Chicken Thighs with White Beans, Tomatoes & Spinach

• 4 slices Bacon (or 2 tbsp bacon grease)
• 4 Chicken thighs, bone-in, skin on
• Salt & pepper
• 1 Onion, sliced thin
• 4-5 Garlic cloves, minced
• 1-2 sprigs Rosemary
• ¼ cup Dry vermouth (or dry white wine)
• ½ cup Chicken stock made from Better Than Bouillon Chicken
• 2 cups Cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3 cups Baby spinach, chopped

Instructions

Cannellini beans (or Navy beans)

• Prepare the dried white beans. Place 1 cup of dried beans in a sauce pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Boil for one minute, then remove from heat and let sit for over 30 minutes.
• Rinse the beans and place back into the pan, cover with broth and bring to a boil again. Let simmer until "crisp-al dente", about 10-15 minutes. They will simmer again later in the broth so best if they are a little under cooked at this point. Drain and set aside.

Chicken Thighs with White Beans, Tomatoes & Spinach

• Fry the bacon until just crispy. Remove the bacon, leaving at least 2 tablespoons of bacon fat in the pan. Chop the bacon. Or if you have reserved bacon fat (I usually freeze it), melt 2 tablespoons in the pan.
• Re-heat the bacon until smoking. Lay the chicken breasts into the grease, skin side down.  Brown well on one side in the bacon fat over medium-high heat. Be patient, this takes some time to get nice crispy skin, about 8-10 minutes. Flip the thighs and cook for another 6-8 minutes on the other side. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
• Prep the vegetables. Mince the garlic, slice the onion, chop the spinach and halve the cherry tomatoes. Add the onion, garlic and bacon bits to pan and sauté until onions start to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the rosemary and continue to sauté for about a minute. Pour in the vermouth or white wine and deglaze the pan, scraping with a flat spatula.
• Add the chicken stock and white beans to the pan. Return the chicken thighs to the pan, nestling them into the broth and beans. Cover and simmer for 15+ minutes, until thighs are thoroughly cooked through.
• Add the cherry tomato halves to the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes until they start to soften.
• Finally, remove the rosemary and add the chopped spinach to the pan. Cover the pan, turn off the heat and let the spinach wilt.
• Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve the thighs on a bed of the white bean, spinach and tomato.

Notes