Simple Buttery Bean and Sage Pasta

By Christian Reynoso

Updated November 13, 2025

Kerri Brewer for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Cyd Raftus McDowell.
Ready In
25 min
Rating
5(25)
Comments
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Super adaptable and elemental, this pasta offers rich comfort from butter, autumnal sage and creamy white beans. In this recipe, butter is swirled into water to create a sauce called beurre monté. It’s a delicate sauce, but sturdy enough to bloom the flavors of the sage as well as the garlic and lemon peel. The strips of lemon peel give up their fragrant citrus oils to the dish and provide an attractive garnish, but are not meant to be eaten. Canned beans can be bland, so taste your beans and salt them as necessary before cooking — like you would chicken or steak — so the flavors stick. Beurre monté adds lushness and seasoning, but rich sauces like these don’t penetrate as well as salted water or broth, so don’t skip salting early. Grated Parmesan is a welcome topping for the final dish, and a side of roasted broccolini would also do well here.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • Salt and pepper

  • 12 ounces penne rigate (or other short pasta) 

  • 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled

  • 1 large lemon

  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped or grated garlic (from 3 to 4 cloves) 

  • ¼ cup chopped fresh sage leaves 

  • 1 (15-ounce) can white beans, such as butter beans or cannellini, drained and seasoned with salt to taste

  • Grated Parmesan, for serving, optional 

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

72 grams carbs; 77 milligrams cholesterol; 613 calories; 9 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 19 grams saturated fat; 32 grams fat; 7 grams fiber; 370 milligrams sodium; 13 grams protein; 3 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, then drain and set aside. 

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, cut the butter into 10 pieces and keep in the fridge until step 3. Measure out ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons of cold water. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the zest from the lemon into 4 long strips (or finely grate the zest). Cut the zested lemon into wedges for serving, if desired.

  3. Step 3

    When the pasta is cooked and drained, heat a large (12-inch) skillet over medium-low and add the pieces of butter and the cold water. As the butter melts, swirl and jostle the pan to emulsify the mixture, creating a creamy sauce. Add the garlic, sage and lemon peel strips. After 20 to 30 seconds, stir in the beans. Stir to coat the beans in the sauce and then turn off the heat. 

  4. Step 4

    Add the pasta to the pan, turn the heat to medium and toss to coat the pasta with the butter-sage sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately, topped if desired with grated Parmesan and with the lemon wedges alongside.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
25 user ratings
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Comments

Cathy

Looking for a way to eat more fiber, I decided to cook the cannellini without the pasta. The butter, garlic powder (my variation; I also omitted the lemon), and sage leaves made the beans taste heavenly. I served them over basmati rice.

T Schu

I still have lots of sage from my garden & I guess Thanksgiving didn’t completely sate my craving for it. So I tried this easy recipe. It was delicious! The intro to this recipe calls it adaptable. So I made a few changes to make it a bit healthier for my family. I cut the amount of butter and added some spinach. I think I can cut back on the butter even more next time and I will increase the amount of beans and greens to have better proportions. I don’t think I changed it enough to make it into a completely different recipe. Though sometimes I see people complaining when recipes are reviewed with changes. I hope I haven’t offended anyone. Here are my notes for next time: Use 5-6 Tbs butter instead of 10. Use 2 cans of Cannellini beans instead of one. Use more garlic and sage & a sprinkle of red pepper flakes with them. After adding the beans leave it on medium low and keep stirring for at least a minute to cook the garlic and sage more and thicken the sauce. Then stir in at least 5 oz of tender leafy greens like spinach. When greens are wilted remove pan from heat. Add plenty of freshly ground black pepper & shaved Parmigiano Reggiano.

Karla

This was such an easy and quick to make recipe. Now that I have made it once, I think it could be made in the time it takes to boil the pasta and assemble the meal. We didn't have a lemon on hand, and it was still good but the lemon would definitely have upped the flavor. Do not skimp on the sage! I had about 3 T (instead of 4) and wished I had a bit more for the sage flavor to come through. I thought the cheese overshadowed the delicate flavor of the sage and would omit next time.

Mary

How much cold water?

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