This easy avocado toast recipe packs some extra protein thanks to a can of butter beans! Smash the beans and avocado together, layer it on some buttery fried toast, and top with fresh herbs for a hearty breakfast. Ready in 15 minutes. Vegetarian.
A recipe this simple really has no business being THIS delicious. But here we are: Sharing an easy AF smashed avocado toast that our recipe testers deemed truly, actually *lifechanging*.
The avocado topping here is simple: Mash some canned butter beans up with a fresh avocado; top it with a ton of chives. But the real magic comes from a bit of sourdough that's slathered in butter and pan-fried to golden, crispy perfection.
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Ingredients
Scroll to the recipe card below for a full ingredients list with exact quantities.
This is a very loose recipe, but we still want to highlight a few things before you jump in:
- An avocado and some canned butter beans are our breakfast MVPs. Drain and rinse the beans before you get started!
- Lemon juice adds a bit of acidity and brightness to our butter bean + avocado mixture. Store-bought or fresh squeezed lemon juice both work here!
- Sourdough bread is our go-to in this recipe, but we also love homemade crusty bread or small batch bread here. (PS - For all things homemade sourdough, check out our Everyday Artisan Bread course!)
- Fresh herbs take this recipe from "tasty avocado toast" to gourmet AF. We used fresh chives here; this recipe is also good with fresh basil or parsley (or a mix of all three!)
Variations and Substitutions
This recipe is so forgiving: Dial any ingredient up or down to suit your tastes! You can also riff a bit:
- Add protein. Crispy bacon, prosciutto, or breakfast sausage are all tasty toppings here. You can also add a poached or fried egg!
- If you don't have butter beans, use cannellini beans or Great Northern beans in their place. Chickpeas or black beans also work in a pinch, although they won't give you quite the same buttery, creamy texture.
- Add toppings! Goat cheese, feta, hot honey, toasted nuts, and extra herbs are all delicious additions here! (PS - Keep reading to see some of our favorite toppings in action!)
Instructions
Mash the Avocado and Beans
Scoop your avocado into a small mixing bowl and add a pinch of salt (Image 1, below). Lightly mash it with a fork to start breaking up some of the larger pieces (Image 2). You don't need to get the avocado perfectly smooth here: We like leaving plenty of chunks so the topping has a bit of texture!
Add drained, rinsed butter beans to the bowl (Image 3, above) along with a bit of fresh cracked black pepper. Lightly mash everything together (4) to break up some of the beans and coat them with avocado.
Pro Tip: Don't worry about mashing every single bean! Leave some butter beans whole to give these toasts plenty of texture variation.
Add chopped chives and lemon juice to the avocado mixture (Image 5, above) and stir to combine. Save a few chives for topping the toast later!
You'll end up with a pale green avocado-bean mixture with a rustic, chunky consistency (Image 6). Set this mixture aside while you toast your sourdough!
Fry the Toast
Spread both sides of each sourdough slice with a bit of softened butter (Image 7). Fry the bread in a hot skillet until golden brown, then flip and repeat on the other side (8). Depending on the size of your skillet, you'll likely have to do this in batches!
Pro Tip: Pan-frying the bread gives this toast a crispy exterior with a buttery, soft center. This simple technique is our favorite way to make any toast taste like it came straight from a restaurant! If you're short on time, you can skip this step: Just toast your bread in a regular toaster and spread a bit of butter over each one before adding the avocado mixture.
Assemble
Scoop a bit of the avocado mixture onto each slice of toast. Use a fork to lightly press the avocado down as you go: This distributes it evenly across the toast's surface and help it stick to the bread.
Add toppings
Top each slice of toast with some extra chives. We also like to add a pinch of flakey salt and a few more turns of fresh cracked black pepper, but you can add any toppings you like! This bean and avocado toast is a great blank canvas. A few of our favorite ideas:
A Few FAQs
Sort of! In the United States, we often use these terms interchangeably, and the preferred name varies by region. Butter beans and lima beans are both members of the Phaseolus lunatus plant species (source). However, Lima beans and butter beans may be packaged at varying levels of maturity: Canned beans labeled "lima beans" are often a slightly smaller size with a light green color (this is because they're harvested earlier, making them a "younger" bean), while "butter beans" (also called large limas or gigante beans) are typically bigger, with a creamy white color and a softer texture. PS - check out our butter beans recipe collection for more great ideas!
Use canned white beans like (Cannellini Beans or Great Northern Beans) instead of the butter beans here if you like. You can also use Garbanzo Beans (Chick Peas) or even black beans in a pinch, but they don't have the same creamy, cozy texture. We used the Wegmans brand canned Butter Beans in these photographs!
You need to cook the beans for this butter bean toast first (don't just swap dried beans for the canned beans here). But yes, you can swap cooked, previously dried beans for the canned beans here! Learn more: How to cook beans.
We love serving avocado toast with egg (poached, fried, scrambled, you name it!) or extra fresh herbs, but you can add just about any flavors you like here! Smoked salmon, ham, crispy bacon, or breakfast sausage are delicious if you'd like some animal protein. You can also add extra seasonings to this avocado breakfast (lemon zest, everything bagel seasoning, red pepper flakes, za'atar, sesame seeds, etc), as well as veggies (diced tomato, sautéed mushrooms, roasted garlic, caramelized onion, lightly dressed spinach or lemon arugula, and more!) For a heartier meal, you can also use this avocado and butter bean mixture as a sandwich filling.
Definitely! Just use olive oil or your favorite vegan butter substitute in place of the butter here.
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Print📖 Recipe
Smashed Butter Bean Avocado Toast
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves 3-4 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This easy avocado toast gets an extra punch of protein from canned butter beans!
Ingredients
- 1 ripe avocado
- 1 15-ounce can butter beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
- 4-6 slices sourdough bread or crusty bread
- 2-3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 heaping Tablespoons chopped fresh chives, plus extra for garnish
Instructions
Make the avocado mixture:
- Cut avocado in half; remove the pit. Scoop avocado into a medium mixing bowl, then lightly mash with a fork to break it up into large chunks.
- Add drained butter beans to the bowl, along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Lightly mash the mixture together until the butter beans are evenly coated in avocado. Tip: Don't worry about mashing this into a super smooth mixture: A rustic, chunky vibe is exactly what we're going for!
- Add chives and lemon juice to avocado mixture; stir to combine. Set aside while you make the toast.
Make the Toast:
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Spread both sides of each piece of bread with a thin layer of butter.
- Place buttered bread in the hot skillet. Cook 1-3 minutes until golden brown. Flip and repeat on the other side. (Depending on the size of your skillet, you'll likely need to work in batches here.)
Assemble:
- Top each slice of fried bread with a generous scoop of the avocado mixture. Use a fork to gently press the avocado onto the bread so it reaches the edges and sticks to the surface.
- Garnish with extra chopped chives, a few turns of fresh cracked black pepper, and your favorite toppings. Serve immediately.
Notes
This is a very loose recipe. Feel free to eyeball the exact ingredient amounts! Use more or less of any ingredient to suit your personal tastes. After a few tries, you'll be able to make these butter beans in your sleep.
Add toppings! Add an egg (poached, over easy, sunny side up, scrambled) for extra protein. Add meat (crispy bacon, prosciutto, breakfast sausage) or cheese (crumbled goat cheese, feta, shaved parmesan) if you like. Garnish with toasted nuts (walnuts, pistachios, almonds, pepitas), red pepper flakes, flakey sea salt, honey or hot honey, cherry tomatoes, balsamic glaze, grilled corn, or lemony arugula.
Substitutions. Use cannellini beans or great northern beans in place of the butter beans. You can also use chickpeas (the texture just won't be quite as creamy). If you don't have time to pan-fry the bread, toast it in a regular toaster and spread each piece with a bit of butter before assembling these toasts. Use fresh basil or fresh parsley in place of some or all of the chives.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 toast
- Calories: 524
- Sugar: 6.6 g
- Sodium: 1274.2 mg
- Fat: 12.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 84.8 g
- Protein: 19 g
- Cholesterol: 15.3 mg
Keywords: brunch, protein, healthy
Jessie
I can't stop making this avocado toast! The butter beans make this toast feel rich and creamy, and I love the extra protein. Also, pan-fried bread = superior. Don't skip the lemon juice or the chives, they add a ton of brightness!
★★★★★