Free UK delivery on all orders over £40

Rich, creamy, and mild, this best-seller is delicious without fuss. Essential for gourmet baked beans, but versatile enough for almost any cuisine.

The Heirloom Bean Co's sources these beans from North American bean specialist Rancho Gordo, founded in the early 2000s by Steve Sando to preserve and promote traditional and rare bean varieties of the Americas.

Yellow Eye is a beautiful and lovable bean. It’s at home in a warming winter supper and as a summer side, pairing equally with smoked ham or seasonal vegetables, often as a rich and delicious vegan soup. The cooked beans are soft and melt-in-your-mouth smooth. They are mild enough that they'll take on any of the flavours you use during cooking. Traditionally, Yellow Eyes have been the variety of choice for regional baked-bean aficionados. Team with molasses and salt pork for New England baked beans, or with mustard and leeks for the old-England original, first popularised in 18th-century Staffordshire. Either way, Yellow Eye’s russet-potato texture makes a perfect base.

Images & cooking instructions © Rancho Gordo Inc.

  • Kitchen Suggestions

    Baked beans, soups, dips, casseroles, pot beans. Yellow Eyes cooked with the best celery, carrot, onion, and garlic from the farmers market, plus a little extra-virgin olive oil, will make anyone happy. A smoky ham joint would do very well for itself resting in a pot with Yellow Eyes. And of course, they are our top choice for baked beans and casseroles.We've found that the more you cook with Yellow Eyes, the more you love them.

    Cooking these beans - the Rancho Gordo method

    Check beans for debris, and rinse thoroughly. In a large pot, sauté aromatic vegetables (onions, garlic, celery, carrot etc.) in olive oil. Add beans and enough water to cover by about 2 inches/5cm. Bring to a full boil for 10 to 15 minutes. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer, using a lid to help regulate the heat, and gently cook until done, 1 to 3 hours. Salt when beans start to soften. A pre-soak of 2 to 6 hours will lessen the cooking time.

    Recipe ideas

    Rancho Gordo’s Yellow Eye and Fennel Casserole

    Wednesday beans and greens

  • Ingredients

    Yellow Eye Beans

    Similar to: Mayocoba, Navy, haricot, Great Northern

    Latin name: Phaseolus vulgaris

    Country of origin: USA

    Sold in resealable 1lb (453g) bags

More From This Collection