Gigantes Plaki

Name: Gigantes Plaki
Prep time: 19 min
Cook time: 36 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 400g Butter Beans; 3 tbs Olive Oil; 1 chopped Onion; 2 chopped Garlic Clove; 2 tbs Tomato Puree; 800g Tomatoes; 1 tbs Sugar; 1 tbs Dried Oregano; Pinch Cinnamon; 2 tbs Chopped Parsley

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Vegetarian recipe with Greek flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 71 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 55 min total

400g Butter Beans
3 tbs Olive Oil
1 chopped Onion
2 chopped Garlic Clove
2 tbs Tomato Puree
800g Tomatoes
1 tbs Sugar
1 tbs Dried Oregano
Pinch Cinnamon
2 tbs Chopped Parsley

Step-by-step instructions

Soak the beans overnight in plenty of water.
Drain, rinse, then place in a pan covered with water.
Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, then simmer for approx 50 mins until slightly tender but not soft.
Drain, then set aside.
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan, tip in the onion and garlic, then cook over a medium heat for 10 mins until softened but not browned.
Add the tomato purée, cook for a further min, add remaining ingredients, then simmer for 2-3 mins.
Season generously, then stir in the beans.
Tip into a large ovenproof dish, then bake for approximately 1 hr, uncovered and without stirring, until the beans are tender.
The beans will absorb all the fabulous flavours and the sauce will thicken.
Allow to cool, then scatter with parsley and drizzle with a little more olive oil to serve.

Why this works on a weeknight

Gigantes Plaki lands at about 55 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Sheet-Pan Dinners collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Gigantes Plaki actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🍳 Sheet-Pan Dinners Vegetarian Greek