The Testosterone Blueprint
Back to recipes

Smashed Butter Bean and Avocado on Sourdough with Cherry Tomatoes and Chives

Butter beans and ripe avocado smashed with lemon on toasted wholemeal sourdough, topped with cherry tomatoes and chives. A vegan breakfast with 16g of protein and 18g of fibre, ready in 15 minutes.

Breakfast

15

Serves 2

A thick slice of toasted sourdough spread with chunky green butter bean and avocado smash, topped with a row of sliced cherry tomatoes and snipped chives on a white plate

Ingredients

  • 2 large slices wholemeal sourdough bread (about 60g/2oz each)
  • 1 x 400g (14oz) tin butter beans (lima beans), drained and rinsed (about 240g/8½oz drained)
  • 1 medium ripe avocado (about 140g/5oz flesh)
  • Juice of half a lemon (about 15ml)
  • 1 tsp (5ml) extra virgin olive oil
  • 150g/5oz cherry tomatoes, sliced
  • A small bunch of chives (about 5g), snipped
  • A pinch of salt, black pepper to taste and a pinch of chilli flakes (optional)

Method

  1. Put the butter beans in a bowl with the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and roughly mash with a fork or potato masher. Leave some beans in pieces for texture.
  2. Halve the avocado, remove the stone, scoop the flesh into the bowl and mash it in until chunky and well mixed. Stir in most of the chives.
  3. Toast the sourdough for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden and crisp at the edges.
  4. Spread the smash thickly over the toast, top with the sliced tomatoes and scatter over the rest of the chives, a little black pepper and the chilli flakes, if using.
  5. Eat straight away. Any leftover smash keeps for up to 1 day in the fridge in a container with cling film (plastic wrap) pressed onto the surface; the top may darken a little. Not suitable for freezing.

Why it works

A slice gives you about 16g of protein and 18g of fibre for 421 calories. That is over half of the 30g of fibre a day recommended for adults in the UK; most adults there eat about 20g.

Why add butter beans. Avocado on its own is mostly fat. Mashing in butter beans doubles the protein of plain avocado toast and adds plenty of fibre, so it keeps you fuller for longer, and it stretches one avocado across two breakfasts.

Why it is tagged for blood sugar. The bread and beans bring 47g of carbohydrate, but with this much fibre, protein and healthy fat, the meal is less likely to cause a sharp rise in blood sugar. Wholemeal sourdough has more fibre than white bread.

Keep it chunky. Leave some beans in pieces when you mash; a smooth purée turns pasty on toast. Lemon juice brightens the flavour and slows the avocado turning brown.

Contains wheat (gluten). Use a gluten-free loaf for a gluten-free breakfast. For another avocado toast, try the pea and avocado smash on toast.