This article comes from Nutrition Action. We don't accept any paid advertising or corporate or government donations. Any products we recommend have been vetted by our staff and are not advertisements by the manufacturers. 

“Every family meal we enjoyed as kids had a bowl of beans seasoned with sofrito,” say the brothers behind Fillo’s flavor-packed pouches of Sofrito Beans and Lentils.

A sofrito is made by sautéing and then slowly cooking vegetables like peppers, onions, and garlic in olive oil to concentrate their flavors. That base is used to season beans, rice, stews, and other dishes across Latin America (and the Mediterranean).

Think of Fillo’s six varieties as a heat-and-eat tour for your taste buds, from Cuban Black Beans and Peruvian Lentils to Puerto Rican Pink Beans, Tex-Mex Pinto, Mexican Mayocoba, and Panamanian Garbanzo.

Try the beans in tacos, alongside roasted chicken and vegetables, or in a bowl with a whole grain like quinoa or brown rice, roasted vegetables, avocado, and a squeeze of lime. Or toss the lentils into a chopped salad—no need to heat.

You’ll be so busy savoring Fillo’s just-like-homemade taste that you might forget you’re racking up the fiber (most varieties have 4 to 6 grams per half cup) and plant protein (7 to 10 grams). And the potassium (300 to 580 milligrams) helps counter the sodium (370 to 460 mg). (Tip: You can cut the sodium per serving by adding some unsalted canned beans.)

Talk about easy beans.