Open stoneware bowl with mash potato topped with rich and dark chill beans, topped with shreds of sauerkraut

Photographed truthfully.
If you cook my recipes, your food will look like mine.

Bonfire Beans, Mustard Mash and Sauerkraut Fire Pickle

Bonfire night warmth with Eastern European sparks

Table of Contents

✨ Before We Begin…

This is food for when the wind picks up and the light slants sideways. It’s not complex, but it’s considered — with flavours that layer like clothes in cold weather: the food is smoky, sweet, sharp, soft. The beans simmer themselves into richness; the mash carries mustard with grace; the pickle dances in the background like a sparkler just out of reach. You could cook this around a campfire or plate it up in the kitchen — it goes wherever comfort is needed.

What Will You Learn Whilst Making This Recipe?

  • You’ll learn to layer savoury and sweet into a balanced, deeply flavourful bean base — the kind every plant-based cook should have up their sleeve. As vegans, beans are one of our greatest tools — so knowing how to cook them well, and differently each time, matters.
  • You’ll infuse mash with gentle mustard warmth, learning how to balance sharpness and comfort. Using two types of mustard is ideal, but even one can bring nuance when handled well.
  • And you’ll practise building a fast, bright pickle — the kind of finishing touch that transforms a dish from good to unforgettable. Quick pickles are worth mastering, and this one sings.

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The Cook’s Mind

Teaching Points — What This Recipe Helps You Practise

  • Blooming spices properly before adding liquid
  • Layering flavour with acids, aromatics, and sweetness
  • Mash texture: controlling moisture and seasoning
  • Quick pickling for contrast and flair
  • Pan management: deglazing, simmering, seasoning

Make-Ahead

  • The beans can be made 3 days ahead and stored in the fridge.
  • If you need to make the mash ahead of time, that’s fine. But just make the mashed potato part, and hold covered in the fridge. Add the butter, milk and the rest of the listed ingredients just before you eat it.
  • Fire Pickle could be made the day before but it’s better made just before you eat it.

Freezer-Friendly

  • Beans freeze well for up to 3 months.
  • Defrost overnight in fridge and reheat gently.
  • Mash is not freezer-friendly — texture suffers.

Rescue Mission – What To Do When Things Go Wrong

  • Beans too dry? Add a splash of stock or water.
  • Mash too stiff? Loosen with more milk or butter.
  • Fire Pickle too sharp? Add a pinch of sugar.

Key Substitutions

  • Molasses: maple syrup for lighter sweetness
  • Kidney beans: black, borlotti or mixed beans
  • Smoked paprika: paprika or liquid smoke
  • Nutritious yeast: grated vegan cheese or leave out

Cooking Parlance

  • Blooming the spices: heating them briefly to unlock their oils and aroma.
  • Deglazing: a process to lift flavour stuck to the pan using an acid or liquid.

Free Companion Quiz: Bonfire Beans Edition

Put your kitchen knowledge to the test — five short multi-choice questions drawn from this recipe.

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A Note on Origin

This dish belongs to bonfire night. Not the caricatured kind — the real, damp, smoke-on-your-coat kind. It’s British but widened a little, with Eastern European nods and the bite of fermented food. It lives annually where warm nostalgia matters and food has to stand up for itself.

Ingredient Focus: Sauerkraut

Fermented cabbage might not sound poetic — but it is. Its sharp tang and subtle fizz slice through richness like a whistle in the dark.

✨ Fire in the belly — sour, bright, and alive.

To Ingredient Focus: Sauerkraut

My Favourite Way To Eat

Taken in a big flask and ladled into a bowl in the boot of a car with Georgia’s hopeful eyes steadily watching. Sometimes I skip the mash and fold the beans into a jacket potato with the pickle on top — it’s not traditional, but it feels right.

Serving Suggestions

  • Serve with oatcakes or crusty bread.
  • Add a side of slow-roasted carrots or buttered greens.
  • Top with grated horseradish or a spoon of tahini yoghurt.

Multi-Purpose Recipe

This recipe has more than one life…

Use the beans in wraps with pickles and fresh herbs. The pickle makes a bright addition to sandwiches, toast, hotdogs, or grain bowls.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • It’s hearty without heaviness — a bowl of real food with backbone and brightness.
  • It’s one of those lovely dishes that improves with age… make plenty of it, a double batch (!), and freeze some for the depths of December.
  • The Fire Pickle alone is worth making on repeat.

Handpicked to Go With This One

A few recipes that play well together — flavour friends, not just neighbours.

Waste Less: How To Use Up Your Ingredient Stash!

Got something spare — a handful, a spoonful, or the end of a packet? These tags help you find other ways to use it. It’s a small step toward cooking intuitively and wasting less❣️

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Bonfire Beans, Mustard Mash and Sauerkraut Fire Pickle Recipe

Open stoneware bowl with mash potato topped with rich and dark chill beans, topped with shreds of sauerkraut

Bonfire Beans with Mustard Mash and Sauerkraut Fire Pickle

Julia Savory
This recipe brings together smoky, spiced beans with creamy mustard mash and a quick, fiery sauerkraut pickle. It’s bonfire food for grown-ups — deep, generous, with a little heat and tang to keep things lively. A beautiful choice for chilly nights when you want full-body flavour and a little culinary spark.
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Photographed truthfully. If you cook it, yours will look like mine.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Dinner, Main
Cuisine British Home Cooking
Servings 4 servings
Calories/Seving 442 kcal

Ingredients
  

Ingredients for the Beans

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 200 g red onion | unpeeled weight; small dice
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 garlic clove | crushed and chopped
  • 1½ tbsp tomato purée
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar | or red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp light soy sauce | or tamari
  • 2 tbsp molasses
  • 400 g chopped tomatoes | canned
  • 235 g red kidney beans | drained weight
  • ½ tsp chilli flakes
  • 100 ml vegetable stock
  • ¼ tsp salt | to taste
  • ¼ tsp ground black pepper | to taste

Ingredients for the Mustard Mash

  • 1000 g potatoes | unpeeled weight; floury potatoes such as Maris Piper or Désirée; peeled and cut into chunks
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 30 g butter | unsalted
  • 2 tbsp soy milk | any milk is OK
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
  • 1 tbsp nutritious yeast
  • salt | to taste
  • ground black pepper | to taste

Ingredients for Sauerkraut Fire Pickle

  • 4 tbsp sauerkraut | use your favourite
  • 1 tsp grated ginger | a very small amount to add heat without too much ginger flavour
  • ½ green apple | slender julienne
  • 1 tsp lemon juice | to put onto the apple julienne to prevent browning
  • 1 tsp smoked oil
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Instructions
 

Instructions for the Bonfire Beans

  • Warm the olive oil in a medium heavy-based pan over low–medium heat. Add the onion and salt, and cook gently until golden and sweet – about 10 minutes.
    1 tbsp olive oil , 200 g red onion , 1 pinch salt
  • Stir in the garlic. Cook for another minute, letting the aromas rise.
    1 garlic clove
  • Add the tomato purée and spread it around a little, across the base of the pan; then cook it for a minute or two, until it turns from a bright red into a darker red.
    1½ tbsp tomato purée
  • Add the spices and mix into the other ingredients in the pan. Add a little water if it's looking dry. Stir for 30 seconds to bloom the spices — this is where the depth begins.
    1 tsp smoked paprika , 1 tsp ground cumin
  • Turn the heat in the pan up slightly and wait for a minute. Then deglaze the pan (now that it's hotter). Add the apple cider vinegar and soy sauce. The excess liquid will evaporate.
    1 tsp apple cider vinegar , 1 tsp light soy sauce
  • Add the molasses, the chopped tomatoes, the red kidney beans, the chilli flakes and the stock. Turn the heat down a little and then simmer for 15 minutes or so, covered. Stir occasionally. Add a little stock if it's looking a little dry.
    2 tbsp molasses, 400 g chopped tomatoes , 235 g red kidney beans, ½ tsp chilli flakes, 100 ml vegetable stock
  • Taste and adjust – the goal is deep, smoky, slightly sweet beans with body.
    ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp ground black pepper

Instructions for the Mustard Mash

  • Place the peeled potatoes in a saucepan, cover with cold salted water, and bring gently to the boil. Simmer until tender when pierced with a knife – about 12–15 minutes.
    1000 g potatoes , 1 pinch salt
  • Drain well and let them steam off for a minute so the edges turn dry and fluffy.
  • Mash or rice the potatoes while still warm. Fold in the ingredients listed.
    30 g butter , 2 tbsp soy milk, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 1 tsp wholegrain mustard, 1 tbsp nutritious yeast
  • Taste the mash and adjust the seasoning.
    salt, ground black pepper

To serve

  • Make the Sauerkraut Fire Pickle: mix the ingredients listed together. Cover until needed.
    4 tbsp sauerkraut, 1 tsp grated ginger, ½ green apple, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp smoked oil
  • Spoon the mash into shallow bowls, swirl with the back of a spoon, ladle the beans on top and add some pickle.

Notes

Make-Ahead
The beans can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept covered in the fridge. Reheat gently with a splash of stock or water. Mash is best fresh, but you can boil the potatoes earlier in the day and mash just before serving.
Freezer-Friendly
The beans freeze beautifully for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat slowly. Mash does not freeze well due to texture loss.
Key Substitutions
Use mixed beans for variety — borlotti, kidney, or butter beans all work. Maple syrup can stand in for molasses for a lighter, more aromatic sweetness.
Cooking Parlance
Blooming the spices — heating them briefly in oil or tomato paste to release their aroma fully.

Nutrition

Calories: 442kcalCarbohydrates: 77gProtein: 14gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gSodium: 585mgPotassium: 1803mgFiber: 14gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 616IUVitamin C: 68mgCalcium: 128mgIron: 6mg

Nutritional values are estimates only and will vary depending on specific ingredients used. Nutrition is per serving. Information is for the main recipe, not optional accompaniments.

Keywords bonfire night, campfire cooking, cosy comfort food, vegan bonfire night, vegan comfort food
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

COPYRIGHT

© The Golden Polar Bear, 2025. Recipes and photography by Julia Savory. If you share this, please pass it along with kindness and if possible share a link back to this site. #ForTheAnimals

Photographed truthfully. If you cook it, yours will look like mine.

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Photographed truthfully.
If you cook my recipes, your food will look like mine.