Chef Curtis Stone reveals his favourite bean recipes as Aussies increasingly turn to the budget filler

There's a food staple in Curtis Stone's kitchen that some might overlook – an ingredient that's good for the bank balance, is healthy and also flavoursome.

We're talking about beans. Not just any beans, the multitude of beans: black beans, pinto beans and garbanzo bean, more commonly known as chickpeas.

But what recipe does Stone recommend the budget staple be used in?

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"I live a lot of my year is spent in Southern California and we have such beautiful Mexican food there," award winning Australian chef Curtis Stone told 9honey Kitchen.

"We have a restaurant in Mexico, in Playa del Carmen, and beans are a staple of Mexican cuisine."

Stone said beans are a great way to save money when it comes to cooking dinner and is an excellent supplement in meals and for changing the ratio of ingredients.

"We have a burrito night every week at my house and my kids absolutely love it," he said.

"And what goes into the burrito is beans. There's a little rice, there's some guacamole and some salsa or pico de pico de gallo."

Pico de pico de gallo is a kind of salsa used in Mexican cooking.

As well as the beans, Stone cooks chicken for burrito night.

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"You can either use minced chicken or you can use sliced chicken, but you spice it. So the ratio of meat to other things on the plate ends up being much smaller," he said.

Another way to use beans is to purée them and do a refried style bean.

"Black beans are really nice when they're puréed and that's just literally a tin of beans thrown straight into a blender," he said.

"You turn it into a purée and that becomes sort of a great base for for lots of dishes."

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These dishes could be dips for snacking.

"There's a great seven layer dip made in the States which has lots of different layers and a great festive dip that you can sort of take to people," he said.

"It's a bean dip predominantly, but there's also avocado and sour cream and cheese and things like that that kind of layer up. I think beans are a great thing that you can certainly stretch your meals."

Stone said for those looking to save a few dollars, other kitchen staples are chickpeas and dried legumes.

"Chickpeas are also wonderful. You can serve them Moroccan style. You could make a tagine, you can serve them Indian style, and you can also cook them and toss them through a salad," he said.

Dried legumes on the other hand, Stone said, are cheaper than any canned good.

"If you buy lentils, for instance, they're extremely economical and they make beautiful soups and you can braise them and they can have a substantial place on your plate," he said.

Lentils are also versatile when it comes to flavours.

"Whether it's with some Indian spices and you slowly cook them or I make a delicious Italian style soup," he said.

He makes lentil ribollita with some vegetables, lentils and leftover bread which is turned into croutons with a little bit of olive oil.

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