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Prebranac

Prebranac is baked white beans, slow-roasted with caramelized onions, garlic, and paprika until the top turns dark and sticky.

⏱ 25 minPrep time
🔥 2 hrCook time
🍽 6Servings
🏷 Balkan KitchenCategory
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Prebranac is baked white beans, slow-roasted with caramelized onions, garlic, and paprika until the top turns dark and sticky. It is vegetarian comfort food at its most persuasive.

Served hot or at room temperature, prebranac is a Serbian classic that accompanies grilled meats or stands proudly on its own with bread. It is even better when made a day ahead.

Step by stepInstructions

  1. Drain the soaked beans into a pot with fresh water and simmer 45 minutes, until just tender.
  2. Meanwhile, caramelize the onions in the oil over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, until deep golden.
  3. Stir the garlic, tomato paste, paprika, salt, pepper, and bay leaf into the onions; cook 2 minutes.
  4. Combine the beans and onion mixture in a baking dish with a little of the bean cooking liquid.
  5. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until dark, sticky, and jammy. Remove the bay leaf and serve.

💡 Chef tips & storage

Patience with the onions is everything: the longer they caramelize, the sweeter and deeper the dish. Day-old prebranac is famously even better.

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Recipe details

Prep25 min
Cook2 hr
Servings6
CategoryBalkan Kitchen
PublishedAugust 17, 2026
Emily — the cook behind My Comfort Recipes

Hi, I'm Emily 🧡

Hi, I'm Emily — the cook behind My Comfort Recipes. Simple, tested comfort food for real weeknights, written down the way grandma would. Pull up a chair. More about me →