Borlotti Bean (canned)
Tested serving
- ½ cup (91g)
Canned borlotti beans are High FODMAP at ½ cup (91g), driven by their natural GOS content.
- Like most legumes, borlotti beans carry GOS (galacto-oligosaccharides), the sugars that give beans their reputation for being tricky to digest. At the tested ½ cup (91g), the GOS load lands these firmly in High FODMAP territory.
- Canning and rinsing can wash away some FODMAPs into the liquid, so draining and rinsing well is always worth doing, but these beans still register high at the tested serving. They show up often in soups, salads, and hearty stews where the portion can be generous.
If you're craving that creamy bean texture, canned lentils or a small portion of firm tofu can bring protein to the plate while keeping things gentler.
Per ½ cup (91g): 0.91g GOS.
Why borlotti bean (canned) is rated high
Canned borlotti beans are high FODMAP at ½ cup (91g), and GOS is the subgroup responsible. That is the only serving in the published data for them, and it comes in high, so there is no tested lower rung to aim at and no published amount that has been shown to sit below it. Canning helps in the sense that GOS is water-soluble and leaches out into the liquid in the tin, which is why canned legumes generally run lower than the same bean boiled from dried, but for borlotti that head start is not enough: drained, rinsed and measured, ½ cup (91g) still lands at high.
What changes your risk
- Only one serving has been tested ½ cup (91g) is high, and nothing smaller has been published for this bean. Treat that as the state of the data rather than as an invitation to guess at a smaller amount.
- Draining and rinsing is still the right habit GOS dissolves in water, so the liquid in the tin holds some that has come out of the beans. Tip the tin into a sieve, let the cloudy liquid drain, and rinse under cold running water until it runs clear. This is why canned borlotti run lower than borlotti boiled from dried, and it is still worth doing, but it does not bring the tested serving down to low.
- Cooking changes nothing Stewing, mashing, roasting or simmering the beans for hours does not destroy GOS. Heat is not a lever here. The only mechanism that removes any of it is water that gets poured away, and in a stew that liquid stays in the dish.
- They stack with the rest of the bean family Chickpeas, kidney beans, baked beans, soy beans, cashews and pistachios carry the same subgroup, so a mixed bean dish is not a way to spread the load. It is the same load from more sources.
- They hide in composed dishes Minestrone, pasta e fagioli, bean soups, antipasto salads and mixed bean tins all put borlotti in without announcing it. Reading the tin and asking about the soup is more useful than portioning at the table.
Swaps
For the creamy, substantial role borlotti play in a stew or a minestrone, firm tofu holds its shape and brings the protein, potato and polenta give the starchy body, and carrots, green beans and zucchini fill out the pot without touching the same subgroup. Quinoa works where beans were bulking a salad, and walnuts or pumpkin seeds restore the texture a bean salad loses. Eggs, plain meat, poultry and fish cover the protein directly. Swapping to chickpeas, kidney beans or baked beans is no help at all, since GOS is exactly what makes borlotti high in the first place. Build the flavour base on garlic-infused oil with herbs, since a soffritto of onion and garlic adds fructans on top of everything else.
How to lower the load
Check tins carefully, because mixed bean and four bean blends very often include borlotti alongside kidney and cannellini, and a bean minestrone in a jar or a carton usually does too. Eating out, minestrone and pasta e fagioli are built on beans by definition, so ask what is in the pot rather than trying to eat around them. At home, keep the borlotti out of the recipe rather than reducing them, and let the vegetables, the tofu or the potato carry the dish instead. If borlotti matter enough to want back on the plate later, that is reintroduction work to do with a dietitian rather than something to experiment with mid elimination.
Common questions
are canned borlotti beans low fodmap
No. At the tested serving of ½ cup (91g) they are high FODMAP, and GOS is the subgroup driving it.
how much borlotti beans can i eat on low fodmap
The only serving in the published data is ½ cup (91g), and it comes in high. No smaller serving has been tested, so there is no published amount to aim for.
does rinsing borlotti beans make them low fodmap
Rinsing removes some GOS, because it is water-soluble and leaches into the canning liquid, and it is why canned beans run lower than the same bean boiled from dried. It does not change the tested ½ cup (91g) serving, which is still high.
what can i use instead of borlotti beans in minestrone
Potato and carrot give the soup body, green beans and zucchini keep the vegetable bulk, and quinoa or a gluten free small pasta carries the starch. Firm tofu adds protein. Other beans such as kidney or chickpeas are not a swap, since they carry the same GOS.
Try FODMAP Foods
Scan any food with your camera, search every rating in this list, and see your safe portion before you eat.
Learn more
Informational only, not medical advice. Individual tolerance varies. Talk to a healthcare professional or a dietitian for personal guidance.
References
- Fructan and free fructose content of common Australian vegetables and fruit. Muir et al. (2007), J. Agricultural and Food Chemistry 55(16):6619-6627.
- Measurement of short-chain carbohydrates in common Australian vegetables and fruits by HPLC. Muir et al. (2009), J. Agricultural and Food Chemistry 57(2):554-565.
- Quantification of fructans, galacto-oligosaccharides and other short-chain carbohydrates in processed grains and cereals. Biesiekierski et al. (2011), J. Human Nutrition and Dietetics 24(2):154-176.
- Dietary sorbitol and mannitol: food content and distinct absorption patterns. Yao et al. (2014), J. Human Nutrition and Dietetics 27(Suppl 2):263-275.
- FODMAPs: food composition, defining cutoff values and international application. Varney et al. (2017), J. Gastroenterology and Hepatology 32(Suppl 1):53-61. Supplies the low, moderate and high cutoffs used on this page.
Last reviewed September 22, 2026.