Cheesy White Bean Tomato Bake With Dried Butter Beans
That lonesome bag of dried beans in your pantry is begging to be used, and this recipe is a prime contender. Featuring meaty white beans in a veggie-packed tomato sauce, topped with oodles of cheese, and baked till golden brown and gooey, these cheesy beans are sure to win over even the staunchest legume detractors. Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.
Equipment
- Mixing/Prep Bowls
- Large Mesh Strainer or Colander
Ingredients
- 1 pound Dried White Beans, Large rinsed and picked over. Preferably Butter Beans, Lima, Gigante, or Royal Corona, but smaller varieties like cannellini work too.
- Cool Water
- 3-4 tablespoon Olive Oil, divided
- 230 grams Carrots, Diced Small about 3 large, 1 ¾ Cups
- 165 grams Celery, Diced Small about 3-4 stalks, 1 ½ Cups
- 300 grams Yellow Onion, Diced Small about 1 large, 3 Cups
- 1-2 Jalapeños, Diced Small optional, can omit if sensitive to heat
- 6-10 cloves Garlic, Chopped Small
- ~2000 mL Cool Water
- 3-4 teaspoon Kosher Salt, divided
- 28 oz Canned San Marzano Tomatoes packed in tomato purée
- 6 oz Kale stems removed and diced fine, leaves chopped into 2" pieces; can swap in the leafy greens of your choice (e.g. spinach)
- 6-8 oz Edam Cheese or low-moisture mozzarella, or any other melty cheese of your choice; coarsely shredded
- 3 oz Parmesan Cheese or any hard-aged Italian cheese, coarsely shredded
- Italian Seasoning to taste
- Red Pepper Flakes to taste
- Fresh Italian Parsley optional, for garnish
Instructions
Prepare Dried Beans
- Thoroughly rinse and pick over the dried beans for stones or debris. Cover with enough cool water to cover the beans by 2 inches. Cover and soak 6-8 hours or overnight. [If you're in a rush, you can pour boiling water over the beans to cover by 2 inches, then soak for an hour.] Drain and discard soaking water. Set beans aside.
Cook Dried Beans
- In a Dutch oven or large oven-safe pot with lid, heat 2 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. When it begins to shimmer, add the carrots, celery, onions, and jalapeño. Sauté till veggies begin to soften and onions become translucent, about 8-10 minutes.
- Add garlic and sauté till fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add drained, soaked beans and enough cool water to cover them by about 2 inches. (I used about 2000mL). Bring to a boil for 10-15 minutes, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cover and simmer 1-3 hours, stirring occasionally, until beans have softened to al dente. Season with 2 teaspoons of kosher salt after the beans have begun to soften, at least 20 minutes before they're done cooking entirely. Strain off the bean cooking liquid by pouring the beans through a colander set over a bowl. Reserve the beans and the liquid for later.
Assemble & Bake
- While the beans are cooking, prepare the tomatoes and kale. Pour the tomatoes into a bowl and squish into roughly cherry tomato-sized pieces with your hands or a pair of scissors. Set aside. Remove kale stems and chop leaves. If you don't want to waste the stems, chop them finely.
- Return the Dutch oven to medium heat. Add another 1-2 tablespoon oil, then briefly sauté the kale and kale stems till the leaves begin to wilt and the stems soften. Using a slotted spoon, add the tomato pieces, reserving the liquid.
- Add the cooked beans and aromatics back to the pot. Slowly add the leftover tomato juice, as needed. The beans shouldn't look completely dry, but they shouldn't be stewy, either. We're basically making baked rigatoni, but with beans. If needed, add up to ½ cup of the bean cooking liquid next. (The rest can be saved for making soup or sauce — it's pre-starched vegetable stock!)
- Season again with kosher salt, to taste. (I used about 1 ½ teaspoons here)Remove from heat. Spread beans/veggies in an even layer. Preheat the oven to 475F.
- Add the shredded Edam (or preferred melting cheese) first, then top evenly with parmesan. Sprinkle on the Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes with the same vigor as you would on your favorite slice of pizza.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes in the preheated oven, until cheese is browned and bubbly. If needed, you can hit it with the broiler to make this process go faster — just keep an eye on it!
- Carefully remove from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes. Serve with (or on top of) a piece of buttered toast or garlic bread. Garnish with parsley, if desired, then dig in!
Storage & Reheating
- These cheesy tomato white beans will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 2 months. If possible, store them in Pyrex (borosilicate glass) containers so you can remove the lid and bake them back to bubbly goodness without dirtying another dish.To reheat, I recommend using the oven or toaster oven set to about 200-250F. They should warm through in about 30 minutes. If you’re in more of a rush, microwaving also works!
Notes
- The amount of time the beans take to cook to al dente is dependent on a few factors. First, pre-soaking the beans will cut down on cook time. Even if you can only soak for 2 hours, that's better than nothing. Second, the age of the dried beans will play a factor. If they've been sitting in your pantry for a few years, they're going to take longer than freshly dried beans. Third, the variety of beans will also play a factor. I like using fat beans like butter beans/lima beans or gigante beans, but smaller white beans will also work.
- Only boil for 15 minutes. After that, the beans should be simmered gently. You should see small bubbles coming to the surface, but you don't want them to get pulverized, so keep it low.
- Wait to add salt. While common cooking practice encourages salting at every step, you need to be a bit careful with dried beans. Wait to add any salt or acid to the pot until the beans are beginning to soften, or they may end up tough.
- Waste not, want not. While kale stems are tough, they're still edible. I like to chop them finely and add them in with the aromatics. Also, hang onto the bean cooking liquid — you can use it for soup, sauce, or stew later in the week. As a bonus, it's already pre-starched, so it adds lovely body to whatever you make.
- Shred your own cheese. It melts so much better! Also, feel free to play with cheese varieties. The inspiration here is baked rigatoni and/or pizza, so use whatever you like on your slice. Since I'm doing No-Spend January, I used the Edam I bought from Aldi a couple of months ago.
Nutrition
Calories: 411kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 25gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 1448mgPotassium: 1542mgFiber: 12gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 7414IUVitamin C: 37mgCalcium: 533mgIron: 8mg
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