These Tomato Beans are an absolutely delicious way to enjoy the little health packed nuggets. Creamy white beans warmed in a slightly brothy tomato sauce then broiled with mozzarella cheese on top. Serve with lots of crusty bread alongside your favorite breakfast, or have it as your entire lunch or dinner.
Jump to:
Ingredients
Ingredients below are needed to make this super simple bean recipe. Ingredient amounts can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.
- White beans: Cannellini beans – my favorite white bean – because they have a super buttery, creamy texture but aren't too big or small. Mostly any white bean works (see below in ingredient substitutions). Canned beans are great here.
- Double concentrate tomato paste: Brings a robust tomato flavor without needing to use sauce with a bunch of additives.
- Water: Thins out the tomato paste and makes it soupy.
- Shallot: A mild onion flavor.
- Garlic: Thin sliced fresh garlic cloves.
- Cherry tomatoes: Fresh tomatoes combined with the tomato paste gives a nice balance and texture.
- Red pepper flakes: A little kick of heat with chili flakes – you can omit if needed.
- Shredded mozzarella: Low moisture mozzarella to be melted on the top of the beans. Fresh mozzarella has too much moisture for this.
- Fresh oregano: A fresh element at the end.
- EVOO: Extra-virgin olive oil to cook the shallot and garlic.
- Kosher salt and black pepper.
Ingredient substitutions
- Beans: instead of cannellini beans, butter beans, navy beans, or great northern beans also work. I would not use black beans or pinto beans, their flavor will change the dish too much.
- Water: chicken stock or vegetable stock would be great too (chicken broth / vegetable broth are more or less interchangeable for stock).
- Shallot: a small amount of yellow onion works.
- Garlic: you can use ½ teaspoon garlic powder.
- Red pepper flakes: chopped Calabrian chiles or a pinch of cayenne pepper can be substituted.
- Shredded mozzarella: any mild melty cheese such as shredded fontina cheese can be used.
- Fresh oregano: you can swap fresh parsley or fresh basil.
How to make Tomato Beans
1. Sauté garlic and shallot. Warm olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallots and cook until fragrant and starting to soften - about 3-5 minutes.
2. Add tomato paste. Add the tomato paste, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper to the cooked shallots and garlic. Cook until it deepens in color ever so slightly, 1-2 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes. Add the halved cherry tomatoes, cook until they start to soften and release liquid, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the water. Add the water to the tomatoes and bring to a low simmer over medium-high heat.
5. Add the beans. Once simmering, add the beans and cook for 5 minutes.
6. Top with cheese. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese evenly over top of the beans and broil for 4-5 minutes until deeply golden brown. Finish with fresh oregano and a drizzle of EVOO if desired.
Tips and tricks
- Use a pot that can go from stovetop to oven (at broil temperature) safely. If you don’t have one, transfer the beans to a baking dish before you add the cheese on top.
- Keep an eye on the broiler. Things happen quickly in there, make sure you don’t step away because that’s when burnt food happens.
- Cook with your senses, if you like your cheese not as browned on top, take it out a minute or two easier. If you like your cheese really deeply browned, keep it under the broiler a minute longer.
- If you have a batch of homemade beans, definitely use those! Or I have been liking the Heyday Canning Perfectly Seasoned Cannellini Beans.
- If you only have dry beans, here is a quick recipe to make them in the pressure cooker.
- If you want more of a rustic texture, use a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon to mash some of the beans lightly before adding the cheese.
Storage and reheating
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Reheat in the microwave for a few minutes until warmed through.
FAQs
Cannellini beans are packed with fiber, protein, iron, magnesium, and potassium. I love them as a main protein when I am trying to eat more vegetarian food. Estimated overall nutrient information for the recipe can be found in the recipe card.
Absolutely, just wait to do the cheese part until you are ready to serve.
Yes, add as much tomato sauce as you would have water, and add a splash of water or broth to loosen it up.
Yes, just substitute your favorite dairy free / vegan melty cheese that is similar to mozzarella. You could also skip the cheese altogether.
Did you make this recipe? Leave a rating and review below and tag me on social!
📖 Recipe
Tomato Beans
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic sliced
- 1 shallot diced
- 2 tablespoon double concentrate tomato paste
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 cup water
- 2 15oz cans of cannellini beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup low moisture shredded mozzarella
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano
Instructions
- Sauté garlic and shallot. Warm olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallots and cook until fragrant and starting to soften - about 3-5 minutes.
- Add tomato paste. Add the tomato paste, salt, and pepper to the cooked shallots and garlic. Cook until it deepens in color ever so slightly, 1-2 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes. Add the halved cherry tomatoes, cook until they start to soften and release liquid, about 5 minutes.
- Add the water. Add the water to the tomatoes and bring to a low simmer over medium-high heat.
- Add the beans. Once simmering, add the beans and cook for 5 minutes.
- Top with cheese. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese evenly over top of the beans and broil at 500°F for 4-5 minutes until deeply golden brown. Finish with fresh oregano and a drizzle of EVOO if desired.
Leave a Reply