Cheesy White Bean-Tomato Bake Recipe • 5★ • 15 min

Published March 18, 2023

For those of you who love lasagna's edges, where sticky tomato meets crisp cheese, this whole dish is for you — even the middle. A tube of tomato paste here mimics the deep flavors of sun-dried tomato. Frying a few generous squeezes caramelizes the tomato's sugars and saturates the olive oil, making a mixture that's ready to glom onto anything you stir through it. Here, it’s white beans, though you could add in kale, noodles, even roasted vegetables. Then, all that’s left to do is dot it with cheese and bake until it’s as molten or singed as you like. Serve with bread and a bitter-green salad.

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¼cup extra-virgin olive oil

3fat garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2(15-ounce) cans white beans (such as cannellini or Great Northern) or chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Salt and black pepper

⅓pound mozzarella, coarsely grated (about 1⅓ cups)

489 calories; 22 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 50 grams carbohydrates; 11 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 24 grams protein; 1001 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Step 1Heat oven to 475 degrees. In a 10-inch ovenproof skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high. Fry the garlic until it’s lightly golden, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste (be careful of splattering) and fry for 30 seconds, reducing the heat as needed to prevent the garlic from burning.

Heat oven to 475 degrees. In a 10-inch ovenproof skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high. Fry the garlic until it’s lightly golden, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste (be careful of splattering) and fry for 30 seconds, reducing the heat as needed to prevent the garlic from burning.

Step 2Add the beans, water and generous pinches of salt and pepper and stir to combine. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top, then bake until the cheese has melted and browned in spots, 5 to 10 minutes. If the top is not as toasted as you’d like, run the skillet under the broiler for a minute or 2. Serve at once.

Add the beans, water and generous pinches of salt and pepper and stir to combine. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top, then bake until the cheese has melted and browned in spots, 5 to 10 minutes. If the top is not as toasted as you’d like, run the skillet under the broiler for a minute or 2. Serve at once.

It’s so worth it in a recipe where beans are the major ingredient, to use dried beans instead of canned one. Dried beans have a lovely firm texture and great taste. Buy some dried beans, rinse and dump what you need for your recipe into big saucepan of cold water and let sit overnight. Drain the water, add fresh water and simmer until tender. If you find you have a few too many cooked beans, you can freeze the extra in baggies to add to soups, chili etc.

I doubled the tomato paste and garlic and added a chopped yellow onion, drained/chopped San Marzano tomatoes, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Delicious!

Would recommend upping the amount of tomato paste slightly to enhance the flavor!

Very tasty. We followed other suggestions and it almost tasted like a lasagna with beans instead of pasta. Thank you!

Can't beat this for ease. Based on comments, I added onion, shredded cabbage, spinach, rosemary, crushed red pepper, and I used a whole can of tomato paste. I think I would have liked just a bit more liquid, so maybe try to add another 1/4 - 1/2 cup of water next time?

This bean dish is about as quick as it gets to qualify as a recipe. It’s also tasty.

Source: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019681-cheesy-white-bean-tomato-bake