A comforting cheesy one pot white bean bake with cherry tomatoes, kale and caramelized onions in a creamy sauce. You will love the simplicity of this protein packed vegetarian dish, which is perfect served with bread or baked sweet potatoes.

Introducing your new favorite way to eat beans

It’s the year of the bean over here, and I’m finding that a great way to enjoy more beans is to treat them a bit like pasta or gnocchi, baking them in yummy sauces with cheesy toppings! So enter this Cheesy White Bean Bake, which merges elements from my trusted Falafel Tray Bake and Navy Bean Skillet recipes to create a bean focused dinner-worthy casserole that is super adaptable to the contents of your fridge, the seasons, your budget, etc.

The sauce is creamy and herby and full of juicy tomatoes and caramelized onions. We pack in some kale for extra texture and nutrition. We have three different cheeses including a cheesy mozzarella topping. It’s just pretty all round delicious. And you can change pretty much anything you need to change, so just dive in and see how it ends up!

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

  • Ideally your cherry tomatoes would be in season and really flavorful, since they are fairly prominent in this recipe, but if you don’t have the tastiest tomatoes available then I would cook them down a little bit in the pan before adding the wine. This will help them absorb some flavor from the other ingredients.
  • I used cannellini beans but navy beans, butter beans or any other white beans will work too.
  • You could use curly kale or lacinato kale (cavolo nero) or swap for spinach if you prefer.
  • You can use shallots instead of red onion if you’d prefer not to have so much onion in the pan. Goodness knows I couldn’t give my kids this recipe without making this swap 🙃.
  • The parmesan doesn’t need to be “real” DOP parmesan, just any really flavorful hard cheese. If you’re vegetarian you will need a rennet-free substitute for parmesan, I used a supermarket generic Italian Hard Cheese. A strong cheddar would also do fine. The alternative options are going to be less deeply flavored than a true parmesan so you will want to salt the dish well.
  • The mozzarella is for the topping and you could any shredded cheese or a blend if you prefer – you just want something really melty.
  • The feta is optional. I often have half a block of feta needing to be used up, so it found it a home here, but you could use any crumbly or soft cheese, or just use additional parmesan.
  • I highly recommend the white wine for flavor, but if that’s not an option, use additional vegetable stock and add a squeeze of lemon juice to the sauce instead.

With the right cookware, this is a one pot recipe

In order to make this all in one pot, you need a medium/large saute pan or casserole dish that

  1. Is both stovetop AND oven safe
  2. Has high sides
  3. Has a lid (for caramelizing the onions)

If you don’t have one pan that fits all those criteria, you will need a saute pan or saucepan with a lid to start it off and then a separate oven dish to bake it in.

Make a meal out of your White Bean Bake

This recipe can be the base of your meal, served alongside:

More White Bean Dinner Recipes

White Bean & Roasted Pepper Tacos

Vegetarian Creamy Tortilla Soup with White Beans

Roasted Tomato & White Bean Risotto

Creamy “Marry Me” Butter Bean Pasta

Cheesy White Bean Tomato Bake

A comforting cheesy one pot white bean bake with cherry tomatoes, kale and caramelized onions in a creamy sauce. You will love the simplicity of this protein packed vegetarian dish, which is perfect served with bread or baked sweet potatoes.
6 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Resting Time: 10 minutes
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Ingredients

  • olive oil, for cooking
  • 2 small red onions, thinly sliced – or 1 large onion
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • 5 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 tsp dried sage
  • 2 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp dried parsley
  • 2 cups (300 g) cherry tomatoes , halved
  • ¼ cup (60 ml) white wine, see notes
  • 28 oz (400 g) canned cannellini beans, drained but not rinsed
  • ⅓ cup (80 ml) heavy (double) cream
  • ⅓ cup (80 ml) vegetable stock
  • ¾ cup (85 g) parmesan, vintage cheddar or another strongly flavored cheese, grated
  • 4 oz (100 g) feta cheese, crumbled
  • 1 cup (100 g) mozzarella , grated
  • 2 cups (60 g) kale or spinach, chopped
  • Optional garnishes: fresh parsley or chives, lemon wedges

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 180C / 360F.
  • Heat a layer of olive oil in an oven safe saute pan or casserole dish and heat to a very low heat. Add the onions and sugar and cook, covered, for about 10 minutes until they are soft and sweating. While they cook, open the lid and stir a few times to prevent sticking.
    olive oil, 2 small red onions, 2 tsp sugar
  • Turn up the heat to medium, add the balsamic vinegar and lots of salt and pepper to taste. Cook for an additional 10 minutes (uncovered) until the onions are browning and sticky.
    1 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • Add in the garlic and cook until soft and fragrant, then add the dried herbs. Once they are fragrant, pour in the wine and allow it to bubble for a minute or two.
    (If you would prefer to have your tomatoes cooked down more into the sauce, rather than in distinct pieces, you can add them now and allow them to break down a little before moving on to the next step – this is what I recommend if your tomatoes aren't super sweet / in season)
    5 cloves garlic, 2 tsp dried sage, 2 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp dried parsley, 1/4 cup white wine
  • Add the beans, tomatoes, kale, cream, parmesan and vegetable stock to the pan and stir to combine.
    2 cups cherry tomatoes, 28 oz canned cannellini beans, 1/3 cup heavy (double) cream, 3/4 cup parmesan, vintage cheddar or another strongly flavored cheese, 2 cups kale or spinach, 1/3 cup vegetable stock
  • Take off the heat and add the feta crumbles. Stir in to distribute the feta through the pan but try not to stir for too long – we don't want them to melt in, we want them to stay in distinct pieces.
    4 oz feta cheese
  • Add the mozzarella to the top and then place in the oven, on a middle shelf, for about 20 minutes until bubbling. If the cheese isn't browning, move it to a higher shelf and cook for a little while longer.
    1 cup mozzarella
  • Remove from the oven and allow to sit for about 10 minutes, to allow the sauce to settle and thicken. Garnish with herbs and/or lemon if desired, and serve.
    Optional garnishes: fresh parsley or chives, lemon wedges

Notes

If you don’t want to use white wine, just use additional vegetable stock and add a squeeze of lemon.
Cuisine: European
Course: Main Course
Calories: 479kcal, Carbohydrates: 39g, Protein: 23g, Fat: 26g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 11g, Cholesterol: 55mg, Sodium: 607mg, Potassium: 858mg, Fiber: 8g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 1484IU, Vitamin C: 22mg, Calcium: 485mg, Iron: 5mg