Cheesy White Bean-Tomato Bake

Cheesy White Bean-Tomato Bake

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.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 fat garlic cloves

    thinly sliced

  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 cans white beans or chickpeas

    drained and rinsed, 15-ounce

  • 1/2 cup boiling water
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1/3 pound mozzarella

    coarsely grated, about 1 1/3 cups

Directions

  1. 1

    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.

  2. 2

    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.

Cheesy White Bean-Tomato Bake

Cheesy White Bean-Tomato Bake

Similar Recipes

Baked Feta, Tomato & White Bean Skillet

Baked Feta, Tomato & White Bean Skillet

This Baked Feta, Tomato & White Bean Skillet is the perfect dish for scooping up with your favorite toasted whole-grain bread.

45 minutes4 servings638 kcal
Creamy, Spicy Tomato Beans and Greens 

Creamy, Spicy Tomato Beans and Greens 

This weeknight wonder is for those who delight in turning a modest can of beans into a spectacular dinner. Inspired by the flavors of red pesto, this recipe calls for simmering cannellini beans with staple ingredients like onion, garlic, crushed red pepper, tomato paste and heavy cream, as well as sun-dried tomatoes and salty Pecorino, until the results taste complex and rich. Top the beans with a lemony arugula salad that is peppered with fried bread crumbs for a dish that is crunchy, chewy, crispy and creamy in every bite. 

40 minutes4 servings
Cheesy Garlic and Herb Bread

Cheesy Garlic and Herb Bread

This gooey Cheesy Garlic and Herb Bread recipe using one of those fluffy loaves of bread at the grocery store, can be baked or grilled.

40 minutes12 servings
Cheesy White Bean Skillet

Cheesy White Bean Skillet

We bet you’ve got the ingredients for this in your kitchen already. Believe it or not, if you've got eggs, canned white beans, and some marinara, you've got breakfast!

25 minutes2 - 3
Tomato Cheddar Toasts

Tomato Cheddar Toasts

Tomato and Cheddar toasts don’t need fussing — just crusty bread, swoops of mayonnaise, perfect summer tomatoes and the sharpest Cheddar you can find. It’s in the construction where things can go from good to great. Instead of cheese that’s sliced (which can be stiff and unrelenting) or broiled (and coagulated), take a cue from Chris Kronner’s burger wisdom in “A Burger to Believe In” (Ten Speed Press, 2018) and stir finely grated Cheddar into the mayonnaise. When slathered on hot, toasted bread, the cheese will melt into a creamy base somewhere between a </span><a href="https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019033-creamy-queso-with-pickled-jalapenos"><span>queso</span></a><span> and pepper-free </span><a href="https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017354-pimento-cheese"><span>pimento cheese</span></a><span>. It has the pluck of sharp Cheddar, albeit in a plush and delightful form.

Cheese Bread

Cheese Bread

Soft, fluffy and loaded with cheese, this easy Cheese Bread tastes just like Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits! No kneading required. Perfect served as a side with a nice pat of butter or even for sandwiches.

50 minutes
Spaghetti Squash Cheesy Bread

Spaghetti Squash Cheesy Bread

Spaghetti Squash Cheesy Bread from Delish.com proves spaghetti squash can do it all.

80 minutes6 servings
Cream Cheese Pasta Bake

Cream Cheese Pasta Bake

This Cream Cheese Pasta Bake is a simple recipe made by oven roasting a block of cream cheese with cherry tomatoes and a few other basic ingredients to create a creamy, flavorful sauce!

4 servings

Ratings & Reviews

Be the First to Rate

Your rating helps others discover amazing recipes. Share your experience and let others know what you think!

About this Recipe

Love the irresistible crispy, cheesy edges of lasagna but wish you could have that experience in every bite? This Cheesy White Bean-Tomato Bake delivers just that, offering deep, savory tomato flavors and comforting textures that will make it a new favorite weeknight meal.The magic truly happens with how we treat the tomato paste. By frying a few generous squeezes of tomato paste in olive oil, you caramelize the tomato's natural sugars, transforming it into a rich, concentrated base. This technique deeply saturates the olive oil with an incredible depth of flavor, creating a mixture that perfectly coats the tender white beans and gives this bake its distinctive, delicious character.Prepare for a truly comforting experience. Each spoonful offers a delightful interplay of textures: tender, creamy white beans enveloped in a sticky, deeply flavored tomato sauce, all crowned with molten or wonderfully crisp mozzarella. The caramelized tomato paste provides a profound umami richness, mimicking the complex taste of sun-dried tomatoes, making this humble bake taste incredibly sophisticated. It's a dish that feels both hearty and surprisingly light, with a balanced profile that makes it utterly satisfying.This Cheesy White Bean-Tomato Bake is wonderfully adaptable. While white beans like cannellini or Great Northern are perfect, you can easily swap them for chickpeas, offering a slightly different texture and nutty flavor. For a heartier meal, consider stirring in some cooked kale for added greens, or integrate roasted vegetables for extra layers of flavor and nutrition. You could even fold in some cooked noodles for a more substantial, pasta-bake feel, making it incredibly versatile for any pantry.Serve this warm, bubbling bake straight from the dish with plenty of crusty bread for dipping and a vibrant, bitter-green salad to cut through the richness. It’s an ideal comforting meal for a cozy family dinner or a relaxed gathering with friends, promising satisfying flavors with minimal fuss.

Frequently Asked Questions