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| These baked beans take just twenty minutes! |
From “I’m Hungry” to “Dinner’s Ready” in Twenty
Have you ever wanted warm, comforting home-cooked food…now? The kind where you don’t have to simmer a pot all day or plan ahead? You want relatively healthy, super simple dinner in a flash. This is it. This is cheesy baked beans. Using ingredients you probably already have.
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| A fast meal using pantry staples |
A Delicious Meal Using Pantry Staples
I love that this recipe is so flavorful but that it comes together quickly with pantry staples. Beans, canned tomatoes, onion, garlic, spices, olive oil and cheese. Optional add-ons are bread or tortillas. Up the protein if desired with, my favorite, fried eggs, or brown some meat alongside the onion. It’s a hearty meal for a cold night.
Healthy Yet Comforting
Are you coming off the holidays with a few extra pounds? This is the perfect recipe to bridge the gap between holiday feasting and squeaky clean eating (if we ever get there…I mean, I haven’t arrived yet). Do you know what I mean, though? It’s hard to go from hard sugar and all the carb-laden side dishes to big salads and lean proteins. Baby steps, I say.
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| A comforting meal to help you on your way to clean eating |
That’s why I love this recipe to help me on my way to cleaner eating. Tomatoes, onions and garlic count as vegetables. The beans are full of fiber and protein. The olive oil is a super healthy fat. The cheese, well, it has protein. And, if you choose sourdough, the bread just got healthier, too. Not that you need all these reasons to make this dish. The taste alone will have you scheduling it into a weekly meal rotation.
Enjoy!
Easy Cheesy Baked Beans
Inspired by Real Simple
Serves 4
20 minutes to prepare
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 teaspoon teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 cans (31 oz) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 large can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes
8 oz. cheese (I used odds and ends from my fridge)
crusty bread for serving
optional add-ins: ground meat, sausage or fried eggs
Directions
1. Preheat broiler; place rack about 8 inches underneath flame. Saute onions and garlic in an oven-proof skillet until soft, about 5 minutes. (Add in meat, if using, with onions and garlic). Add in spieces and stir for a minute. Stir in beans and tomatoes. Use the back of a spatula to gently crush tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes.
2. Grate cheese and scatter on top of beans. Start toasting your bread. Put cheesy beans in oven for 3-4 minutes until cheese is melted and golden. Fry some eggs, if you want extra protein on top.
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