Description
These easy pizza baked butter beans are perfect for busy weeknights!
Ingredients
- 2 15-ounce cans of butter beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup of your favorite pizza sauce
- 1/4 cup water (optional - see recipe notes)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup pepperoni
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh basil, for garnish (optional)
- Crusty bread or sourdough, toasted, for serving
Instructions
- Heat oven to 450° Fahrenheit.
- Mix butter beans, pizza sauce, and water in a medium-sized baking dish with a pinch of salt.
- Top with mozzarella, pepperoni, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Bake at 450°F for 20-30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted and lightly browned.
- Top with basil (optional) and serve with some toasted crusty bread.
Notes
Substitutions and Additions. Stir your favorite cooked proteins (Italian sausage, chicken, or ham) or veggies (black olives, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms) directly into the butter bean and sauce mixture or sprinkle them over the mozzarella as additional toppings. Stir roughly chopped spinach or kale into the sauce for extra greens. Adjust the cheese by using white cheddar, parmesan, or provolone in place of some or all of the mozzarella. Substitute canned cannellini beans or Great Northern beans for the butter beans if you like. Swap the pizza sauce for marinara or spaghetti sauce (see the note about water below).
Do I need the water? We wrote this recipe to use our homemade pizza sauce, which is quite thick: The splash of water here helps thin that sauce out to keep the beans moist as they bake (and prevent the sauce from drying out or burning) and give you a broth-y-er final sauce that’s perfect for sopping up with bread. If you’d prefer a thicker, less brothy final sauce, or if you’re using a thinner pizza sauce (or a jar of marinara/spaghetti sauce), you can skip the water.
The cheese may not brown right away: At first, it may look like the mozzarella is just melting into the sauce without forming much of a top crust. Be patient and give it a few extra minutes in the oven if you need to! You can also pop these butter beans under the broiler for a minute if you'd like an even crispier top layer.
Serving Sizes. As written, this recipe makes 2 large standalone servings. If you serve it with plenty of bread, this is enough for 2-3 people; if you add a salad or another side dish, you can stretch it to 4 servings.
Keywords: gluten free, dinner, one pot