A simple recipe for Italian Baked Beans, with kale, cannellini beans, and your favorite homemade (or store-bought) Marinara sauce, baked in the oven until golden and bubbling. A delicious vegetarian main! Vegan adaptable and Gluten-free. Video
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This recipe for Italian Baked Beans will make good use of your Homemade Marinara Sauce or or Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce. Fold in lacinato kale and fresh mozzarella to create a cozy vegetarian meal perfect for cooler fall nights. And yes, you can absolutely use vegan cheese. Or serve it as a tasty hearty side dish, keeping it simple with pecorino and basil. Take this recipe and use it as a base for your own creations! It’s super yummy and EASY.
Italian Baked Beans | 60-sec Video
What you’ll need:
- Cannelini Beans- cooked or canned beans make this fast and easy!
- Marinara sauce – Make your own, or use store-bought.
- Olive oil- for richness.
- Cheese- Mozzarella or Burrata, and Parmesan or Pecorino cheese
- Seasonings- Salt, black pepper, chili flakes, and fresh basil are nice too.
- Optional additions: lacinato kale or spinach, sautéed mushrooms
VArIATions
- Make it vegan- top with meltable vegan mozzarella cheese or try this Vegan Cheesy Sprinkle.
- Add meat – Browned Italian sausage would be tasty here, vegan sausage, or cooked seasoned ground beef or turkey.
How to Make Italian Baked Beans
Step one
Using either cooked cannellini beans or canned cannellini beans, strain, and place in a baking dish.
Toss with olive oil, salt pepper and optional chili flakes.
Step two
Add your favorite marinara sauce. Feel free to use store-bought or make your own Marinara sauce or Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce .
Step three
Stir this together and feel free to add chopped baby spinach or kale.
You can also incorporate fresh kale or spinach.
Step four
Top with grated pecorino cheese. For a richer meal- feel free to add fresh mozzarella or even burrata cheese.
Step five
Bake in the oven until bubbling and golden.
When it comes out, your house will smell amazing!
Storage and meal prep
Leftovers will keep up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator, or freeze for up to 3 months. This also makes a great freezer meal! Prep it up to 2 days ahead, bring to room temp before baking.
More recipes you may enjoy:
- Baked Enchilada Beans
- Baked Feta with Harissa Chickpeas
- Fast & Easy Marinara Sauce
- Mole Black Beans
- Baked Enchilada Beans
- Eggplant Lasagna
- Smoky Tomato White Bean Soup
- Ribollita! (Tuscan White Bean Soup)
- Smoky Black-Eyed Peas and Collard Greens
- Simple Oven-Roasted Tomato Sauce
- Vegan Cheesy Sprinkle
- Catalan Sautéed Spinach
- Baked Rigatoni
- Italian Blood Orange Sorbet
We’ve been serving it up with pinot noir, a leafy green salad and crusty bread to mop up all the delicious juices.
Hope you enjoy!
xoxo
Sylvia
Print
Italian Baked Beans and Kale
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: vegetarian main, side dish
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
A simple recipe for Italian Baked Beans, with kale, cannellini beans, and your favorite homemade (or store-bought) Marinara sauce, baked in the oven until golden and bubbling. A delicious vegetarian main! Vegan adaptable and Gluten-free.
Ingredients
- 4 cups cannellini beans or white beans (cooked, or 2 x 14-ounce cans, drained)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper
- pinch chili flakes- optional
- 2 cups marinara sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- optional: big handful lacinato kale, torn, thick stems removed (or sub baby spinach)
- 1/4 cup parmesan or pecorino cheese
- optional 4-5 slices fresh mozzarella ( or sub grated, or burrata cheese)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375F
In a 9-inch ovenproof or skillet or medium-sized baking dish, add the white beans and stir them with the olive oil, salt, pepper and chili flakes. Add the marinara sauce and water and mix again. Stir in the kale if adding. Shake the pan to level it and sprinkle with the pecorino or parmesan and nestle in the optional mozzarella.
Bake uncovered in a 375 F oven until bubbling and golden, 25-35 minutes. Feel free to broil for a couple of minutes to get the top extra golden.
Garnish with fresh basil and serve with crusty bread and a leafy green salad.
Notes
Leftovers will keep up to 4 days in the fridge.
You can embellish this even further by adding browned Italian sausage (or vegan sausage,) or sauteed mushrooms, or topping it with pesto.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ¼ cup (made w/ both Pecorino and Mozzarella)
- Calories: 353
- Sugar: 6.6 g
- Sodium: 679.3 mg
- Fat: 10.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 43.6 g
- Fiber: 12.8 g
- Protein: 23.2 g
- Cholesterol: 5.1 mg
Absolutely loved this dish. We turned it into a mains by adding more protein (sautéed mushrooms and chicken chunks), providing yummy leftovers for the rest of the week. Used spinach instead of kale as we had it on hand. This recipe will definitely go in our regular rotation!
Love it! Glad you enjoyed.
This has become a fave at our house! So quick and easy, but feels
nourishing and hearty. I use our favorite bolognese sauce & whatever dark greens we have. Takes 5 minutes to throw together and everyone is happy!
Wonderful! Everyone happy is the best. 🙂
This recipe is super easy to make and tastes delicious. Serve with a crusty roll and you have a comforting dinner.
Thanks Debora, glad you are enjoying!
This was absolutely as easy as described, and delicious. It was perfect for a warming, comforting weeknight meal that left us full but not stuffed.
Notes: For two adults, two school kids, we did three cans of beans, used our own quick marinara from an 28oz crushed tomato can, and topped it with stracciatella (it was on sale) instead of mozzarella. Even the kids ate their whole portion. So happy to have a delicious bean meal that isn’t just chili. This one is a keeper!
Wonderful, so glad it was enjoyed by all! Appreciate your review.
Great recipe! I was wondering if you have ever tried to freeze any leftovers?
Hi Caryn- this freezes great. I added some notes to the recipe post. 🙂
I forgot how much I loved this! My grandparents made a very similar dish like this when I was little so I had to give it a try. Nostalgia hit me big time with the smell floating in the air.
Love that Coll. So glad you gave it a try!
Thank you Sylvia
I increased this recipe to feed 25 people at an unhoused shelter where we have created a meal train to bring healthy lunches for 25 servings 3x a week. I substituted spinach for the kale. It was a warm healthy delicious lunch served with salad and buns. I will make it again for them. Thank you
Beautiful Sue. Thanks for sharing this!
Freezes beautifully 🤗
Thanks for the report Sue, appreciate it!
YUM! I used dried cannellini beans and added italian herbs and seasoning to that pot. I also added sausage to the final dish. The percorino really was the ticket and this recipe will go into regular rotation. Thanks for another great recipe!
Appreciate your review Carolyn!
Delicious! I could eat this every day.
Nice to hear. 🙂
This sounds and looks amazing. Heading to town in the morning for supplies.
Will let you know.
Great Carol, love to hear how it goes!
What a fast and easy recipe to make! I was so tired today and this came together in under 30 minutes and was delicious!
Perfect Naila! Glad you enjoyed. 🙂
Simple and delicious. Thank you!
Great to hear!
Fantastic meat alternative meal, especially with onion, mushroom and a good bread. Reheats well for leftovers.
Glad you enjoyed this Dave!
This was so easy and so delicious! We just added some fresh lemon on top for some more acidity but otherwise stuck to the recipe and it was a big hit! Thank you for a great recipe!
Glad you enjoyed this!
This turned out better than expected- it seems so simple but it’s really wonderful. Thanks for all your creative vegetarian recipes.
Great to hear Tammy!
Good and comes together very easily. Next time I may add two pinches of chili flakes since I wanted a touch more spice. Other than that I was pretty heavy handed with the mozzarella on top and don’t regret it.
Yes, please do adjust to your own taste! Glad you enjoyed.
Just made this recipe again. It is so good, fast to put together and never fails to get complements. Thank you
Thanks Cindy, so happy to hear this!
Made this tonight for dinner with Italian sausage, spinach and soft mozzarella. Easy peasy and rave reviews. So quick and flavorful!
Wonderful Laurie!