Pizza beans! A vegetable-forward version of baked ziti in which the pasta is replaced with white beans. The recipe makes a large tray, so it’s perfect for leftovers throughout the week.
Pizza Beans

So. The toddler sass.

!&*($#@&*$#)&*()#@

My whole life is an endless chorus of “No, mommy! BIG GIRLS DON’T DO THAT.”

Apparently big girls don’t: wash their hands, put their toys away, take naps, eat lunch, eat breakfast, eat dinner, (but y’know cake is okay), use the potty….okay, so the list is ENDLESS.

It might be faster to make a list of things big girls do do. It would include approximately two things: (1) destroy everything in their path, (2) ignore everything that mommy says, especially as it pertains to any of the aforementioned activities.

Pizza Beans

Except, of course, for those rare occasions when big girls are really sweet and tell you they love you “so so much” for absolutely no reason at all.

And then they totally shock you by eating their KALE and their BEANS in what can only be described as a completely unprecedented eating frenzy. No, I don’t know what kind of vegetable loving alien invaded my kid’s body, BUT PLEASE CAN IT STAY?!?!

Clearly these pizza beans are just magical entities that Smitten Kitchen invented to save the lives of mamas everywhere. They’ve got the best cheese crust layer on top and really do taste alarmingly like pizza. I’m not sure how she does it. Heck, I’m not even sure I want to know. Some questions are better left unanswered. Let’s just eat.

Pizza Beans
 
Pizza beans! A vegetable-forward version of baked ziti in which the pasta is replaced with white beans. The recipe makes a large tray, so it's perfect for leftovers throughout the week.
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 carrots, peeled and diced
  • salt and red pepper flakes, to taste
  • 2 large garlic cloves, minced
  • ¼ cup white wine
  • 1 bunch curly kale leaves, torn
  • 28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
  • 1 lb cooked white beans
  • ¾ cup vegetable broth
  • ½ lb mozzarella, coarsely grated
  • ⅓ cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
  1. Heat the oven to 475F.
  2. In a large oven-proof Dutch oven, heat the olive oil on medium high heat. Stir in the onion and carrots. Season with salt and red pepper flakes, to taste. Cook until the vegetables start to brown, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the garlic and cook for anothe rminute.
  3. Add the wine and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Simmer until it evaporates, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the kale and cook until wilted, another 1-2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer, then stir in the beans and broth. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes, then remove from the heat.
  4. Sprinkle the beans with the mozzarella, then the parmesan, and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until browned on top. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes to set, then serve warm
Notes
Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

 

blog_share_subscribe
Share →

8 Responses to Pizza Beans

  1. Kate says:

    It’s the love child of pizza and chili! The forbidden romance as old as time.

  2. OMG, I wonder if I can trick my strange-vegetable-loving-but-bean-hating kids to eat beans with this. Because, like, PIZZZZZAAAA!

  3. Pam says:

    Toddler sass? Just wait for teenage sass! It includes lots of eye rolls and loud sighs at how annoying you are. Super fun. 😉 But, with that being said, it still melts my heart when they are sweet and loving.

    Loving these pizza beans. YUM!

  4. Sue says:

    Would this recipe work using canned white beans?

  5. Love this idea! I’m totally making this and planning on leftovers for lunch as far as it’ll take me!

  6. Courtney says:

    The SK recipe calls for 1 pound of cooked beans, not 1 pound of beans, cooked.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *