These Cheesy Italian Canned Baked Beans are a delicious spin on a Southern classic. Traditional Italian flavors like onion, garlic, tomatoes, and real Parmesan transform boring pantry staples into a comforting new dish. This is a sponsored post, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
When it comes to grocery shopping, I fall in to one of two extremes: either I order online and pickup (usually if I have my kiddos with me) or I shop alone wandering aimlessly for hours (only when I’m all alone). We joke that I will do almost anything to not have to take all three of my kiddos out to the store with me, especially when James is at the Fire Station. As a result, I’ve learned to get creative with my pantry staples!
Cheesy Italian Canned Baked Beans
These Cheesy Italian Canned Baked Beans were born from one such occasion. Fresh ingredients like onion, garlic, and rosemary brighten up canned beans and tomatoes from my pantry. Real Parmesan and fontina cheese send this comforting dish over the top.
Canned Beans
I always stock my pantry with several different kinds of canned beans. I keep black beans on hand for my Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup and Great Northern Beans for my White Chicken Chili Soup. This Cheesy Italian Canned Baked Beans recipe uses cannellini beans, which I also use for this Tuscan Bean Soup.
More recipes that use canned beans:
- Hearty Chili with Beans
- Chili Cornbread Pie
- Sausage and Bean Spinach Dip
- Spicy Black Bean Four Cheese Nachos
- Spicy Black Bean Corn Salad
Why wash canned beans?
Most recipes that use canned beans will instruct you to drain and rinse the beans before adding them into the dish. It’s important to do this step because the cloudy liquid (mostly starch and salt) may change the texture or taste of the dish if not discarded. Draining and rinsing also removes the metallic flavor sometimes found in canned beans.
In addition to canned beans, I also always have several different types of canned tomatoes. Crushed (for my Restaurant Style Salsa), petite diced (for my Linguine Arrabbiata), and fire-roasted (also used for my Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup) are among my favorites.
Good cheese is another pantry (refrigerator) staple in our house — it’s one of my favorite, go-to snacks and used in tons of my recipes. Real Parmigiano Reggiano is one of my favorites because is naturally lactose-free. (My husband and my son are both lactose-intolerant.) It is easily digestible and a great source of both protein and calcium.
For rich flavor don’t buy pre-grated parmesan, buy a wedge of Parmigiano Reggiano and freshly grate your own for the most intense flavor. Parmigiano Reggiano is the perfect addition to a cheese board or as a topping to a simple salad. And never toss that beautiful rind! Use it to flavor a delicious homemade broth.
Love Parmesan? Try my:
- Creamy Parmesan Risotto
- Parmesan Roasted Broccoli
- Creamy Parmesan Prosciutto Pasta
- Parmesan and Sausage Bolognese
- Roasted Red Pepper Parmesan Fettuccine
Serve this Cheesy Italian Canned Baked Beans dish with homemade cornbread or a loaf of crusty French bread. If you don’t have fontina cheese on hand, try provolone or Gruyere. Don’t skimp on the Parmesan though, you want that buttery, nutty flavor!
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup coarsely chopped yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- 28 oz fire-roasted crushed tomatoes, undrained
- 1/4 cup fresh rosemary leaves, coarsely chopped + extra for garnish
- 3 15 oz cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- 3/4 cup shredded Parmigiano Reggiano
- 1/2 cup shredded fontina cheese
- crushed red pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add onion, garlic, and 1/8 tsp salt.
- Cook, stirring constantly, for five minutes of until tender.
- Stir in tomatoes and rosemary. Bring to boiling; boil gently, uncovered, 5 minutes or until slightly thickened.
- Stir in beans and half the Parmesan. Season to taste with crushed red pepper, salt, and black pepper.
- Transfer to a 2-qt. baking dish and top with remaining Parmesan and the Fontina.
- Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until beginning to lightly brown around the edges. Sprinkle with additional rosemary before serving.
Kym Ramsay
Friday 7th of June 2019
I haven't tried it yet, but it looks delicious! My fussy kids only seem to like red kidney or black beans though, do you think this recipe would work with red kidney beans?
Thanks, Kym
Tawnie
Saturday 12th of January 2019
Cannot wait to make these!!
Susie
Friday 11th of January 2019
This looks fantastic! It's like bean lasagna.