Flexible in that this Cheesy Italian Baked Beans recipe could be your main dish, or part of a meal as a side. Here, traditional Italian ingredients like onion, garlic, tomatoes, cheese, and rosemary put a spin on classic baked beans.
The prep is minimal and afterward it only cooks in the oven for about 20 minutes. When it came to topping the casserole with the shredded fontina cheese, I may have put a bit more than the 1/2 cup that was called for… like 50% more 🙂
I added a final step of letting the casserole sit for 5-10 minutes after removing from the oven. We paired the entrée with a side of steamed broccolini and a toasted whole grain baguette with garlic and parmesan.
Cheesy Italian Baked Beans
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup coarsely chopped yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 28-oz. can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes, undrained
- ¼ cup fresh rosemary leaves, coarsely chopped, plus additional for garnish
- 3 15-oz. cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- ¾ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- Crushed red pepper
- Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup cup shredded Fontina cheese
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and 1/8 tsp. salt. Cook and stir for 5 minutes or 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. rectangular baking dish. Top with remaining Parmesan and the Fontina. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until beginning to lightly brown around the edges.
- Remove from the oven and let sit for 5-10 minutes to thicken.
- Sprinkle with additional rosemary before serving.
Adapted from a recipe in Fine Cooking Magazine
Accounting for Taste 
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