Three Cheese Pizza Beans
Inspired by the internet-famous Smitten Kitchen Pizza Beans highlighted in Rancho Gordo’s new book, this wintery version has all the much-loved components - tomato, melty cheeses, and giant beans - along with pumpkin, feta, black olives and kale. A favorite one-pan make and bake meal.
My favorite photograph in Rancho Gordo’s The Bean Book is of Smitten Kitchen’s Pizza Beans. Pizza Beans are a thing, an all-star recipe that rocked the bean world when Deb posted it to her Smitten Kitchen site in 2017. Ed Anderson’s photo in the book captures everything people love about it - the oozy cheese, the tomatoes, the vibe of rustic decadence. The concept is this: combine the things you love about pizza - cheese, tomatoes, single-pan, etc. - but use beans in place of crust. It’s brilliant. I’ve been doing a fall/winter version of it lately that I thought I’d share here. This version still has all the components that made it famous - tomato, cheeses, giant beans. But I’ve been doing a pumpkin, kale, feta, and black olive version you might get onboard with.
Pizza Beans: This Recipe
This time of year I like to bolster the tomato base of these beans with crushed, roasted pumpkin. Good, 100% pumpkin from the can works great too. I don’t typically end up using the entire can, but our dog Polly loves to eat any leftover pumpkin, so it’s a win for everyone. Other variables:
- Feta Cheese: Crumbled feta, preferably in larger chunks, is key. The tomato, big bean, feta trifecta is classic for good reason. It lends a punctuation to the starchiness of the beans and acidity of the tomatoes that just hits perfectly.
- Beans: The corona beans called for here actually freeze really well, Greek gigante beans freeze nicely as well. So, if you want a recipe like this to come together as low-lift as possible, cook the beans ahead of time. Allow them to cool, and then freeze. I usually do two pounds of dried beans in a big pot in one go. The night before you want to cook the pizza beans, allow the beans to thaw in the refrigerator.
- Process: here's the general step-by-step
You're going to cook everything in one pan (above). Any large, oven-safe pan will work.
After the beans, vegetables, and tomatoes are cooked, remove from heat and top with a trio of cheeses. Don't skimp on the feta, it's my favorite in this recipe.
Bake until the cheeses are golden and melted. Serve hot! Here's a quick video of how it all comes together (below).
VIDEO: How To Make Three Cheese Pizza Beans
The Bean Book
If you’re new to cooking beans, or if you need fresh inspiration, this is your book. It talks through cooking dozens of beautiful heirloom bean varietals, and the recipes are wide-ranging. I’ve written the forward to exactly one cookbook (other than my own), and it was for this one. Steve and I met in the early 2000s in San Francisco when I would haunt the early morning Ferry Building Farmers’ Market. He showed up with his show-stopper heirloom beans and I’ve had a dedicated zone in my pantry for Rancho Gordo beans ever since.
Variations
- My favorite giant bean dish of all time is the one served at NOPA in San Francisco. Food & Wine included it in a feature with Steve forever ago - 2008 (here). Aside from the larger-than-life beans, the magic is the crunchy, toasted breadcrumbs combined with the oregano drizzle. I’ve drizzled today’s pizza beans with the oregano drizzle from NOPA and it’s heaven.
- I eventually found myself doing a riff on the (above) NOPA beans where the beans are baked in a bright, chunky chipotle tomato sauce, topped with crunchy breadcrumbs, plenty of oozy queso fresco, and an emerald drizzle of cilantro pesto - Giant Chipotle Baked Beans. Play around a bit!
More Bean Recipes
- Slow Cooked Coconut Beans
- Lemon Gigante Beans
- Chipotle Baked Beans
- Pan-Fried Beans with Kale
- Refried Beans
- How to Cook Beans
- A List of Best Bean Recipes
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Three Cheese Pizza Beans
For the beans here I like to use Rancho Gordo Royal Corona beans (start with 1-lb dried beans), Greek gigante beans are another option. For the pumpkin component, you can use homemade roasted pumpkin (smashed) or canned 100% pumpkin puree. You can make a vegan version by experimenting with a range of plant-based cheeses - if you have a melty kind you like for pizzas, start there.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup / 60 ml dry white wine (optional)
- 4 ounces (one small bunch) kale leaves, chopped or torn
- 1 14- ounce can crushed tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted
- 1 cup / 8 ounces 100% pumpkin puree or mashed, roasted pumpkin
- 6 cups cooked, drained giant white beans
- 1/4 cup oil-cured black olives, torn into pieces
- up to 3/4 cup broth or water (optional)
- 6- ounces mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated or torn
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Zest of one lemon
- Lots of freshly snipped chives
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Preheat oven to 475°F, with a rack in top third.
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In a large, shallow dutch oven or other ovenproof pan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. I use my Le Creuset 3 1/2 quart #30 braiser. Add the onion, carrot, and celery. Season with the red pepper and salt. Cook until the onions brown a bit, 10 minutes or so. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
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Add the wine (if using) and use a wooden spoon to scrap any golden bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer until the wine disappears, a minute otherwise so. Stir in the kale and cook until it collapses. Add the tomatoes and pumpkin, stir well, and bring to a simmer. Stir in the beans and olives, and, if the mixture looks too dry or thick add some broth or water 1/4 cup at a time. Dial back the heat to medium and simmer for another 10 minutes. Taste and add more seasoning if needed. Remove from heat.
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Use your wooden spoon to level out the top of the beans before sprinkling first with the mozzarella, then the feta, then Parmesan, and the lemon zest. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the cheese has browned on top. Sprinkle with chives before serving hot.
Serves 8-10.
Related Recipes
Giant Chipotle Baked Beans
A riff on Laurence Jossel's famous NOPA beans - plump, creamy beans baked in a bright, chunky chipotle tomato sauce, topped with crunchy breadcrumbs, plenty of oozy queso fresco, and an emerald drizzle of cilantro pesto.
Lemon Gigante Beans
If you’ve never cooked with giant beans, now is the time. In this dish baby fennel, plump Greek gigante beans, and sliced lemon tangle with a honey-kissed white wine sauce, all finished with a shower of chopped dill. A perfect side.
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Golden crusted pan-fried beans are made extra special by loading them up with kale, Parmesan, lemon, walnuts, and nutmeg. So many great variations in the comments as well!
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