Cheesy Baked Beans In Tomato Sauce
An easy and comforting dinner that comes together quickly during the week. The anchovies dissolve and add a savory complexity. Skip them if you'd like a vegetarian option, and if you're an anchovy skeptic, know that the anchovies are not overpowering when cooked this way! For a complete meal, serve alongside garlicky broccoli rabe, and over a pile of orzo or with crusty bread.
Why This Recipe Works
What makes this dish so successful is how it delivers comfort and satisfaction with minimal effort. The technique is straightforward, make a simple tomato sauce enriched with anchovies and garlic, fold in cooked beans, top with mozzarella, and bake until bubbly. Yet the result tastes like you spent much longer developing those flavors.
The anchovies are the secret weapon here. They completely dissolve into the oil, adding deep umami and savory complexity without any fishiness. Even "anchovy skeptics" will enjoy this, as the recipe reassures, because "the anchovies are not overpowering when cooked this way."
The Star: Ayocote Blanco Beans
Let's talk about Ayocote Blanco beans, stunning large white beans with meaty texture and creamy interiors. These heritage Mexican beans are among the largest bean varieties, which makes them perfect for baked dishes where you want beans that are substantial and visually impressive.
What makes Ayocote Blanco beans ideal for this preparation is their size (they're satisfying and stand up to the sauce and cheese), their sturdy texture (they maintain their shape through baking), and their creamy interior (they become incredibly tender while absorbing the tomato sauce flavors).
When baked in tomato sauce with melted mozzarella on top, these beans create a dish that's hearty, comforting, and deeply satisfying.
The Anchovy Technique
The anchovy technique is what creates the sauce's depth. Heat a good glug of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add smashed, peeled garlic cloves and cook until soft and fragrant. Smash them with a wooden spoon to release their flavor.
Add the anchovy fillets and let them dissolve into the oil. They'll break down completely, creating an umami-rich, savory oil that becomes the base of your sauce. This is a classic Italian technique for building flavor.
If you want a vegetarian version, skip the anchovies. The dish will still be good, just without that particular savory depth.
The Tomato Sauce
After the anchovies dissolve, add chile flakes (for subtle heat) and fresh herb sprigs (thyme, rosemary, or oregano work well). These aromatics infuse the oil before the tomatoes go in.
Add canned whole peeled tomatoes (preferably San Marzano) with their juices, breaking them up with your hands as you add them. Crushing by hand creates irregular chunks, some larger, some smaller, some almost puréed, which is more interesting than uniform diced tomatoes.
Cook until the sauce thickens, about 15-20 minutes. The sauce should reduce and concentrate, becoming rich and flavorful rather than watery.
Remove the herb sprigs (they've done their job of infusing flavor) and fold in the cooked, strained beans. Season generously with salt and pepper.
The Assembly
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Transfer the bean-tomato mixture to a baking dish (or use your ovenproof skillet if you have one). Shake to settle the beans so they're evenly distributed.
Sprinkle grated mozzarella cheese generously over the top. Drizzle with a little olive oil, which helps the cheese brown and adds richness.
The Baking
Bake until bubbling and the cheese has melted and browned in spots, about 15 minutes. You want the cheese melted and slightly browned, not just melted but pale.
Keep an eye on the beans' moisture level. If they seem to be getting dry during baking, add some of the reserved bean broth. If the cheese is browning more than you'd like, cover loosely with foil.
The goal is a dish that's bubbling hot, with melted, slightly browned cheese on top and saucy (but not soupy) beans underneath.
The Bean Broth Reservation
The recipe specifically notes to "do not discard the bean broth" when straining the cooked beans. This broth can be added during baking if the beans seem dry, or used to thin the mixture if needed.
Bean broth is valuable, it's flavorful liquid that adds body and richness. Always save it when cooking beans.
Serving Suggestions
The recipe suggests serving this "alongside garlicky broccoli rabe, and over a pile of orzo or with crusty bread." All excellent options:
- Garlicky broccoli rabe: Bitter greens balance the rich, cheesy beans
- Orzo: Small pasta absorbs the sauce and makes it more substantial
- Crusty bread: Essential for soaking up the tomato sauce
Serve hot with grated Parmigiano Reggiano on top for additional salty, umami richness.
Weeknight-Friendly
This is described as coming "together quickly during the week," and it's true, if you have cooked beans ready, the actual cooking time is only about 20 minutes (plus 15 minutes baking). That's faster than many takeout options and infinitely more satisfying.
Having cooked beans in the fridge or freezer makes this kind of quick meal possible. Cook beans in advance, and dinners like this become weeknight-easy.
The Anchovy Reassurance
The recipe goes out of its way to reassure anchovy skeptics: "the anchovies are not overpowering when cooked this way!" This is absolutely true. When anchovies are dissolved into hot oil with garlic, they add savory depth rather than fishiness.
If you're skeptical, try it once. You likely won't taste "anchovy" as a distinct flavor, you'll just notice the dish tastes richer and more complex than tomato sauce without them.
Comfort Food
This is genuine comfort food, warm, cheesy, tomatoey, satisfying. It's the kind of food you want when you're tired, when it's cold outside, when you need something that feels like a hug in a bowl.
Yet it's also light enough (lots of beans and vegetables, modest cheese) that you don't feel weighed down after eating it.
A Complete Meal
With beans (protein), tomatoes (vegetables), cheese (dairy), and orzo or bread (carbs), this is a nutritionally complete meal. Add the suggested garlicky broccoli rabe for additional vegetables and you have a truly balanced dinner.
Make-Ahead Potential
You can make the bean-tomato mixture ahead and refrigerate it, then top with cheese and bake when ready to eat. This makes it even easier for weeknight cooking, the work is mostly done, you just need to bake.
Italian Home Cooking
This dish exemplifies Italian home cooking, simple ingredients (beans, tomatoes, anchovies, cheese) prepared with proper technique to create something deeply satisfying. It's not fancy or complicated, but it's genuinely delicious and comforting.
*A Note On Our Recipes:
Every recipe here was developed and tested using farm-fresh beans from Foodocracy and Primary Beans. Older beans, anything past a year in your pantry or beans from other sources may need more coaxing. Give them a soak and add extra cooking time, and they'll get there eventually.
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