The other day I was scrolling through Pinterest and an image of some cheesy, tomatoey gnocchi made me stop in my tracks and drool a little. But the funny part is that at first I thought the gnocchi were white beans. Long story short, I eventually realized that they were gnocchi, but was still stuck on this idea of white beans baked with marinara and cheese. I loved the idea of swapping gnocchi with high fiber beans, so I had to give it a shot. These White Beans with Mushrooms and Marinara lived up to everything I would hoping they would be, and this recipe has quite a bit of potential for customization, so I can’t wait to share it with you!
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What Kind of White Beans Should I Use?
I used large butter beans for this recipe because they’re huge and look similar to gnocchi. If you don’t like butter beans or can’t find them, cannellini beans are a good second choice because they are creamy in flavor, still slightly larger, and they hold their shape well. And while you can use navy beans, they’re my last choice for this dish because they’re small and they tend to break down easily, so you won’t get as good of a texture in the final dish.
Can I Add Meat?
Sure! I designed this one to be a filling vegetarian dish, but this recipe easily accommodates the addition of meat. My first choice would be Italian sausage (browned in the skillet before the mushrooms), but pepperoni would also be pretty amazing. You can either crisp up the pepperoni in the skillet before adding the mushrooms, or chop up the pepperoni and stir them in with the sauce.
What Other Vegetables can I Add?
If you’re not into mushrooms or are just looking for other vegetables to add in addition to the mushrooms, there are definitely some great options. Zucchini would match really well with these flavors, as would spinach. For zucchini, I suggest slicing and sautéing after the mushrooms. For spinach, stir it in after the sauce has heated through, just until it is wilted. Eggplant would also be amazing, just dice and sauté after the mushrooms.
How to Serve White Beans with Mushrooms and Marinara
You’ll want to sop up every drop of that marinara, so I suggest serving this dish with a side of Garlic Bread. Also, because garlic bread is always a good idea. You can also spoon this mixture over something like zoodles, a halved roasted eggplant, or, if you’re not trying to avoid pasta, just serve it over a bed of good ol’ pasta.
White Beans with Mushrooms and Marinara
Servings 4Ingredients
- 8 oz. mushrooms ($2.29)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 1 pinch salt and pepper ($0.05)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 2 cups marinara (or more to your liking) ($1.00)
- 2 15oz. cans butter beans ($2.00)
- 1/2 tsp dried basil ($0.05)
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper ($0.02)
- 4 oz. mozzarella ($0.65)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Wash and slice the mushrooms. Add the mushrooms, olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper to a deep skillet. Sauté the mushrooms until they have wilted and all the moisture in the skillet has evaporated.
- While the mushrooms are sautéing, mince the garlic, drain and rinse the butter beans. Add the garlic to the skillet with the mushrooms and sauté for 2 minutes more.
- Add the rinsed butter beans, marinara, basil, and red pepper to the skillet. Stir everything to combine, then allow it to heat through, stirring occasionally.
- While the skillet is heating through, shred the mozzarella. Top the skillet with the mozzarella, then cover the skillet with foil. Transfer the skillet to the oven* and bake for 5-7 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
- Once the cheese has melted, remove the foil, switch the oven to broil, and broil the skillet for a few minutes more to brown the cheese (watch closely, as browning can happen quickly with the broiler). Serve hot, with garlic bread for dipping!
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to make White Beans with Mushrooms and Marinara – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Wash and slice 8oz. mushrooms.
Add the sliced mushrooms to a deep skillet with 2 Tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté over medium until the mushrooms are wilted and the moisture has evaporated out of the skillet. While the mushrooms are sautéing, mince 2 cloves of garlic, then add them to the skillet and sauté for about 2 minutes more.
Rinse and drain two cans of butter beans, then add them to the skillet with 2 cups marinara (or more if you want it to be slightly saucier). Stir to combine.
I like to amp up my jarred marinara a bit, so also add 1/2 tsp dried basil and a pinch of crushed red pepper. Stir them into the sauce, then allow the skillet to heat through, stirring occasionally (5 minutes).
Shred 4 oz. of mozzarella, then sprinkle it on top of the skillet. (If you don’t have an oven safe skillet, transfer the beans and marinara to a casserole dish first.)
Cover the skillet with foil, then transfer to the preheated oven, and bake for 5-7 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
Remove the foil from the skillet, switch the oven from bake to broil, then broil a few minutes more to brown the cheese. Watch the skillet closely, as broiling can brown the cheese very quickly. (I also topped with a little chopped parsley for color, but it’s not needed for flavor).
Serve hot with garlic bread for dipping, over roasted vegetables, or over pasta.
Delicious! Filling! I will make this again! Thank you Beth!
Another hit! We love this one and I love to add a sliced and quartered squash right before I add the garlic to the pan. Adds some nice texture! Thank you Beth!
My partner and I love this recipe! It is so tasty and filling, and it’s really versatile when it comes to the veggies. I’ve made it as written with mushrooms, but I’ve also swapped in eggplant and zucchini with great results. This is a regular recipe in our dinner rotation.
Delicious!!!!! I went a little off the rails, mostly for portion. I used 3 cast irons with plenty of space for the mushrooms, then put them all in my biggest skillet, followed the rest of the recipe except only 1 can of beans, and 1.5 cups simple truth brand marinara. I served it scooped over ziti with fresh baked ciabatta bread and melted garlic butter. There still turned out to be leftovers, yay! Thank you Beth for Budget Bytes!
This is amazing. I’m not a big mushroom fan so I used zucchini instead and served it with fresh bread. The whole family loved it! This recipe is going in my “camping” file as well since it’s so easy to make in a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven.
Absolutely delicious! I used fresh basil and served over zucchini noodles. This will be in constant rotation in my house!
I literally just ate this in a bowl. During quarantine, I’m trying to go to the store and change my habits about food waste, and this is the perfect recipe to use up little bits of leftover veggies/sauce! I tried this with zucchini, onion, and garlic and OMG it is just so satisfying. It felt comforting and warm but didn’t take more than 15 minutes! I love this and will totally do variation after variation of this recipe.
I just made this for dinner and it was amazing!!! So cheap and delicious. Just perfect.
Yum! I used freshly cooked lima beans, and subbed kale for the mushrooms. I also used goat cheese instead of mozzarella. It reminded me of a tomato goat cheese dip that one of my favorite restaurants serve. My husband initially thought the beans were gnocchi. I used a whole jar or Raos sauce, and added in some extra beans. Served it with some garlic bread to dip up the extras.
WOWZA this meal is like a hug and snuggle inside your belly. I added a bit of cayenne pepper to make it a little spicier which was delicious, but the meal is really perfect as is. Everyone who tried it freaked out because it was so decadent.
What can I use as a butter bean substitute? I can’t find butter beans at my grocery store at the moment.
I used a mixture of Chick Peas and Pinto beans, it was delicious :)
This is absolutely amazing! I recently began transitioning to a vegetarian diet and so many recipes have mushrooms which I usually dislike, so I thought this might be a good way to try mushrooms in different ways and open my taste buds :) It did not disappoint! Everything about this was fantastic and I served it over your roasted summer vegetables recipe and it was so good! Definitely need to have it with some garlic bread next time :)
Amazing! Because of shortages, I used half chickpeas and half pinto beans. It still was SO delicious! I will definitely be making it again for meal prep next week :)
Oops, forgot to add stars. 5 stars!
This is a fantastic recipie! I’ve made it multiple times and each time it disappears. The leftovers are delicious too. I am not a fan of leftovers, but eat this for days without complaint!
Can this be made in a crockpot if I don’t have access to an oven?
That might work, although I’d need to test it to find out for sure.
I’m also wondering if a slow cooker version is possible?
Thanks :)
This was so quick and delicious! I added a little dried oregano and a handful of pepperoni (halved the pepperoni and threw it in with the mushrooms), and it had serious pizza vibes. We used canned small lima beans, because that’s what we could find.
We served with some crusty garlic bread. Will make again!