Tomato White Bean Gratin
A tasty white bean gratin in a rich tomato sauce, topped with crispy, cheesy breadcrumbs. Utterly delicious!
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I am sooo happy with how this recipe turned out. I had an image in my mind of what I wanted it to look like (and taste like!), and it turned out even better than I hoped. Perhaps I just don’t have very high expectations for myself – or perhaps this rich and tomatoey white bean gratin recipe is just that good. I think it’s the latter, but I’ll let you decide. Make it and let me know what you think!
What’s in this white bean gratin?
The crispy brown topping may not look like much, so perhaps a break down of the ingredients in this white bean gratin will convince you:
- cannellini beans
- a suuuper rich tomatoey sauce (with sun-dried tomatoes for extra flavour!)
- black olives
- pesto
- fragrant fresh basil
- and a crispy, cheesy topping
Now read that again, and imagine the smell. Flippin’ amazing. If it hadn’t been raining outside, I might almost have believed I was in the Mediterranean.
I wanted to keep this recipe really simple, so it doesn’t need any pre-cooking – just mix together a few ingredients, add the breadcrumbs, and bake. Hopefully my fellow lazy folk will appreciate that!
Usually, to get a really rich tomato sauce, you’d need to simmer it for ages and ages… but ain’t nobody got time for that. Instead, to avoid needing to pre-cook anything, just make sure you use a really good quality tin of tomatoes – I used my favourite Cirio tomatoes. If you use cheapy tinned tomatoes, this recipe will be rubbish. I’m warning you now! You really need the rich flavour from great tomatoes, and in my opinion Cirio is definitely the way to go. I promise, you will notice the difference as soon as you open the tin!
This tomatoey white bean gratin could be served as a main dish or a side, depending on what else you’re serving. Personally, I think it’s pretty amazing alongside just a green salad and a chunk of crusty bread (for mopping up that rich tomato sauce!). It would make a great protein-rich side dish too. Whatever floats your boat.
Tomato White Bean Gratin
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Print Pin Comment(if you suffer from allergies, please double check all ingredients before eating)
Ingredients
- 2 x 400g tins cannellini beans, drained (240g, or ~ 1 1/4 cups, per tin when drained)
- 400 g tinned tomatoes (~ 1 1/3 cups)
- 75 g sliced black olives (~ 2/3 cup)
- 100 g roughly chopped sun-dried tomatoes (~ 2/3 cup)
- 1 tbsp basil pesto (I used homemade)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 30 g coarse breadcrumbs (~ 3/4 cup)
- 30 g grated vegetarian parmesan-style cheese (~ 1/8 cup) – omit for a vegan dish
- Spray oil
- Fresh basil, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F).
- Add the drained cannellini beans to a large mixing bowl, and add the tinned tomatoes, black olives, sun-dried tomatoes, pesto, and olive oil. Mix well, and season to taste.
- Trasnfer the bean mixture to a baking dish, and top with the breadcrumbs and grated parmesan. Spray lightly with oil, and bake for around 1 hour, or until the breadcrumbs are crispy and golden brown, and the bean mixture is piping hot.
- Serve topped with fresh basil.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
Note: Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on exactly what ingredients you choose. Information above is for 1/4 of the recipe.
You might also like my cheesy baked tomato rice:
You’ve totally got me sold on these ones. Sounds like it is jam packed full of flavours from the Med! It makes me want to go on holiday!!! Great recipe :)
Oh boy that looks good! Love gratins and haven’t made one in forever – thanks for the reminder :)
Janie x
That sounds like my kind of supper, simple and delicious. Never think to use sun-dried tomatoes and I’ve only recently tried Cirio tinned toms – I was seriously impressed.
They’re great aren’t they :) And the sun-dried tomatoes make them even more amazing!
O this sounds so comforting! I love anything with soft creamy cannellini beans! So good!
You’ve combined some of my favourite things! This is one of those dishes that I’ll be able to rustle up with store cupboard ingredients and wow everyone. I completely agree about Cirio tomatoes as well. You think tomatoes are tomatoes, but then you open a tin of Cirio ones and they are sooo much better quality than any others.
You can tell as soon as you open the tin, can’t you – they smell like real tomatoes, such a rich flavour (and even the colour is darker!)
Lovely! Chopped or crushed Cirio tomatoes, Becca? Can’t tell from photo.
I used the standard chopped tomatoes, but I’m sure any kind would work nicely :)
Mmmm yum. This sounds like it would go lovely as a side dish with fish.
This looks super yummy! I love using sun dried tomatoes in things, they have the most amazing intensity.
xx
They really do take the sauce to the next level :)
This looks really good. I love when recipes turn out the way you want them too!
Looks great – and I do have some Italian white beans – very appropriate! Now I just need an afternoon to cook
Ooh those sound good, I just used the normal tinned kind! ;)