This bean and vegetable crumble has heaps of flavour, with loads of veggies and a cheesy pesto crumb! It's a great fridge clearer - use whatever veg you have to hand.
If you ever wanted an excuse to sprinkle cheese over some veggies and call it a meal, this bean and vegetable crumble is it! It's got tons of different veggies, topped with a crispy, cheesy, herby crumb. It's insanely delicious, and makes a beautiful comforting dinner, but is also packed with goodness from all those veggies! It's the perfect compromise - comfort food made healthy(ish).
Fridge-clearing recipe
You know those times when you look in the fridge, and it's full of random bits and pieces? A few slightly wrinkly mushrooms, half a head of broccoli, a random pepper... A fridge-clearing recipe is what you need - something that will use up all those odds and ends, no matter what they may be. I usually go for a frittata or stir fry, but it can get a bit samey when you make the same thing week after week. Delicious, but samey.
This bean and vegetable crumble is the answer!
Stick in whatever veggies you have lingering in the fridge, add a tin of beans, and you'll end up with a beautiful dinner.
What veggies could I use?
My vegetable crumble contains broccoli, peppers, mushrooms, onion, and marinated artichokes (I had a jar that needed finishing!) - but just use whatever you have handy. Courgette (zucchini), aubergine (eggplant), sweetcorn, asparagus, cauliflower, spinach, kale... I mean, I'm not going to list every single vegetable in the world, but you get the idea. Anything in the fridge that looks like it will work - go for it.
I stir fried all my veggies together in one pan before assembling my crumble, but just bear in mind that some vegetables do take longer to cook than others. If you're going to use a particularly hard veg like carrots, it's probably best to boil them for a few minutes first, before adding them to the pan. Vegetables that don't take much cooking, like spinach, can be added right at the end.
Cheesy pesto crumb
All those fresh veggies are then topped with a super simple savoury crumble mixture. It's just like the topping you'd put on a fruit crumble, but without the sugar, and with more cheese! I also added a dollop of basil pesto, which adds loads of flavour.
Stick the vegetable crumble in the oven for half an hour or so, until it's nice and golden brown and crispy on top, and you've got the perfect dinner! The crispy bits of cheese on top and around the edges are the best.
How can I serve my vegetable crumble?
We had our vegetable crumble with just some salad on the side, but since it's already packed with veggies, don't feel you necessarily need to serve it with any more! I actually think it would be pretty wonderful with some roast potatoes, maybe a little drizzle of gravy? Or even just some bread and butter!
The recipe makes 4 decent servings, so I've actually frozen the leftovers to make a few quick dinners for the baby. This is just the kind of hearty dinner that it's great to have in the freezer for a cold night when you come home late and don't want to have to cook!
📖 Printable Recipe
Bean and vegetable crumble with cheesy pesto topping
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Print Pin CommentIngredients
For the vegetable mixture:
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 bell peppers, sliced or diced (I used yellow and red)
- 1 red onion, sliced or diced
- 1 small head broccoli, cut into bitesize florets (~ 140g / ~ 1 ½ cups when chopped)
- ~ 8 medium mushrooms, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 280 g (~ 1 cup) marinated artichoke hearts, drained and cut into bitesize pieces
- 400 g tin pinto beans, drained (240g, or ~ 1 ¼ cups, when drained) - or any other kind of tinned bean
- ½ tablespoon basil pesto
- 50 g cheddar cheese, grated (~ ½ cup when grated)
- Salt
- Black pepper
For the crumble topping:
- 50 g (~ ¼ cup) plain flour
- 35 g (~ 2 ½ tbsp) butter
- 35 g (scant ¼ cup) rolled oats
- 60 g cheddar cheese, grated (~ ⅔ cup grated)
- ½ tablespoon basil pesto
- Salt
- Black pepper
To serve:
- Fresh parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Heat a dash of oil in a large frying pan, and add the peppers, onion, broccoli, and mushrooms. Cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until the vegetables are fairly soft, but still have a little bit of bite (the broccoli will probably still be quite crisp).
- Add the garlic, artichokes and beans, and cook for a few more minutes, then remove from the heat. Add the pesto and cheddar cheese, and mix thoroughly. Season to taste.
- Heat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F).
- To make the cheesy pesto crumb, use your fingertips to rub together the plain flour and butter in a mixing bowl. Stop when the mixture resembles breadcrumbs - you don't want it to come together into a ball (it doesn't matter if it's not perfectly mixed - don't overwork it). Add the oats, grated cheese, and pesto, along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Use a fork to mix everything together - again, it doesn't matter if it's not perfect, just try to mix the pesto through as best as you can.
- Transfer the vegetables to a baking dish, and top with the cheesy crumble mixture. Bake for around 30 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and crispy. Serve topped with fresh parsley, if desired.
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 ¼ of the recipe.
Vegetable pie is another great fridge clearer! Try this creamy vegetable and halloumi pie:
Hannah says
I used the veggies i had in the fridge and it turned out wonderful! This will be a new go to when i need to use up a few bits and bobs.
Becca Heyes says
Thanks Hannah, glad you enjoyed it!
Donna Reale says
We were going to order pizza for our game night but I might make this instead. (If not tonight, I'm making it tomorrow!) It looks so yummy. One sub I do when making crumbles is instead of plain flour I use almond flour. I almost always have almond flour on hand because I make home made marzipan, and the almond flour combined with butter adds another level of yumminess to savory or sweet crumbles! Thanks, Becca.
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Almond flour sounds yummy! Really hope you enjoy it :)
Nidhi says
What could I substitute for artichokes... They're not freely available in india
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
You can use whatever combination of vegetables you like really :) So just use whatever you have on hand and whatever you find tasty!
claire_bear says
I cooked this today but used different veg that i kinda guessed at quantities wise, a mix of chick peas and kidney beans and used sundried tomato pesto. I have to say this is one of the nicest things I have had in a long time super yummy and I cannot wait to cook it again. I am veggie and luckily happen to love veg daughter and other half not as keen as a little to veggie for them lol
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Yay, really glad you enjoyed it Claire! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know :)
jane hirsch says
The recipe sounds delicious, a must try. However, my husbad is diabetic and I would like to know the nutritional and caloric count if possible. Thanks, Jane
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Thanks Jane! I'm afraid I don't have that information, but there are online calculators you can use (like My Fitness Pal, for example) where you can plug the ingredients in and it will give you the nutritional information. If you Google 'nutritional information calculator' I'm sure something will come up :)
The Kitchenmaid says
Becca, this looks gorgeous! Good idea putting in the chickpeas - though personally I'd leave out the corn and sub in some zucchini. Or maybe pumpkin? And maybe some nuts in the crumble... but I am a bit of a nut fiend!
LittleMonsterx14 says
mmm this looks so flavorful! cheese and pesto? that's a winner to me!
Sherri@The Well Floured Kitchen says
This looks incredible. I especially love the idea of doing something with that last little bit of pesto, or a random assortment of veggies. Sometimes the long recipes are the best. Pinned!
Sarah says
I'm going to make this the next time I have a fridge full of veggies to use up. Love the idea of the pesto crumble topping!
miss messy says
This looks super. I love that you put pesto in the topping, I'm always trying to think of things to put it in. I always open a jar and forget about it.
Emma @ Fork and Good says
I actually love veggie crumble, I had something similar (Oat topped carrot/ legume pie) at a restaurant in Bath once and it was amazing, fan for life. Love the use of pesto as well, was talking to my friend about how amazing pesto is the other day and we said how we could just eat it out of the jar. Definitely gonna try this one out :) Thanks!
miss messy says
Which restaurant? Bath is where it's at! :)
Emma @ Fork and Good says
Can't remember the name, was a really posh looking (and startlingly expensive) gastro pub about 5 minutes away from sally lunns? In that little walkway?