Italian Casserole with Cannellini Beans
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This vegetarian Italian casserole with Cannellini beans is incredibly appetizing and full of aromatic, Italian flavors! Made with fresh carrots, herbs, onions, and white beans mixed with cheesy coarse breadcrumbs and fresh herbs for a gratin that tastes fully authentic! You’re going to love this easy side dish or main meal that is ready in less than an hour!
Inspired by one of my favorite dishes at one of my favorite restaurants in San Francisco, I just had to come up with this Italian casserole. The dish, as I remember it, was filled with enchanting flavors that were creamy and crispy all thanks to baked white beans and gooey cheese paired with golden breadcrumbs.
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I decided to recreate this easy dinner at home to bring the restaurant version to my own kitchen!
This simple recipe is quick, satisfying, and a great dish to make on busy nights when you’re in need of dinner inspiration. The whole family will love this Italian white bean casserole!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Healthy: It’s full of nutrient-dense beans that are known to have great benefits! Beans also contain antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties.
- Easy to Make: In a handful of effortless steps, you can make this stress-free Italian casserole that tastes so yummy even though you didn’t put THAT much into it.
- High in Protein: Beans are a great source of protein for those who follow plant-based diets.
- Kid-friendly: Even the kids will love this recipe! With subtle, but delicious flavors, this bean gratin is definitely going to become a keeper.
Recipe Ingredients and Notes
You really don’t need much to make this flavorful recipe! You probably already have these items in your kitchen since they are basic staple ingredients.
Vegetables: For this Italian casserole, you will need onion, garlic, carrots, and fennel. Frozen diced onions or sliced carrots will work if you don’t have fresh veggies.
Herbs: Both fresh parsley and thyme are needed for this Italian recipe. Fresh basil would also work well.
Beans: You can use either dried or canned Cannellini beans. This replaces the italian sausage or meat mixture found in traditional Italian casseroles!
Cheese: We used freshly grated organic Parmesan for this recipe, but you can use any cheese! Mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, ricotta cheese, or even cottage cheese should work well in this recipe.
Broth: Just a little bit of vegetable broth is needed. If you want more of a tomato flavor to this casserole, you can use tomato sauce or pasta sauce / marinara sauce.
Seasoning: You’ll need Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper for optimal flavors!
Breadcrumbs: Use whole wheat Panko bread crumbs for this gratin. Breadcrumbs can usually be found in the seasoning aisle at the grocery store.
What are the health benefits of cannellini beans?
Cannellini beans are wonderfully nutritious. They’re fat free and an excellent source of fiber, folate, iron and magnesium. One 1/4 cup serving contains 11 grams of protein! They’re known to help reduce cholesterol and protect against heart disease too.
Can I use other breadcrumbs?
We like to use Panko crumbs because they tend to be crispier and healthier. Panko breadcrumbs are the perfect way to get a crispy crust without a ton of calories in this recipe!
Tools and Equipment You’ll Need
- Cutting board and knife for chopping
- Large NonStick Skillet or pan
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowl
- Wooden Spoon
- Casserole dish or baking dish
Step by Step Instructions
Preheat Oven: First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, chop all of the vegetables.
Sauté Vegetables: Next, add oil to a large pot and sauté the veggies over medium to medium high heat.
Add The Beans: Then, add the beans, cheese, broth, and seasoning. Cook until warmed through.
Mix The Breadcrumbs: Meanwhile, combine breadcrumbs, remaining parsley, and cheese in a bowl. Drizzle with oil.
Transfer To Dish: Prepare a casserole or baking dish with spray oil. Pour the mixture into the dish.
Bake: Then, sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the Italian white bean mixture. Finally, bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
Recipe FAQs
A gratin is any dish that has a lightly golden crust that has been baked with breadcrumbs and cheese or any other crumbly savory mixture! It’s comfort food at its best!
Not really! Casseroles tend to be a bit more hearty and encompass the entirety of the meal where as gratins are typically served as side dishes.
Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to four days. To freeze this recipe, simply freeze the leftovers in a freezer-safe container for up to four months. Reheat in the oven at 350 degrees until warmed through.
Recipe Variations
- Gluten-Free: To make this gluten-free, be sure to use gluten-free breadcrumbs.
- Make it Vegan: For a vegan dish, use vegan Parmesan cheese.
- Change The Filling: Instead of cannelini beans, you can use al dente whole wheat penne pasta (or a lentil or chickpea pasta for more protein)
- Add more veggies: Add some extra vegetables in this Italian casserole for more nutrition!
Top Tips for Making Italian Casserole
- Any kind of neutral oil will work for this recipe.
- This recipe is definitely freezer-friendly so store any leftovers in an airtight container and freeze!
- Make sure to grease the dish with oil before placing the casserole in it.
More Casserole Recipes to Try!
- Vegetarian Black Bean Casserole
- Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole
- Vegetarian Mexican Casserole
- Spaghetti Squash Casserole
- Taco Casserole
If you have tried this Italian Casserole recipe, or any other recipe on my blog, then please rate it and let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious, healthy, family friendly food!
Italian Casserole with Cannellini Beans
Ingredients
- 45 oz cannellini beans 3 cans
- 1½ tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley divided
- 1 large red onion diced (2 cups)
- ½ large or 1 medium fennel bulb bulb quartered and diced (2 cups)
- 8 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups diced carrots
- 1¼ cups coarsely grated Parmesan cheese divided
- ½ cup whole wheat panko breadcrumbs
- salt & pepper to taste
- 2 tsp dried italian seasoning
- 1½ -2 cups broth
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
Instructions
- Chop all of your veggies. Saute the onion, garlic, carrots, fennel, thyme and 1 tablespoon parsley in a large pan with 1 teaspoom extra virgin olive oil.
- Add the beans, thyme, ½ cup cheese, 1.5-2 cups broth (if needed), crushed red pepper, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Let the mixture cook for 10-15 minutes until warmed through. Meanwhile, combine breadcrumbs, remaining chopped parsley, and remaining cheese in small bowl. Drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil into crumb mixture, and combine to moisten breadcrumbs.
- Spray an oven safe casserole dish with olive oil cooking spray. Pour mixture into the dish.
- Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top of the casserole and bake in a 400 degree oven, uncovered for 15-20 minutes until the breadcrumbs have browned.
Notes
- Any kind of neutral oil will work for this recipe.
- This recipe is definitely freezer-friendly so store any leftovers in an airtight container and freeze!
- Make sure to grease the dish with oil before placing the casserole in it.
Yum! Looks delicious — a perfect side dish with some grilled chicken.
This is a great side dish for feeding a crowd for sure! 🙂
Thanks for this great recipe! We loved it. I had never thought about making a casserole with beans, so this was a great inspiration.
Thanks for letting me know Alexa! 🙂
This was delicious! We are trying to mange my husband’s cholesterol so he wants to eat less meat during the week so always looking for some easy to make but delicious vegetarian meals. This was great! Definitely making it again.
Awesome!! This is the perfect meatless meal that’s still hearty and satisfying – glad you all loved it!
Such a unique and unexpected casserole! Served this for dinner last night and it was a hit all around the table; the whole family loved it!
Thanks Sara! I’m so happy to hear that!
Just tried this recipe and my family loved it. Thank you so much!
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that Shadi!
This turned out to be so delicious! It was hearty, flavorful and filling!
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that Emily!
Do you drain and rinse the beans?
Yes! I always recommend draining and rinsing the beans.
So, if one wanted to use feta instead of parmesan, how much would you use? btw, love the pics – I find them very helpful. (fwiw, img_1853) isn’t displaying in my browser) thanks again for the yummy recipe!
Hi Patricia! I’d use the same amount – 1.25 cups of crumbled feta cheese. So glad you found the pics helpful! That’s strange about that one image – it loads for me so I’d suggest clearing your cache and trying to load it again. Hope you love this recipe when you try it! 🙂
Looks absolutely delicious! That looks like it would be a great side to a turkey dinner on Thanksgiving.
Thanks! And yes totally!! I can definitely see this as being the perfect side dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas 🙂
This looks so incredibly comforting – Made it last night and it was so delicious!! Such a nice change!! You have the best recipes!!
Awww yay! So happy to hear that Lahoma – and I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying my recipes! Happy cooking! 🙂
I love beans (my husband is looking at me weird)- he has no idea how many times he had beans in the dishes I made 🙂 Thank you for sharing.
Haha! That’s awesome 🙂 I love beans too Freddie! Hope you like this recipe when you try it!
This looks so yummy AND healthy! Should be super simple to throw together as well. Thanks for the recipe!
Absolutely Lindsey! I’m sure you will enjoy this one!
hah, @Elisha I was thinking the same while reading the recipe but I’ll make it for my fiance.. Just have to get done with the house cleaning marathon and off to the kitchen
Haha that’s awesome Stephanie! Hope you and your fiance loved this recipe!
Awesome idea- I’m going to switch up the bread crumbs and make this for my mother. Several helpings of this + wine = perfect dinner.
Sounds like a great plan Elisha! Let me know how your mother liked the recipe!