Best Pizza Beans Skillet Recipe

Craving all your favorite pizza flavors but needing something a little bit more? Pizza beans have your back. Featuring simple pantry staples and only 30 minutes of cooking time, this comforting and nutritious one-pan dinner promises to make any weeknight feel special. This vegetarian dinner has everything you love about pizza—slightly sweet tomato sauce, Italian herbs, and plenty of cheese—but makes a protein-packed swap by substituting the crust for cannellini beans.

Pick the right tomatoes:
While typical pizza sauce is smooth and thick, these pizza beans shine brightest in a tomato sauce that’s a little looser with some textural variation. When I developed this recipe, I found that canned whole tomatoes in their juices produced the best results. Yes, you do have to pour them into a bowl and tear them into smaller pieces, which is a little more work, but it’s worth it for the superior flavor and texture of the finished sauce. Take it from someone who tried it with crushed tomatoes and was BITTERLY disappointed.

The beans:
Whenever there’s a white bean party, cannellini beans are always at the top of my list. They can be a little more expensive, though, so if you are looking to save money, you could easily sub in navy, Great Northern, butter beans, or even a mix. Just don’t go completely rogue and throw in black or red kidney beans—they have a distinctly different flavor that will not vibe here.

Choose your toppings:
Like any pizza, you can top this skillet with whatever toppings you want. I love a margherita pizza, which is why I went for the classic mozzarella, Parm, and fresh basil, but you could add sliced pepperoni, pre-cooked sausage, thinly sliced onion, or olives. Just keep in mind that the skillet will only be under the broiler for a few minutes, so any toppings should already be cooked, or—in the case of fresh vegetables—be thin enough to cook quickly.

Storage:
Leftover pizza beans can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Just like with pizza, some of us might prefer them cold, but you can also reheat them in the microwave if you like!

Made these beans? Let us know how it went in the comments below!