For those who hold a special place in their hearts for cheese-covered tomato dishes, here’s a recipe for you: Cheesy Skillet Tomato Bean Bake! This is for those weeknights where you need dinner fast, but you also want something comforting and approachable.
This hearty and flavorful dish marries the brightness of tomatoes, the savory goodness of ground pork, and the delightful creaminess of mozzarella cheese. It’s a one-pan creation that brings together a comforting blend of ingredients, creating a mouthwatering, and super easy, meal that’s sure to leave the whole family asking for more.
Cheesy Skillet Tomato Bean Bake
In the world of comfort food, the allure of melty cheese holds a special place. With the arrival of autumn, there’s a profound charm in indulging in dishes that perfectly capture the essence of this cozy season. This recipe is one such delight, where the blend of ingredients results in a comforting one-pan meal.
Crispy Pork
In a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, spread out the pound of ground pork across the skillet’s surface, seasoning it with kosher salt and a generous grind of black pepper. Allow the pork to cook undisturbed until the bottom becomes beautifully browned and crispy. Then break the pork into smaller pieces and let it continue cooking until the other side gets its fair share of deliciousness.
This is a method we learned a few years ago and we love it! It allows the meat to have both tender and super crispy parts. And it’s super easy because you don’t have to constantly stir while it cooks.
Flavorful Foundations
Lower the heat to medium and sauté diced onion until it becomes translucent. Don’t forget to season the onions with some salt! After that, we introduce sliced garlic, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, and fennel seeds into the mix. Sauté and stir until the tomato paste transforms into a deep, rich shade of red and it becomes aromatic. This is essentially toasting the aromatics to get their flavor to the best possible level.
Filling it Out
Add diced tomatoes and cannellini beans to the skillet, and don’t forget to season everything with salt and pepper, and stir it all together.
Now, it’s time for the best part! Place luscious rounds of mozzarella on top of your skillet mixture and pop the whole creation into a 475°F preheated oven. Bake it until the cheese melts and forms those irresistible golden-brown spots that make you instantly hungry.
Finishing Touches
Once out of the oven, you might want to let this molten cheese masterpiece sit for a few minutes, so you don’t scorch your tongue. When plating, sprinkle with a chiffonade of fresh basil and generously dust it with grated Parmesan cheese.
The Comfort of Melted Cheese
As the days grow shorter and the air turns crisp, you may find yourself craving a melted cheese skillet bake even more. The tantalizing allure of crispy cheese, savory pork, and hearty beans resonates like the stories shared around a fireside.
The charm of melting cheese, interwoven with tomatoes and beans, captures the very spirit of comfort food. And it’s something the whole family can get behind! It’s more than a meal. It’s a reminder that, during the coziest days of the year, few things can match the draw of a melty cheese dish, one that both warms your soul and brings everyone together.
Cheesy Skillet Tomato Bean Bake
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound ground pork
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- ½ pound mozzarella, sliced into rounds
- Basil, sliced
- Grated parmesan
Directions
- Step 1 Heat oven to 475°F.
- Step 2 In a 12-inch cast iron skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high. Spread out pork to cover the whole skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, undisturbed, until the bottom of the pork is brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Break pork into small pieces and cook until the other side is cooked, about 2 minutes.
- Step 3 Reduce heat to medium. Sauté onion, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt. Add garlic, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, and fennel seeds and sauté, stirring, until fragrant and the tomato paste has a deep red color, about 2 minutes.
- Step 4 Add the diced tomatoes and beans, and season salt and pepper and stir to combine. Place the mozzarella on the top and bake until the cheese has melted and browned in spots, 10 – 12 minutes.
- Step 5 Serve with basil and parmesan.
