Description
This White Bean and Pesto Bake is a hearty, flavorful casserole made with rice, creamy beans, pesto, and juicy cherry tomatoes. Topped with a golden panko-Parmesan crust, it’s the perfect weeknight comfort food.
Ingredients
1 cup long grain brown rice (or white rice, see notes)
2 cups vegetable broth, hot
1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
½ cup pesto (store-bought or homemade; use dairy-free for vegan)
1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes, halved
½ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
½ cup panko breadcrumbs
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese (or nutritional yeast for dairy-free)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Heat the vegetable broth in the microwave for 2–3 minutes until boiling.
In an 8×8 baking dish, combine rice, beans, pesto, salt, and tomatoes. Stir well.
Pour the hot broth over the mixture and stir to combine.
Cover tightly with foil and bake for 60–65 minutes.
Remove foil carefully (watch out for steam). If excess liquid remains, bake uncovered for 3–4 minutes.
Sprinkle panko crumbs and Parmesan cheese on top. Broil 2–3 minutes until golden brown.
Optional: drizzle with extra pesto before serving.
Notes
If using long grain white rice, reduce broth to 1 ½ cups and bake for only 45–50 minutes.
To keep this dish vegan, use a dairy-free pesto and nutritional yeast instead of Parmesan.
Great for meal prep—refrigerate leftovers up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 65 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Casserole
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 365 kcal
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 540 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 48 g
- Fiber: 6 g
- Protein: 12 g
- Cholesterol: 10 mg