Mac and cheese, but make it with beans, in this speedy one-pot meal
“I don’t know how to make things complicated,” Jenny Rosenstrach tells me. “I kind of wish I did, because I think my recipes would be next level.”
Rosenstrach is being modest, because the truth is, her recipes are indeed next level. As the force behind the popular book, website and newsletter “Dinner: A Love Story,” Rosenstrach keeps her focus squarely on the most important quality of any recipe: its accessibility. “The reality is, my zone has always been in helping people figure out real-life dinners,” she says.
With her latest cookbook, “The Weekday Vegetarians: Get Simple,” Rosenstrach answers the frequent complaint that vegetarian cooking is too involved. The book is her second that aims to show readers easy ways to put more vegetables on their table, even for just part of the time, and in this one she focuses on the simple touches that can provide excitement on the plate.
Her go-to touch: a sauce or topping, or both. She gives pop to a salad by topping it with toasted buckwheat for nuttiness and crunch. She sears frozen artichoke hearts until a little charred and tender, and serves them with a quick yogurt-dill sauce. From freezer to pan? Yes, please. But it’s the sauce that makes it.
Rosenstrach’s superpower is in thinking through every aspect of a recipe, editing it down like Coco Chanel taking off one accessory before she leaves the house.
Case in point: Her Beans and Cheese, which in her book she calls “Abby’s Brilliant Beans ’n’ Cheese,” a name that indicates how the recipe came about. Her youngest daughter, she writes, “walked into the kitchen, saw a pot of beans on the stove, and said, ‘You know what would be really good? If you made beans the way you make mac and cheese.’”
Brilliant indeed. The recipe plays up the fact that in addition to being such a prime source of plant-based protein, beans are also carbs, meaning they can easily play the part of pasta. It appeals to the nostalgic, comfort-food-seeker in all of us. In Rosenstrach’s hands, it also becomes a one-pot wonder, because she skips the béchamel sauce and cream that often go into mac and cheese.
What she doesn’t skip are the elements that make this dish feel special. That includes a little mustard powder for balance and tang, a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, a combination of excellent cheeses, and what some of us think might be the best part of mac and cheese: the crispy topping.
The recipe also offers a striking example of what can happen when you shift your focus from the center-of-the-plate protein (usually from an animal) to vegetables, while prioritizing the craving you want to satisfy.
“For the most, I think when most of us think about a meal, we start with something like, ‘We have chicken, so let’s make chicken parm,’” she said. “But with vegetarian cooking, or weekday vegetarian cooking, I’ve taught myself to instead ask, ‘What am I in the mood for?’ and I go directly to the vehicle. I decide I’m in the mood for tacos, or for pizza, and that way it just feels like you’re not centering the meat. You’re thinking first in terms of your own satisfaction, and that way you’re setting yourself up for success.”
Beans and Cheese
This twist on mac and cheese uses white beans as the carb instead of pasta, but keeps the cheese and crunchy topping. The more flavorful the cheese, the better. This recipe can use either canned beans or ones you cook from dried, depending on your capacity for planning. Serve with a crunchy green salad.
Make ahead: The casserole can be assembled, covered and refrigerated up to 2 days in advance. Let it come to room temperature for about 1 hour, then bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until bubbling around the edges, and broil for 1 to 2 minutes, if needed, to brown the topping.
Storage: Refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Substitutions: To make it vegan, use vegan cheese shreds (preferably two types, one cheddar and one smoked), and use vegan Parmesan or nutritional yeast. For the white beans, use chickpeas or pinto beans. For the canned beans you can use home-cooked beans. Use rosemary or sage for the thyme.
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 large onion (10 ounces), chopped
½ teaspoon fine salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves, finely grated or pressed
1 tablespoon mustard powder
Three (15-ounce) cans no-salt-added white beans (4½ cups), such as cannellini or Great Northern beans, drained but not rinsed
1 cup (2¾ ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese
1 cup (2¾ ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup panko
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
Leaves from 3 or 4 fresh thyme sprigs, for garnish (optional)
In a large (at least 12-inch), deep broiler-safe skillet over medium heat, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil until shimmering. Add the onion, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion lightly browns and softens, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and mustard powder and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the beans and cook, stirring frequently, until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the Gruyere and cheddar, and cook, stirring, until melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Position a rack about 6 inches away from the broiling element and preheat the broiler on HIGH.
In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix together the panko, Parmesan and the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil. (You want the crumbs to be damp.) Top the beans with the panko mixture; it might seem like a lot of topping, but persevere, because you’ll want all the crunch.
Transfer the skillet to the oven and broil for 1 to 2 minutes, keeping a close eye on it the whole time, until the topping looks golden and toasty.
Garnish with the thyme leaves, if using, and serve warm.
Serves 4 (makes about 7 cups)
Nutritional information per serving (1 heaping cup): 445 calories, 25 g fat, 8 g saturated fat, 38 g carbohydrates, 532 mg sodium, 32 mg cholesterol, 18 g protein, 9 g fiber, 3 g sugar.
— Adapted from “The Weekday Vegetarians: Get Simple” by Jenny Rosenstrach (Clarkson Potter, 2024)