Pizza Beans Recipe | Grain-Free One-Pot Dinner

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One of my favorite things is discovering a recipe that fits perfectly into the way I eat but doesn’t feel like “diet food” at all. You know what I mean: no sad substitutions, no missing the real thing, just genuinely delicious food that happens to work for you. Pizza beans is exactly that kind of recipe, and I am so excited to share it.

I first came across this one on Emmymade, one of my absolute favorite YouTubers. Emmy has such a gift for finding unique and interesting recipes, and this one definitely caught my eye. The recipe itself is credited to Deborah Perelman of Smitten Kitchen, who has been a longtime favorite in the food world for good reason. After seeing it pop up everywhere after Emmy’s video, I finally made my own version, and I am so glad I did.

The concept is simple: instead of a pizza crust, you use beans as your base. It’s grain-free, hearty, and packed with all those classic pizza flavors you love. Kiind or reminds me of pizza in a cup – IYKYK 😉.

My how to video:

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Grain-free — beans do all the heavy lifting as the base
One-pot meal — easy cleanup, especially if your pan is oven-safe
Vegetarian — though easy to customize with meat if you prefer
Great for company — unique enough to impress, easy enough for a weeknight

Ingredients

1 small onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cooked navy beans (a little over or under is fine)
1 carton diced tomatoes, plain with no added ingredients — I love Jovial and Pomi for this
~3 tablespoons fresh herbs — a handful each of garlic chives and basil, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano (don’t skip this one!)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan rind (the secret ingredient!)
½ cup aged mozzarella, shredded
Freshly grated Parmesan for topping
Fresh basil for garnish

Instructions

1. Sauté the vegetables. Heat olive oil in an oven-safe pan over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté for a few minutes until they begin to soften. Add the bell peppers and season with salt and pepper as they cook. Sauté everything together for about 5 minutes until the vegetables are nice and soft.

2. Add garlic and herbs. Add the minced garlic to the pan. If your garlic is frozen like mine was, be very careful adding it to hot oil — it will splatter. Stir in about 1 tablespoon of your fresh herb mixture along with the dried oregano.

3. Add the beans. Add your cooked navy beans to the pan and give everything a good stir. Season with a bit more salt and pepper.

4. Add tomatoes and simmer. Pour in the carton of diced tomatoes and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and let everything simmer for about 10 minutes to let the flavors meld together.

5. Add the secret ingredient — the Parmesan rind. Drop a Parmesan rind into the simmering mixture. This adds a deep, savory flavor to the sauce and softens up as it cooks. You can fish it out before baking or leave it in for a lucky bite! Taste the mixture and adjust seasoning — add more fresh herbs and salt as needed. Total salt will be around 1 tablespoon, but season to your taste.

6. Top with cheese and bake. Preheat your oven to 425°F. Remove the Parmesan rind, then top the mixture with the shredded mozzarella and a generous layer of freshly grated Parmesan. Place the pan in the oven uncovered and bake for 10 minutes, until bubbly and golden brown.

7. Garnish and serve. Remove from the oven and let it cool for a minute. Sprinkle with fresh basil and serve straight from the pan.

Tips & Variations

Pre-cooked beans make this even faster. If you have beans ready to go, this comes together very quickly.
About the cheese. I used aged mozzarella and Parmesan because they give you that classic pizza flavor and feel — and if you have a Parmesan rind hanging around, definitely use it! That said, any hard cheese you enjoy works beautifully here, so feel free to use what you have or what you love.
Don’t forget the oregano! I actually forgot to add it while filming — one of those things — but dried oregano is a classic pizza herb and makes a great addition. Add about a teaspoon along with your other herbs.
Customize your toppings. Mushrooms, eggplant, or any of your favorite pizza toppings would work great. Meat lovers can stir in cooked ground meat or add crispy bacon on top.
No oven-safe pan? Transfer the mixture to a casserole dish or pie plate before adding the cheese and baking.
For the tomatoes, look for a carton with no added ingredients — I love Jovial and Pomi, both of which come in cartons rather than cans.

The Verdict

This dish is like a cross between pizza and a hearty white bean chili, in the best possible way. It has all those classic pizza flavors: tangy tomato, melty cheese, fragrant herbs, sweet peppers. And because it’s a one-pot meal, cleanup is a breeze.

Would I make it again? Absolutely. It’s already going into regular rotation.

Want to see exactly how I made it? Head over and watch the video to see the whole process, including me fishing out that Parmesan rind! And if you put your own spin on this recipe, I’d love to hear about it. Drop a comment below and tell me about your pizza beans creation, what toppings did you use, what did you change, how did it turn out? Let’s inspire each other!

Recipe inspired by Deborah Perelman of Smitten Kitchen and Emmymade.

Pizza Beans

A grain-free and vegetarian one-pot meal with all the classic pizza flavors — hearty, cheesy, and surprisingly easy to make.

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Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: GAPS, Italian, SCD, Vegetarian

Keyword: scd recipe, vegetarian

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 25

Total Time: 40

Servings: servings

Calories: 290kcal

Author: Sherry Lipp

Equipment

Ingredients

1 small onion chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 red bell pepper chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
2 cups navy beans cooked – a little over or under is fine
14 oz diced tomatoes 1 carton or jar of plain with no added ingredients
3 tbsp fresh herbs garlic chives and basil finely chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup aged mozzarella shredded
½ cup Freshly grated Parmesan for topping or more
Fresh basil for garnish

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

Heat olive oil in an oven-safe pan over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté for a few minutes until they begin to soften. Add the bell peppers, season with salt and pepper, and sauté together for about 5 minutes until soft.
Add the minced garlic and stir in about 1 tablespoon of the fresh herb mixture along with the dried oregano.
Add the cooked navy beans and stir to combine. Season with a bit more salt and pepper.
Pour in the diced tomatoes and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Drop the Parmesan rind into the simmering mixture. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more fresh herbs and salt as needed. Remove the rind before baking.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Top the mixture with shredded mozzarella and a generous layer of freshly grated Parmesan. Bake uncovered for 10 minutes until bubbly and golden brown.
Remove from oven, let cool for a minute, and garnish with fresh basil before serving.

Notes

Any hard cheese works well here, but aged mozzarella and Parmesan give the most classic pizza flavor.
Customize with your favorite pizza toppings — mushrooms, eggplant, or cooked ground meat stirred in, or crispy bacon on top.
If your pan is not oven-safe, transfer to a casserole dish or pie plate before adding cheese and baking.
I used Jovial diced tomatoes. Pomi is another great option.

Sherry Lipp

Founder at Happy Gut For Life

Sherry is a Certificed Holistic Gut Practioner, author, and recipe creator. Sherry started the Specific Carbohydrate Diet in 2000 and has been creating delicious, grain and gluten-free recipes ever since. She is the author of the Don't Skip Dessert SCD cookbooks.