If you don’t already have a few cans of beans crammed into a dank, dark, untouched corner in your cupboard, what are you even doing with your life? All jokes aside, canned beans are actually a convenient yet inexpensive way to bulk up a meal and add more plant protein into your diet. We even have a list of six canned baked bean brands to buy and six to avoid to get you started on your canned bean journey. But canned beans on their own, whether they’re whole, refried, or baked beans, just lack a little oomph. And that’s where the cheese comes in.
You can take your canned beans from blah to unbeatable with only a handful of cheese. Just take your favorite canned beans and give them a bit of a mash. You can add in some butter for a little extra fat and flavor, but the important part here is your cheese. Use something shredded with a good melt and sprinkle a generous amount in while your beans are still piping hot. Give the whole thing a stir and you have yourself some creamy, delicious beans made even better with the rich cheese melted all throughout. It’s indulgent while also being simple and easy to make without breaking the bank. Better yet, it’s ridiculously easy to customize.
The perfect cheeses for your cheesy canned beans
Of course, since cheese and beans are the star of the show here, the type of cheese and beans you choose will have a notable impact on the final flavor of your dish. You can take a look at our list of the pros and cons of 12 melting cheeses to get an idea of what flavors and textures you want in your recipe. For example, provolone is easy to melt and find at your local grocery store, but Italian and American provolone cheeses have two totally distinct tastes and you may not like one but end up accidentally grabbing it. Muenster, on the other hand, is a young cheese with a mild enough flavor profile to be versatile, but a smell that some may not enjoy. Granted, you can’t go wrong with cheddar, but part of the fun is trying out different combos of beans and cheese to find your personal winner.
You can also highlight your cheese choices even more with these ingredients that will take canned beans up a notch. We’re talking bacon, pork fat, herbs, spices, and aromatics; these ingredients bring depth of flavor and complexity to a dish that might otherwise be a bit one-note. You could especially benefit from experimenting if your canned beans don’t have any added flavors already, which means they’ll likely be pretty plain on their own. Again, it’s all about experimenting. To get you started, consider black beans with Monterey Jack cheese, seasoned with paprika, salt, and garlic. Switch around the ingredients to your heart’s content and find that perfect, comforting, homey bowl of beans just for you.
