Hearty Fagioli al Forno -Italian Baked Beans - is a popular Northern Italian Dish. In honor of my mamma who really loved Pasta Fagioli, we decided to add pasta to the baked beans recipe and make it even better. Canned cannellini beans make the baked beans dish quick and easy. Fresh fragrant sage leaves, aromatic garlic, and spicy sausage makes this satisfying dish a meal in itself.
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❤️ Why we love this recipe
- Italian baked beans with pasta is a budget-friendly dish that can be enjoyed as a complete meal.
- This recipe turns a classic bean soup into a baked pasta dish - comfort food at its best!
- This one-pot Fagioli Al Forno can be made with little effort in less than an hour.
The fresh sage and smoked sausage turn an ordinary baked beans dish into a hearty and satisfying Fagioli al Forno.
🛒 Ingredients
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Note: The full list of this recipe ingredients with their amounts and options are listed in the recipe card below.
- Cannellini beans
- Fire roasted diced tomatoes
- garlic
- onion
- fresh sage leaves
- fresh thyme
- red pepper flakes
- smoked sausage
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- orecchiette pasta - or your pasta of choice.
🗒 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Heat oil in a Dutch oven with garlic and sage leaves for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the onions with the sprig of thyme. Saute for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the smoked sausage.
- Cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add the fire-roasted tomatoes and cook for 4 minutes.
- Add the beans with juice and red pepper flakes.
- Mix in the pasta. Cover with a lid and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, stir, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Return it to the oven, uncovered, and cook for another 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 7 - 8 minutes before serving.
🔪 Equipment
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You’ll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.
- Dutch oven
- Sharp knife
- Cutting board
- Pasta pot
👩🏻🍳 Tips
- This dish can be served hot or at room temperature.
- Use a Dutch oven or similar oven-safe pan that has a lid. This will save you from having to clean extra pots or casserole dishes.
- You can make this Fagioli al Forno in advance by assembling the dish right up until the point of mixing in the pasta before baking. Allow it to cool before covering it with plastic cling wrap and store it in the fridge or freezer to bake later. It may be a little cumbersome to store a large baking dish but it’s an option. Add a few extra minutes of baking time to account for the chilled ingredients.
- I’ve used fresh herbs in this dish because that’s my preference. If you use dried herbs, remember to halve the amount called for since dried herbs are more concentrated and intense in flavor.
📚 Variations
- I’ve used canned beans for convenience but you could soak and cook dried beans for this dish if you prefer. To prepare dry beans, first wash and rinse the beans and then add them to a pot of water where they are fully submerged. Bring the pot to a boil for a few minutes and then allow the beans to soak for at least an hour.
- Make this dish vegetarian by omitting the sausage. You won’t get that smokey flavor but it’ll still be incredibly delicious.
- For the smoked meat we used kielbasa since we already had it, but you can use any smoked meat you like.
- This Fagioli al Forno works well with Navy beans and Cannellini beans but you can also use different varieties of white beans.
- For a little kick of heat to your Italian baked beans, use a can of Ro-Tel tomatoes instead of fire-roasted tomatoes which are not spicy at all.
🥫 Storage
Once completely cool, store leftover Fagioli al Forno in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. Reheat single portions in the microwave or larger portions on the stovetop.
You can also store leftovers in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Italian fagioli background
If you look up popular Italian peasant food you'll find beans. But, during the Renaissance, Catherine de Medici wanted to refine Italian cuisine, so beans fell out of favor with the nobility and the sophisticated city dwellers.
Only, the poor couldn't be particular -- they still made their bean dishes. Affordable and delicious!
It wasn't long before before beans became popular again. You know, when something tastes good and is good for you it eventually comes back into vogue.
In Tuscany, beans are such a staple in the regional cuisine that the Tuscans have the nickname of " beaneaters", although beans are eaten all over Italy.
📗 Related Recipes
If you’re looking for more ways to incorporate inexpensive beans into your family meals, consider trying these satisfying dishes:
- Tuscan White Bean Soup - This soup is also made with Cannellini beans, veggies, and Italian sausage.
- Ultimate Baked Beans - These sweet and smoky baked beans make the ultimate side dish for any summer cookout!
- Chili Con Carne - This spicy soup is made with ground and chopped beef, pinto beans, and tomatoes.
🍽 Serve with
Italian baked beans is a complete meal on its own but can also be enjoyed with a side of garlic bread, flaky biscuits, or a light green salad.
Fagioli are versatile and nutritious
Some delicious ways you can serve beans:
- In soups such as ham and beans
- As an appetizer like white bean hummus
- In a salad such as pinto bean salad or three bean salad
- In sweets, black bean brownies, or chocolate pumpkin muffins
- Baked with meat and pasta
- As a spread on crostini
- Made into a patty and put in a sandwich
- At breakfast as a faux sausage link
- served as a basis of a hearty salad such as tonno e fagioli (tuna and beans).
You can make so many delicious and nutritious dishes with beans. Here is an excellent article if you want to read more about the nutrition and health benefits of beans.
One very popular Tuscan dish is fagioli all'uccelletto (beans cooked like little birds). The recipe consists of cooking cannellini beans then combining them with chopped garlic, fresh sage leaves and tomatoes and simmered for about 15 minutes, until tender and fragrant. The dish is sometimes served with coarse country sausage.
📞 Chiacchierata (chat)
For this Italian baked beans recipe we opted for canned beans. We used one can cannellini and one can pinto beans.
You can also make this into a vegetarian recipe by just omitting the sausage. . . it will still taste good but not as great as with the smoked meat.
Fresh sage leaves flavor the beans along with garlic, onion, and thyme which is very popular in Italy.
For the smoked meat we used kielbasa since we already had it, but you can use any smoked meat you like.
The Italians have a saying: La fame è il miglior cuoco che ci sia { Hunger is (makes) the best cook}.
Tutti a tavolo, è pronto!
What's new? Check out my All Our Way Store on Amazon. We'll be adding more items we love and use or wish we had to make cooking fun and easy.
Fagioli al Forno - Italian Baked Beans recipe
Simple ingredients and ordinary seasonings combine to make some of the most delicious dishes.
An economical dish that is satisfying as a meal by itself. The canned beans make this recipe easy and quick although you could start the day before by using dried beans that you soak and cook. The fresh sage and smoked sausage is the secret to the hearty satisfying taste of the fagioli al forno.
Next time try our Tuscan White Bean Soup recipe using cannellini beans. The taste is amazing and the perfect dish for a cold wintry evening. And if you're searching for a meatless dinner or pasta side dish, our One Pot Chickpeas with Pasta recipe is a family favorite.
If you're looking for another authentic Baked pasta dish, try out our Ziti Al Forno recipe. It's a family favorite and you can prepare it ahead of time.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
📖 Recipe
Fagioli al Forno - Italian Baked Beans
Ingredients
- 2 cans 15 oz. cannellini beans *
- 1 can 14 oz. fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ medium onion chopped
- 3 fresh sage leaves
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 oz. smoked sausage cut in half and then into ¼" half moons**
- 4 Tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 oz. dry pasta cooked according to package directions to just below al dente - it will continue to cook in the baked beans.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- In a Dutch oven heat the oil over medium heat and saute the garlic and sage leaves for 3-4 minutes until garlic is tender but not brown. Add the onions with the sprig of thyme. Continue to saute for another 5 minutes.
- Stir in the smoked sausage and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add the fire roasted tomatoes and cook for 4 minutes. Pour in the beans with its juice and add the red pepper flakes.
- Mix in the pasta and cover the dish with a lid or foil, and place in the center of the heated oven.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove the dish from the oven, stir the beans, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Return the beans to the oven, uncovered, and cook for another 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 7 - 8 minutes before serving. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Notes
- * We used one can of cannellini and one can of pinto beans.
- ** We used kielbasa just because we already had it.
Nutrition
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Le Creuset Stoneware Casserole with Lid - This is really handy to have with a lid that won't let the contents leak.
Cannellini beans -- this is a staple in our pantry. We love adding them to soups.
