These homemade baked beans are ready in under 25 minutes and such a delicious vegetarian dish to make as a side with a main meal, or simply to enjoy for a simple dinner paired with potato or a few slices of crusty bread.

This recipe uses cherry tomatoes and fresh basil to create a delicious, fresh and herby sauce. It's the perfect recipe for anyone who dislikes canned baked beans but still enjoys a fresh tomato sauce and creamy white beans!

For more bean recipes, try these lemon white beans, these creamy butter beans, or these red pesto butter beans next.

Ingredient Notes

Here are all the ingredients you'll need for your homemade baked beans - scroll down to the recipe card for the full quantities and instructions!

• Tomatoes: I use cherry tomatoes, often because that's what I have harvested from our allotment when making this! Any tomato would work, really, though.
  
• Garlic: If you have a dislike for garlic,c you could omit it, but it does add a wonderful fragrance and flavour.
  
• White beans: My preferred bean for this recipe is cannellini beans. Haricot could also work (smaller), or perhaps butter beans (larger).
  
• Cream cheese: I use a large dollop of the Philadelphia plant-based cream cheese for this recipe. Use whatever you prefer.
  
• Seasonings: I keep the seasonings very simple in this recipe. Just salt, pepper, a little oregano, and some fresh parsley on top. You could also add smoked paprika for more depth.

Making Your Homemade Baked Beans

Here's a quick overview - full instructions are below.

Step 1) Saute the Cherry Tomatoes

Heat your oil in a pan and add the tomato paste, cooking it for a minute or two. Then add the halved cherry tomatoes, minced garlic cloves, oregano, salt, pepper, and basil. Stir them together and add 2-3 tablespoon water. Cover and leave the tomatoes to simmer and break down for 10 - 15 minutes on low heat - stir occasionally to avoid the tomatoes sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Step 2) Add the White Beans

Remove the basil from the pan and use the back of your spoon to help the tomatoes break down into a smoother sauce. Optionally, you could blend the tomatoes into a completely smooth sauce here, but I like to keep them a little chunky. 

Add the apple cider vinegar, and then tip in the white beans and stir them into the sauce. Simmer for another 10 minutes or so, again breaking down about ¼ of the white beans into the sauce to make it creamy.

Step 3) Add Cream Cheese

If using, add the cream cheese and stir it into the beans until you have a smooth and creamy sauce.

Top the beans with more fresh basil and some cracked black pepper, along with some crusty sourdough bread to dip or on top of a jacket potato!

Serving and storage

I love having these homemade baked beans as a hearty lunch by themselves with a great pile of crusty bread to dip and scoop on the side.

However, you could also serve it on top of a baked potato or as a side dish with cajun fries and tofu nuggets, for example.