Miso Mustard Bean Bake

Miso Mustard Bean Bake

We genuinely can't stop making this one. There's something about the combination of miso and mustard that sounds a bit mad on paper but tastes absolutely incredible, savory and punchy with just enough warmth to make it proper comfort food. The beans go creamy in the middle and the golden, herby breadcrumbs on top give you that satisfying crunch in every bite. It's the kind of weeknight bake that feels way more special than the effort involved. Honestly, put this in the oven tonight and you'll see what we mean.

Cook: 35 min
Serves 4

Before You Start

  • Food processor
  • Oven grill setting ready
  • Large ovenproof pan

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 200g sourdough bread
  • 10g nutritional yeast
  • 10g fresh thyme
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 large leeks
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 1 lemon
  • 3 400g tins of butter beans
  • 4 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp miso paste
  • 10g nutritional yeast
  • 300ml plant-based milk
  • salt and pepper to taste

Method

1

Prepare the breadcrumbs

  • Pick the thyme leaves off the woody stalks
  • Rip the bread into the food processor and blitz into coarse crumbs
  • Warm the olive oil in the pan over a medium high heat
  • Add the breadcrumbs to the pan and stir for 2 minutes
  • Sprinkle the nutritional yeast, thyme leaves and a good pinch of salt and pepper over the breadcrumbs and continue to cook until the breadcrumbs are a nice golden brown
  • Transfer the breadcrumbs to a bowl and wipe the pan clean
2

Prepare the Miso Mustard Butter Bean Bake ingredients

  • Trim the leek and cut into ½ cm thick rounds
  • Peel and grate the garlic
  • Zest the lemon
  • Open the beans and drain approx ⅔’s of the liquid out of each can
3

Cook the beans

  • Warm the olive oil in the pan over medium heat
  • Add the leeks to the pan and fry for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally until soft and golden
  • Add the garlic and lemon zest and stir for 2 minutes
  • Pour the beans and the liquid into the pan, fold to coat and simmer for 1 minute
  • Add the miso, mustard, nutritional yeast and lemon juice to the pan and stir to combine
  • Pour the plant based milk into the pan, fold to coat, and leave to simmer for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally
  • Taste and season to perfection with salt and pepper (we recommend going heavy on the pepper)
4

Finish and serve

  • Take the pan off the heat and sprinkle over the breadcrumbs
  • Put the pan in the oven and grill until golden brown and crispy (approx 4 minutes)
  • Take the pan out of the oven and serve immediately

Tips & Variations

  • Breadcrumb texture matters: Make sure you toast the breadcrumbs until they're properly golden before they go on top. If they're a bit pale going in, they won't crisp up the same way in the oven and you'll miss out on that crunch.
  • Swap the beans: We love this with cannellini beans but butter beans work brilliantly too. They're even creamier and hold up really well in the bake. Ian's tried it with chickpeas and that's a solid move as well.
  • Make it richer: Henry always stirs a small spoonful of extra miso into the sauce just before it goes in the oven. Totally optional but it gives the whole thing a deeper, more intense flavour that we're both obsessed with.

Why This Works

The trick here is the miso and mustard working together as the base flavour. Miso brings this deep, salty umami backbone and the mustard cuts through with a bit of sharpness, so the whole thing feels balanced and really interesting rather than just another bean bake. And those toasted nutritional yeast breadcrumbs on top are not optional, they take it from good to genuinely great.