Tangy beans and vegan smoked applewood are packed in making these humble cheese toasties the ultimate comfort food!

So I’m sort of, almost, kinda nearly done now with the whole Christmas excess.  The afternoon cookies every day rather than an occasional treat.  The rather large chunk of something for dessert.  Extra everything filling every plate.  The ‘oh what the heck it’s Christmas’ attitude.  It isn’t sustainable and I honestly don’t want it to be.  So a happy medium between healthy and oh so comforting are these smoky, tangy, tasty cheese toasties.

They’re everything a proper sandwich should be and cooked to crisp, delicious perfection.  So do yourself a favour and MAKE.THESE.SANDWICHES.

The humble grilled cheese sandwich, a comfort food mainstay, is elevated with the addition of smoky, lightly spiced butterbeans. It’s a taste adventure I kid you not.

It also also has a tonne of protein and fibre thanks to the beans.  Both these things keep you fuller for longer and we should all know by now how important protein and fibre are for overall health.

How to make these delicious toasted cheese sandwiches:

I really recommend a nice, crusty loaf for these cheese toasties.  One that you have to cut yourself rather than pre-sliced.  You want THICK toast.  This is not a sandwich for the faint hearted.  This is a filling sandwich.  And you want enough bread to hold all that cheesy bean goodness.

Drain the butterbeans and give a quick rinse then drain again.

Into a saucepan or frying pan put the roasted pepper that you’ve roughly chopped.  Add the tomato puree, smoked paprika, chutney, onion power, garlic powder, herbs and mustard and mix together.

Heat until bubbling then toss in the drained beans and stir well.  Cook until piping hot.

Carve your bread then generously spread one side of each slice with vegan butter or margarine.  Lay one of the slices buttered side DOWN into a frying pan then top with half the bean mixture.

Cover the beans with the grated cheese.  I’ve used vegan smoked applewood because it melts really well and has a really nice flavour that works so well with these homemade baked beans.

Top with the other slice of bread, but butter side UP this time.

Gently sizzle in the pan – no extra oil is needed – until crisp and golden on the bottom.  Then carefully – but bravely – flip the whole thing over and repeat on the other side.

Enjoy with a crisp salad, a glass of chilled apple juice or do what I do and eat the damn thing straight out of the pan.

Looking for even more easy and healthy vegan meals?  Try these:

Creamy broccoli soup with toasted cheese sandwiches

Sausage casserole with pearl barley

Teriyaki mushroom tacos with red cabbage slaw

Lemon and herb orzo with roasted tomatoes

If you make this recipe or any of the recipes from The Cook & Him I’d LOVE to see! Just snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #thecookandhim and tagging @thecookandhim in the photo itself (as this guarantees I’ll see your picture!)

Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook or Pinterest for even more recipe inspiration and chat, competitions, behind the scenes and so much more!