Smoky Cajun Veggies & Smashed White Beans (One Sheet-Pan)

Crispy smashed white beans and Cajun veggies roasted on one sheet pan, then tossed in a creamy, tangy chipotle-lime dressing. A versatile meal you can serve in bowls, tacos, or wraps.

This is a super easy and absolutely delicious meal that comes together fairly quickly. You just chop up all of the vegetables and add them to a pan. Smash the beans using a bowl, and add them to the pan as well. Add some spices, oil, and lime juice, toss well, and then bake until the veggies are tender and the beans are lightly crisp.

Meanwhile, you make this creamy, delicious, spicy, lightly sweet, and tangy dressing. It goes amazingly well over these roasted veggies. I mean, this is a dressing you can use on any salad, wraps. burritos, or any which way. It’s just fantastic with all of that smoky chipotle spice flavor, the tang from the lime juice, the creaminess from the non-dairy yogurt, and some cheesiness from the nutritional yeast. It’s just fantastic.

You can serve this roasted bean and veggie mixture as a bowl, in wraps, stuffed into pita bread, or over a baked potato or rice. There are so many ways to serve this! Do let me know in the comments how you served it as well, because I love hearing from you guys, and many times you surprise me with the creative ways you serve the recipes.

You want the beans to be sort of lightly flattened but not entirely smashed. You’re just trying to increase the surface area, so they can bake up nice and crispy in the oven.

If you don’t want to smash them, that’s fine, too. Just add them directly to the veggies on the sheet pan and bake. The beans on the edges will still get crisp. If you want all of the unsmashed beans to get crisp and act like croutons, then bake them on a separate sheet so that they crisp up nicely.

This dish is spicy, smoky, creamy, and tangy. It’s just an amazing blend of flavors! It has protein from the beans, nutritional yeast, and yogurt.  You can up the protein by adding hemp seeds into the dressing or as a topping.

Why You’ll Love these Smashed Bean Veggie Bowl

• easy meal all cooks on one large or two small sheet pans
• amazing textures from crispy smashed beans, tender roasted veggies, and creamy dressing
• incredible tangy, smoky, savory, slightly sweet flavors
• versatile! Serve as wraps, in pita, in bowls, or over rice, baked potato, or quinoa
• naturally gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free

Ingredients

• white beans – You can use other beans, like black, pinto, or kidney beans, if you prefer.
• veggies – This is veggie-packed with red and green bell pepper, onion, zucchini, mushrooms, corn, and garlic.
• lime – We are using lime juice and zest to give the veggies and dressing a super tangy flavor.
• spices – For the veggies, we use cajun seasoning, paprika, and thyme. In the dressing, we use garlic powder and nutritional yeast.
• chipotle peppers in adobo sauce – Smoky chilis in adobo sauce give the dressing a smokiness and a nice heat. Remove the seeds for less spicy, if needed.
• non-dairy yogurt – Makes the dressing creamy. Use soy-free and/or nut-free, if needed. You can use vegan mayo instead, if needed.
• maple syrup – Adds a hint of sweet to offset the heat from the peppers in the dressing.
• toppings – Top your bowls/wraps/pita/etc with chopped red onion, cilantro, vegan cheese, and hemp or sesame seeds. You can also add hemp seeds to the dressing to up the protein, if you like.

How to Make Cajun Sheet Pan Dinner

Preheat the oven to 415° F (213°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Drain the white beans and let them drain for 2 to 3 minutes, then spread them on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Using a flat-bottomed glass or stoneware bowl, gently smash the beans to flatten them slightly. If you’re using a small baking sheet, divide the beans and veggies between two sheets.

To the same baking pan or second baking pan, add the bell peppers, red onion, zucchini, mushrooms, corn, and garlic. Drizzle oil and lime juice over the vegetables, and toss well to coat. In a small bowl, mix together the lime zest, Cajun seasoning, paprika, thyme, salt. You can also add cayenne for more heat. Sprinkle that all over the beans and veggies, tossing well to coat. If the beans are on a separate pan, drizzle them with 1 teaspoon of oil and use the rest on the veggies. Use 1 to 2 teaspoons of the spice mix on the beans and the rest on the veggies.

Bake everything for about 25 minutes, or until the veggies are golden on the edges and mushrooms are fully cooked. Around the 17 to 18 minute mark, stir well to make sure they bake evenly, moving pieces from the center of the pan to the edges and from the edges to the center.

Add chipotle peppers, non-dairy yogurt, maple syrup, garlic powder, fresh garlic, nutritional yeast, salt, and lime juice with 1 tablespoon of water to your blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Add more water to thin it, if needed. Taste and adjust salt, lime juice, or heat, as needed.

Once the beans and veggies are roasted, remove them from the oven.

To serve as a bowl: Add chopped lettuce or greens to a bowl. Top with the roasted veggie and bean mixture and a generous drizzle of the dressing. Garnish with chopped red onions, cilantro, and hemp seeds or sesame seeds.

To make wraps: Warm up tortillas or pita bread. Add some lettuce, then top with the roasted veggie and bean mixture. Drizzle the dressing on top and top with chopped onions, cilantro, cucumber, tomatoes, and/or pickled jalapeños. Serve immediately.

What to Serve with Cajun Beans and Veggies

Serve this as a bowl over lettuce or greens of choice topped with onion, cilantro, and hemp or sesame seeds. Or, make a pita or wrap by stuffing warm pita or tortillas with the bean-veggie mixture and dressing, lettuce, onion, cilantro, and crunchy veggies like cucumber, tomato, and pickled jalapeno.

You can also serve this over a baked potato, rice, or quinoa with the dressing on top.