Popular at picnics and potlucks, this baked beans recipe is sweet and tangy, and just watch those beans disappear. Everyone loves them!
Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: They’re a potluck and BBQ super star!
How long it takes: just over two hours, mostly hands off
Equipment you’ll need: baking dish, small bowl, and a spoon
Servings: 8 generous servings
Homemade baked beans are just the greatest! I’m a big fan of all things baked beans (yes, even canned) but really nothing beats homemade. These baked beans are the perfect combination of sweet and tangy and I could eat the whole pan (but that might be a potentially bad situation).
Popular at get-togethers! Bring these baked beans to your next family party, reunion, potluck, or picnic. I guarantee you won’t be bringing any home with you. Everyone will be asking for your recipe. They go great with grilled burgers, hot dogs and sloppy Joes. For a really traditional picnic, serve baked beans with homemade creamy potato salad and classic coleslaw.
P.S. Love traditional dishes like baked beans? Try homemade meatloaf, tuna casserole, or cheesy potatoes. For dessert, Texas sheet cake is a traditional favorite.
About these baked beans
Better consistency than canned beans. One thing I really like about these beans is that they aren’t super runny. Sometimes you almost need a bowl for your beans or the juice runs all over your plate. This recipe makes a thicker, more sticky baked bean casserole that stays put on your plate.
Easy prep. These beans don’t have a lot of fancy ingredients and are easy to make. It shouldn’t take you more than fifteen minutes to prepare them.
Bake time is flexible. Baked beans need to bake awhile, two hours, more or less. Don’t worry about timing things exactly. Baked beans are pretty easy going. If you aren’t ready to serve them, cover the pan with foil and leave them in the oven on low heat until it’s time to eat.
Here’s a quick rundown of the recipe with a few extra tips and ideas.
Ingredient Notes
- Canned beans: A large jar of great Northern beans, along with over-sized butter beans, gives a nice textural contrast. If you’d prefer to use all great Northern beans, that’s totally fine too. Whatever type you use, make sure to rinse and drain them.
- Onion: Lots of chopped onion go into these beans. They’ll cook down so don’t worry about finding chunks of onion in the beans. Any type of onion works, but we love a sweet onion.
- Bacon: Bacon adds a nice smoky salty flavor to the beans. Keep reading for variations.
- Ketchup: A good amount of ketchup adds tomato tanginess and gives the beans a nice saucy consistency. We like to choose a variety without high-fructose corn syrup, but pick your favorite.
- Dark Brown Sugar: Light brown sugar can be substituted, too. Adjust the amount according to how sweet you like baked beans.
- Molasses: You’ll find that molasses adds so much flavor to beans. Don’t skip the molasses!
- Dijon Mustard: Really, any type of mustard is fine. Even dried mustard would work for this recipe.
- White Vinegar: Vinegar contributes to the tanginess of the beans. Other types of vinegar are fine, too, especially cider vinegar. Avoid balsamic vinegar.
How to make This baked beans Recipe
Mix the beans, onions, and bacon. Basically, there are two easy steps to prepare the beans for baking. The first step is to mix the beans, diced bacon, and chopped onion in a large baking dish. There’s no need to cook the bacon first.
Make the sauce. Using a small whisk, blend the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl or large measuring cup: ketchup, brown sugar, molasses, mustard and vinegar.
Combine. Pour the sauce over the beans, bacon, and onions.
Stir until everything is good and mixed up.
Bake the beans in your oven. Give them a stir halfway through the cooking time. If the beans seem like they’re getting dry, cover them with foil. Sometimes, I cover the beans with foil for the first hour, and then bake them uncovered for the last hour. It’s up to you. It kind of depends on how saucy you like your beans.
Are baked beans healthy?
Beans are a good source of plant protein and fiber, along with many nutrients (Healthline). They can be low in calories depending on what’s added to them. Often canned baked beans have a lot of added sodium so it’s healthier to make your own. Just remember that adding a lot of sugar and bacon, while making the beans really tasty, may detract from the health benefits of baked beans.Interestingly, the city of Boston in Massachusetts, has a nickname of “Beantown” because of their famous baked beans. Dating back to colonial times, early settlers learned from Native Americans how to grow and cook nutritious dried beans. Using molasses as a sweetener, often the beans were started on Saturday night to be eaten on the Sabbath. Boston baked beans are still traditionally made with dried navy beans (a small white bean), molasses, and salt pork, and are baked for a long period of time. If you like, try these Boston Baked Beans by Serious Eats.
Most baked beans recipes today are more tangy and usually include brown sugar, vinegar, ketchup, and bacon. There are many recipes which are often passed down from generation to generation. Often baked beans aren’t baked at all but cooked in a slow cooker or on the stovetop.
Make It Your Own
- Vegetarian beans: Omit the bacon.
- Protein alternatives: If you’re not a fan of bacon but still want meaty beans, try ground beef, turkey, or sausage. Brown before adding it to the beans. Link sausages can be added as well, or even hot dogs. Some people like to place the bacon strips on top of the beans instead of mixing it in.
- Substitute different types of beans. Choose your favorite variety of canned beans, or use a mixture. If you’d rather start with dry beans, cook them as directed on the package before proceeding with this recipe. An Instant Pot works great for cooking dried beans quickly.
- Looking for more baked bean recipes? Calico beans with ground beef and bacon are super popular. Cowboy beans are meaty (with kielbasa!) and slightly spicy. Try frijoles borrachos (drunken beans) with a southwestern flair.
Looking for a slow cooker recipe?
Try Crock Pot Baked Beans. The recipe is very similar but has a lesser amount of sauce ingredients since the slow cooker locks in all the moisture. It’s great for parties because it will stay warm all evening if you leave the slow cooker on warm.
Get a head start. While the beans really don’t take too long to put together, if you want to get a jump on things, get them ready to bake up to a day ahead and refrigerate in a covered container.
If you’re using a glass baking dish, let it come to room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes so that it doesn’t break when you place it in your hot oven.
Store leftover baked beans in a covered container in the fridge for up to 5 days. If they seem a little drier, add a bit of water or broth before reheating. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave until heated through.
Warning!
Reheating over low heat on the stovetop is the best method, but sometimes the microwave is just quicker and easier. However, beans tend to explode when heated in the microwave so cover the dish to save yourself clean-up time, and don’t overheat them.More Bean Recipes
Baked Beans Recipe – sweet, tangy, & easy!
Ingredients
- 1 jar (48 oz). great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can (15.25 oz.) butter beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 cups finely diced yellow onion (about 2 medium onions)
- 6 oz. sliced bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 ½ cups ketchup
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- ⅓ cup molasses
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 4 tablespoons white vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325ºF.
- Add beans, onion, and bacon to a 9 × 13-inch baking dish; mix.
- In a small bowl, stir together ketchup, molasses, mustard, vinegar, and brown sugar. Pour over bean mixture and mix until evenly distributed.
- Place beans in oven and bake for 2 hours, stirring once halfway through baking time (see note).
Notes
- For vegetarian baked beans, omit bacon.
- Other types of canned beans may be substituted.
- If you prefer juicier beans, cover the pan with foil for the first hour of baking.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
This recipe was perfect! Everyone raves about it! It will be the only baked bean recipe that I make from here on out!
Thank you so much for leaving a review! I’m glad you liked them!
Also, I am adding 3 extra cans of the butter beans…will I need to add more of the ingredients that make up the sauce? Thank You!
Yes, you may need to add more sauce ingredients in that case!
Just wondering if I could cook these beans in a slow cooker instead of the oven? This recipe looks so sweet and tangy. Prefer to keep the beans in the slow cooker ready to take to our family reunion.
Yes! We actually have a recipe for those: https://www.rachelcooks.com/crock-pot-baked-beans/
I want to make it with canned beans but am weary. I would think they would turn into mush. But you say this recipe can be made with canned beans. I just wanted to verify your thoughts on this. Thank you so much. I can’t wait to try.
Yes – I recommend using canned beans!
We added it to our list:
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Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipe. Keep up the good work!
Thanks!
Can I can this after I make it??? I really love this recipe! I’d love to be able to can it and make it shelf stable somehow instead of buying cans of beans.
I haven’t canned these and I’m not an expert on canning, so unfortunately I can’t give you any guidance here. Maybe google it?
I (we) LOVE these beans!!The sauce is sooo good I made yesterday for our pool party at my sons, everyone loved it! I only got like a tbsp. So I’m making them right now in this 80 something heat with air conditioners on. Yummy❤️Ty for this recipe!!
Perfect for a pool party! I’m glad they were a hit. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!