Slow Cooker Pork and Beans

12 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 hours
Total Time 10 hours 15 minutes

Slow Cooker Pork and Beans is an easy BBQ side dish recipe! Dried white beans and bacon slow cooked in barbecue sauce with ketchupbrown sugar, and mustard.

It’s hard to beat award-winning Southern Baked Beans, but if you want a classic Side Dish recipe made completely from scratch, this Slow Cooker version is a winner!

Slow Cooker Pork and Beans in serving bowl

These slow-cooked barbecue beans are the easiest way to make a classic comfort food recipe. Once the beans, bacon, and sauce ingredients go into the crockpot, it’s a hands-free side dish! Since you are cooking them in a slow cooker, these beans are party or potluck ready when you are and only get better as they simmer in the tasty sauce.

Mild and flavorful, these Slow Cooker Pork and Beans are an easy, family-friendly recipe made with just a handful of ingredients. The smoky, sweet, and tangy flavors of the navy beans are a tasty side for parties, backyard parties, or Sunday dinner. These Pork and Beans are just as delicious served with Roast Chicken and Mashed Potatoes as they are served with Pulled Pork and Mac and Cheese

Slow Cooker Pork and Beans collage

This Slow Cooker Pork and Beans recipe is delicious with a sweet and slightly tangy sauce, but you can season this tasty bean dish with whatever you have on hand. The white beans and bacon go with pretty much everything, so feel to add flavors you love. If you have a medium oniongarlic cloves, and green peppers on hand, sauté and add them in for an easy way to pump up flavor fast.

If you want to make these beans ahead of time, cook as usual and then remove the slow cooker insert from the machine. Allow to cool completely and store covered insert in the refrigerator. To heat beans to serve, allow the pot to be at room temperature for 30 minutes (so the glass insert isn’t too cold) then place the slow cooker insert back into the cooker. Cook on low or high heat, stirring until hot. Keep on low or warm for up to 4 hours.

Slow Cooker Pork and Beans in slow cooker

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FAQs for Slow Cooker Pork and Beans

Why do the beans have to be soaked overnight?

Soaking them overnight helps get rid of complex sugars in the beans, which can be difficult to digest, and cause unpleasant side effects (like gas – yikes!).

Why aren’t my beans becoming tender?

If your beans are not softening, it could be that you forgot to soak them overnight. It could also be that your beans are old. As they age, they lose their ability to soak up water. You could also be using hard water, or there could be an acidic ingredient in the water causing a problem.

Cooking Tips for Slower Cooker Pork and Beans

  • Molasses: If you don’t have molasses on hand, you can substitute 1 tablespoon of maple syrup, honey, dark corn syrup, or brown sugar. You can use dark or light fancy molasses, but don’t use bitter bootstrap molasses.
  • Beans: Different white beans will give you different textures and flavors, like firm and nutty or soft and creamy. Navy beans are small, cook quickly, and have a creamy texture, Great Northern beans are slightly nutty and firmer, and Cannellini beans are firmest, nutty, and earthy.
  • Tender Beans: If you are worried about your beans not being tender or have had issues in the past cooking dried beans, you can boil them for 30 minutes in water and then drain them.
Slow Cooker Pork and Beans spoonful showing detail

Can Slow Cooker Pork and Beans be made ahead?

These beans reheat really well, so you can go ahead and make them at least the day before you want to serve them. This works especially well if you need to use your slow cooker for another dish that day. You can warm up the Pork and Beans in the microwave, or in a pot on the stove.

Recipe Variations for Slow Cooker Pork and Beans

  • Pork: For a hearty and simple meal, add pork shoulder roast or other boneless pork to the slow cooker about 4-6 hours into the cooking time. Use a 2-3 pound pork roast, cut into 1-inch cubes, and sear before adding to the crockpot.
  • Canned Beans: If you want to use canned beans for this recipe, reduce the cooking time to 4-5 hours and use 3 cans (15 ounces) of beans. Drain and rinse beans before adding them for the best flavor.
  • BBQ Sauce: For more BBQ flavor, use 1 cup of store-bought or Homemade Barbecue Sauce for 1 cup of ketchup. You can also add up to ½ teaspoon liquid smoke for smoky baked beans.
  • Peppers and Onions: Bell peppers and onions would add another layer of fresh flavors to this tasty side dish. A classic pairing is green bell peppers and yellow onions, but you could also use red bell peppers, sweet peppers, red onions, or shallots.
  • Spicy: Balance out the sweet flavors with a spicy-tomato based sauce by adding ¼ cup hot sauce or salsa for 1/4 cup ketchup. You could also add jalapeño peppercayenne pepper, or chipotle peppers in adobo sauce for heat!
  • Spices: Adjust the flavor to your taste with seasonings and spices like garlic powder, minced garlic, chopped onions, onion powderonion soup mix, BBQ seasoning, chili powderblack pepperdry mustardapple cider vinegar, or white wine vinegar.
Slow Cooker Pork and Beans on plate with salad and bread

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How to Store Slower Cooker Pork and Beans

  • Serve: Cook Slow Cooker Pork and Beans until they are fork-tender before serving. You can keep the beans covered on warm for up to 4 hours.
  • Store: Cool beans completely before storing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat over low heat on the stovetop or bake covered in the oven for best taste and texture.
  • Freeze: Once Pork and Beans are cooled completely, store in a sealed container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating on the stovetop or in the oven.

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Slow Cooker Pork and Beans

Slow Cooker Pork and Beans is an easy BBQ side dish recipe! Dried white beans and bacon slow cooked in barbecue sauce with ketchup, brown sugar and mustard.
Yield 12 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 hours
Total Time 10 hours 15 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 3 cups dried navy beans
  • 12 cups boiling water
  • 6 cups water , or chicken broth
  • 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon molasses
  • 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar , packed
  • 2 cups ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
  • 12 slices thick cut bacon , chopped

Instructions

  • Add beans and boiling water to a large pot and cover.
  • Let sit overnight.
  • Drain navy beans.
  • Add navy beans to the slow cooker along with 6 cups water (or chicken broth), salt, molasses, mustard, brown sugar, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and bacon and stir well.
  • Cook on low heat for 10 hours.

Nutrition

Calories: 407kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 1238mg | Potassium: 850mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 221IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 109mg | Iron: 3mg
Slow Cooker Pork and Beans collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

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