Best EVER Baked Beans

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These are the BEST EVER Baked Beans that have won 4 bbq competitions! Prepped in just 15 minutes that are going to be the hit of your summer barbecue.

Just like with the immediately popular BBQ Pulled Chicken and Easy Pulled Pork you can serve this summer favorite with KFC Coleslaw (Copycat), Three Bean Salad and Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese for the easiest and most delicious summer cookout meal made indoors!

 Best EVER Baked Beans Recipe

That’s right, these baked beans have won 4 competitions. And I’m not even talking about the office pot luck competition, we are talking about fun local bbq competitions. Back in the day before kids we used to love going to bbq competitions.

There were so many fun local ones and some huge ones. Finding our favorites was a job we took seriously. We started entering these beans into them a year before we moved and reality set in with full time careers and kids.

How do you make baked beans? You’d be surprised at how easy this recipe really is! They’re sweet, thick, rich, deeply flavored with molasses, a bit of salt from bacon and a hint of spice from the hot sauce. They’re everything and more that you could want from baked beans and I GUARANTEE these are going to be the hit of your barbecue.

Can you double this baked bean recipe?

The best part is the recipe can be easily doubled too. Just make sure your pan of beans are equally shallow. If you pour these into a deep baking dish you won’t allow the appropriate surface area of cooking and thickening to take place and the beans will be too soupy.

MY OTHER RECIPES

Another IMPORTANT note, rinse your beans (except the can of baked beans). This reduces the sodium significantly. It also will cut back drastically on how gassy you’ll feel after eating the beans. This is a step you dont want to skip. I just pour all the cans into a large colander then rinse at once, shaking the colander well while running it under water.

Want a deeper flavor? Swap the ketchup for bbq sauce, I love using stubbs or Tony Roma’s Original BBQ Sauce.

If you want to skip the bacon you can, just be sure to caramelize your onions well, the more flavor you can add to the beans the better.

Slow Cooker Baked Beans:

After the step of browning the onions and garlic add all the ingredients into the slow cooker together and stir. Cook on low for 7 hours, then uncover and cook an additional 1 hour on high heat to thicken.

Are baked beans good for you?

Beans are high in protein and fiber which are part of a healthy diet, but the beans are not considered “good for you” as a general rule because of the added bacon, sugar and fat in the recipe. A healthier option would be beans which are less saucy, with far less sweeteners. But with summer bbq, these baked beans are the perfect counterpart to a great grilled piece of steak or chicken.

How long do you bake beans in the oven?

The beans will bake in the oven for a full hour covered with foil. The foil is removed and the beans will bake for an additional 10 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken up and for a caramelization to take place on the top layer of the beans.

How do you make baked beans from scratch?

This recipe calls for one can of baked beans as a starter which is not necessary. You can also just add one additional can of beans and pump up the other sauce ingredients up by 25% (we did this in competitions). The ease and familiar flavor of adding the can of baked beans just seemed to be the flavor profile most of my clients preferred.

Which beans do you use to make baked beans? You can work with most types of beans, the most popular are butter, great northern, kidney and pinto beans. Some people will use all of one kind, but this recipe has a good mix which allows for different textures and flavors as well. Beans such as kidney beans have a much firmer skin than those of pinto or butter beans which are creamier.

More fun Easy Summer BBQ Recipes:

• El Pollo Loco BBQ Black Beans (Copycat)
• Hawaiian Macaroni Salad
• Slow Cooker Barbecue Ribs
• Honey Bacon Baked Beans

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Yield: 12 servings

Baked Beans Recipe

Prep:15 minutes

Cook:75 minutes

Total Time:90 minutes

These are the BEST EVER Baked Beans that have won 4 bbq competitions! Prepped in just 15 minutes that are going to be the hit of your summer barbecue.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound bacon, diced
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped finely
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 (16 ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (16 ounce) can butter beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (16 ounce) can baked beans
• 1 (16 ounce) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce (I use Tabasco)
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large cast iron skillet cook the bacon on medium high heat.
3. Remove the bacon and let cool.
4. Drain half the fat, then add the onion to the skillet and cook for 5-7 minutes or until it just begins to caramelize.
5. Add in the garlic and bell pepper and cook an additional 30 seconds, stirring well.
6. In a large mixing bowl add the bacon, onions, garlic and the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
7. Pour the beans into a 9×13 baking pan and bake, covered with foil, for one hour.
8. Uncover and bake for an additional ten minutes.

Nutrition Information

Yield: 12 servings, Serving Size: 1/2 cup

• Amount Per Serving:
• Calories: 277 Calories

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