Homemade Pork and Beans

by Sabrina Snyder

Published on Last updated

11 Comments

4.72 from 7 votes
16 Servings
Prep Time 8 hours
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 10 hours
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Homemade Pork and Beans is easy to make with a savory and sweet sauce flavored with brown sugar, molasses, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce.

Our recipe for Southern Baked Beans has been one of the most popular recipes on the website for a long time. They are sweet and a little spicy with crispy bacon mixed in with the beans. This dish is quite similar, but we’ve made the beans on the stovetop instead of in the oven and used rich, thick-cut bacon. Either recipe for beans with pork would be the perfect Side Dish to serve up at your next BBQ, picnic, or potluck!

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Sabrina’s Pork and Beans Recipe

This is sure to become your favorite Pork and Beans recipe ever! The dish is flavored to perfection with molasses and brown sugar for some smoky-sweet flavor. Then mustard, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce are added for some rich, complex, savory taste. Plus, there’s salty, thick-cut bacon, which add even more flavor and some texture to the savory and sweet beans.

dried beans and water in pot

Traditional beans like this recipe are great to serve at cookouts. You can dish up servings to go with your favorite BBQ dishes like hamburgers or Pulled Pork. Your guests are sure to love this version of the classic side.

Because this recipe is made from scratch, it does take several hours to make. However, just because the recipe takes some time doesn’t mean it is at all difficult. The only reason it’s so long is because we are cooking dry white beans. The beans have to soak in water overnight to help them expand before you start cooking them. Then it takes another couple of hours of cooking so that they can fully absorb the amazing flavors of the hearty sauce. The good news is you won’t even have to be in the kitchen most of the time. Just set the pot over low heat and leave it to simmer.

Homemade Pork and Beans ingredients in pot

How to Make

  • Cook beans: Bring a pot of water to a boil, then add in the dry navy beans and cover. Turn off the heat and cover the pot. Let the beans soak in the liquid overnight, or for 8-14 hours. the next morning, drain the beans. Then add the beans back into the dutch oven. Pour 6 cups of water on top. Turn the stovetop to medium heat and cook the bean mixture for 60 minutes. After cooking, drain the cooked navy beans.
  • Sauce: Add the salt, molasses, mustard, brown sugar, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and chicken broth for the flavorful cooking liquid. Cut the cooked bacon into small pieces, then add the bacon on top. Stir all the ingredients together.
  • Cooking time: Simmer the mixture for 60 minutes until the beans are tender and the prepared sauce has thickened.
Homemade Pork and Beans with bacon and sauce in small cast iron pots for serving

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Homemade Pork and Beans

Homemade Pork and Beans is easy to make with a savory and sweet sauce flavored with brown sugar, molasses, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce.
Yield 16 Servings
Prep Time 8 hours
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 10 hours
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
cooked pork and beans in small black pot
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Ingredients
 

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

Instructions

  • Add beans and boiling water to a large pot and cover.
  • Let sit overnight.
  • Drain beans and add 6 cups of water.
  • Cook on medium-high heat for 60 minutes.
  • Drain navy beans a second time.
  • Add salt, molasses, mustard, brown sugar, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, bacon, and chicken broth, and stir well.
  • Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 60 minutesor until beans are tender.

Nutrition

Calories: 432kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 1289mg | Potassium: 704mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 177IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 85mg | Iron: 3mg

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Variations

  • Tomato sauce: For a thicker sauce with more tomato flavor you can mix in a 6 ounce can of tomato sauce along with the rest of the liquid ingredients.
  • Onions: For some extra savory flavor in the dish you can add onions to the sauce. Slice yellow onion into small pieces and sauté them in oil until translucent. Add ½ cup onion mixture to the beans along with the rest of the sauce.
  • Spices: You can add your favorite seasonings to the sauce ingredients. Chili powder, paprika, onion salt, oregano, cumin, or cinnamon would taste great. You could also add a few minced garlic cloves to the savory sauce.
  • Peppers: Chop up some green bell peppers for a sweet vegetable addition. Or, you could add in some heat with sliced jalapeño pepper.
  • Pork: Instead of bacon, you can use a cut of boneless pork shoulder in the recipe. Cook the pork in a separate pan, then cut it into pieces and add chunks of pork to the dish.
  • Beans: We’ve made this recipe with navy beans, but you can try other beans of your choice. Kidney beans, pinto beans, or cannellini beans would all work well.
Homemade Pork and Beans with bacon and sauce in small cast iron pots for serving

Slow Cooker Pork and Beans

  • To start the slow cooker version, you’ll still need to soak the beans in liquid overnight.
  • Then drain the beans, and add them to the slow cooker with 4 cups of water.
  • Cover the cooker and turn it on low for 6-8 hours.
  • Add the remaining ingredients on top.
  • Mix, then turn the cooker to high for 30 minutes to warm the sauce.
  • Serve immediately, or leave the slow cooker on low to keep the dish warm.

How to Store

  • Serve: Don’t leave Pork and Beans out at room temperature for more than 2 hours after cooking.
  • Store: If you have leftovers, you can put them in an airtight container or cover them in plastic wrap to store in the fridge for 3-4 days.
  • Freeze: This recipe can also be kept in the freezer for 1-2 months.

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More Bean Recipes for a Summer Cookout

Homemade Pork and Beans collage

The following photos were included on previous versions of this post:

Homemade Pork and Beans with bacon and sauce in pot with spoon
Homemade Pork and Beans with bacon and sauce in pot

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.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. Excellent Recipe! Loved it! Also Pork and beans in the Can are so expensive now. I get much more bang for my buck cooking them this way and it makes so much!

    Thank you!

    Reply

  2. We are snow bound this weekend so a pot of beans sounded just right. Made the recipe as printed but I did add 2 Tbs of apple cider vinegar. Cuts the sweetness a bit but also adds a nice tang.

    Reply

    1. That’s absolutely fine to do. It’s important for recipes to match the tastes of the Chef!!!

      Reply

  4. Absolutely delicious. I made smaller amount but used the same ingredients. It tastes exactly the way I wanted. Everone loved it. This will be my go-to recipe when I want a bean dish. Thank you.

    Reply

  5. this recipe is delicious. I rendered my bacon a bit and then added a little white onion. more than a half but less than a cup. very nice! this recipe is saved. thank you for posting

    Reply

  7. would you suggest this recipe for a instapot ? If so any instructions would be appreciated. I have yet to try this as written but with the heat wave I’d like to keep the kitchen cool.

    Reply

  8. Wow, these were really great and super simple. I thought that it was way too much bacon at first, but it was perfect in the end. I cheated and used canned navy beans instead, so I had to guess at the quantity… it seems one 16 oz can per 2 servings was about right.

    Reply