Old Fashioned Baked Beans
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Thick, smoky, sweet, and savory, this Old Fashioned Baked Beans recipe is one you’ll come back to again and again! Serve these oven baked beans at your next BBQ, picnic, potluck or family dinner and watch your guests lick their plates clean and ask for more! The best baked beans made from scratch!
Baked beans are an American staple. The combination of sweet, savory and smoky flavors makes them irresistibly delicious. Making your own homemade baked beans from scratch is easier to make than you may think, you just need to set aside enough cooking time. They need time to cook low and slow to allow the beans to soak up all those amazing flavors. The perfect make-ahead dish, these baked beans are even better the next day after the flavors have had more time to develop!
What to Serve With Baked Beans
Baked beans is a versatile dish that can be served with any number of mains and sides. Here are some popular options:
- Grilled Meats and Barbecue Ribs
- Burgers, Sliders, or Hot Dogs (e.g. Banzai Burger, Greek Burger)
- Grilled Vegetables (e.g. Grilled Eggplant)
- Fried Chicken
- Skillet Cornbread
- Creamy Coleslaw
- Freezer Slaw
- Macaroni Salad
- Macaroni and Cheese
- Potato Salad
- Broccoli Salad, Pea Salad, Four Bean Salad, or a tossed salad
- Bread Rolls or Buttermilk Biscuits
Can I Make Baked Beans in a Slow Cooker?
Yes. While the traditional method cooking “baked” beans is to bake them in the oven, which is the method we present here, you can also make them in a crock pot. The sauce may be thinner at the end of the cooking time in which case remove the lid towards the end of the cooking to allow some of the liquid to evaporate.
SLOW COOKER METHOD: Follow steps 1 and 2 in the recipe and then pour everything into the slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 6-7 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours or until the beans are tender. Open the lid for the last 30 minutes or longer until the sauce has thickened. If the beans are too thick at any point and too much liquid has evaporated, stir in a little extra water.
Why Are My Beans Still Hard After Hours of Cooking?
You’re not alone, this is a not an uncommon problem. From Fine Cooking: “Some beans refuse to soften. You can soak them overnight and then simmer them all day long, and they’re still hard as pebbles. The main causes of this are age and improper storage.”
As dried beans age the pores in the beans that allow water to enter close up which will prevent the beans from softening no matter how long they are cooked.
Be sure to follow the instructions to soak the beans overnight and then boil them for an hour. For especially hard beans one classic trick you can try is to add 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to the beans while you’re boiling them (1/4 teaspoon for every pound of beans). Be careful though: If too much is added or if it’s added to beans that aren’t too hard, you could end up with mushy beans.
Baked Beans Recipe
Let’s get started!
Soak the beans overnight in a pot of water. Make sure the beans are covered by at least a couple of inches of water. Drain the beans and put them in a pot of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour. Drain and reserved the bean liquid.
In a large pot or Dutch oven fry the bacon until crispy then add the onions and cook until soft and translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Stir in the tomato sauce, molasses, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, salt, pepper and bay leaf.
Add 1 1/2 cups of the reserved bean water and the beans.
Bring everything to a simmer for a minute or two to heat it up.
In the meantime preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Transfer the Dutch oven with the lid on to the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 2 to 3 hours or until the beans are tender and the sauce has thickened, removing the lid during the last 20-30 minutes to help the sauce thicken.
NOTE: If at any point during the cooking process too much liquid evaporates and the beans get dry, add a little more of the reserved bean water. The beans themselves can vary from batch to batch and you may end up either needing to add more liquid if the beans are too dry or you may need to bake the beans longer with the lid off if there is too much liquid. Adjust as needed.
Add more salt the pepper to taste.
Serve immediately or let cool completely and refrigerate until ready to serve. Can be reheated on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Enjoy!
For other classic sides to complement your BBQ or cook-off try my:
- Skillet Cornbread
- Creamy Coleslaw
- Freezer Slaw
- Macaroni Salad
- Potato Salad
- Broccoli Salad
- Pepperoni Pizza Pasta Salad
- Chicken Salad
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Old Fashioned Baked Beans
Equipment
- Dutch oven I love this one from Lodge!
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried navy beans
- 8 ounces thick cut bacon , diced
- 1 medium yellow onion , finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/2 cup plain tomato sauce or ketchup
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- Place the dried beans in a pot of water covered by a few inches of water and let soak overnight. Drain the beans, place them back in the pot with fresh water and bring to a boil. Simmer for one hour, then drain, reserving the liquid. See NOTE.
- In a Dutch oven or other oven-proof pot fry the bacon until crispy then add the onions and cook until soft and translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.Stir in the tomato sauce, molasses, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, salt, pepper and bay leaf.Add 1 1/2 cups of the reserved bean water and the beans.Bring everything to a simmer for a minute or two to heat it up. In the meantime preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Transfer the Dutch oven with the lid on to the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 2 to 3 hours or until the beans are tender and the sauce has thickened, removing the lid during the last 20-30 minutes to help the sauce thicken. NOTE: If at any point during the cooking process too much liquid evaporates and the beans get dry, add a little more of the reserved bean water. The beans themselves can vary from batch to batch and you may end up either needing to add more liquid if the beans are too dry or you may need to bake the beans longer with the lid off if there is too much liquid. Adjust as needed.Add more salt the pepper to taste.Serve immediately or let cool completely and refrigerate until ready to serve. Can be reheated on the stovetop or in the microwave.
- SLOW COOKER METHOD: Follow steps 1 and 2 and then pour everything into the slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 6-7 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours or until the beans are tender. Open the lid for the last 30 minutes or longer until the sauce has thickened. If the beans are too thick at any point and too much liquid has evaporated, stir in a little extra water.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet August 30,2020
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
My beans are still hard. Do I just continue to cook it in the slow cooker?
Hi Darlene, yes, continue to cook and add more liquid if needed.
Gonna try it… can the leftovers be frozen?
They sure can, Terry, happy cooking! :)
Best recipe I tried so far, I added a 1/4 cup of bourbon just before placing in oven
Thank you so much for the feedback, John, I appreciate it!
Made this and love it! Is it okay to double recipe?
Thanks so much, Sandra, and yes you can double it! :)
I’ve made these several times…everyone loves them…its absolutely perfect everytime..seriously!!
I’m beyond thrilled to hear that, Roch, thank you so much! <3
The beans are already soft after soaking and simmering them for an hour. I am afraid they will be mush at the end
When does the bay leaf come out??
Hi Gary, just before you’re ready to eat :)
Could one use canned navy beans to skip the dry bean process??
Hi Lindsey, yes you can though you may need to adjust/reduce the cooking time, just keep an eye on them.
Fantastic!!! I used tomato sauce instead of catsup and Stevia brown sugar to keep the sugar down. I also used the slow cooker method. This will be my new baked beans go-to recipe. Thank you!
Fantastic, Jen, I’m thrilled you enjoyed it and appreciate the feedback, thank you!
Google 4 others, yours serves my needs/desires best. My issues are only when to add my brand’name BBQ sauces as the beans I’m using vary in how long (only) waters absorbing rate is never consistent.
Terrific! You could substitute some of the tomato sauce with your BBQ sauce and add it in Step 1. Happy cooking!
Please clarify if the grease from the bacon is completely left in the pot, removed all together or do I leave a bit in the pot and how much. Thanks.
That’s entirely up to you, it’s purely a matter of personal preference. I like to leave it in for the flavor; some others prefer to drain it because they want to eliminate added fat.
very delicous
Thank you, Gail!
Hi there,
While simmering on the stove for 1 hour, should the beans be covered or not?
Hi Michael, you’ll follow the same procedure of leaving the lid on for the bulk of the cooking time and then remove it for the last 20 minutes or so or until the liquid has mostly evaporated and the beans have thickened.
After 50+ years, a recipe that made super delicious baked beans just like my mother used to make. Simple to follow recipe, loved them. my go to recipe from now on. YOU HAVE TO TRY THEM.
I’m beyond thrilled to hear that, Anita, thank you so much!
Can you add bourbon to the recipe
You sure can, John!
added more molasses for personal taste, but overall delicious! thanks for sharing
Fantastic, thanks so much, John!
This was my first time making baked beans from scratch. Mine did get a bit dry during the baking process so I added some veg. broth. They turned out so amazing! The flavor was great and I really like the fact that the beans were just firm enough not to be mushy. They were a great side dish for my slow-cooker ribs and cheese corn muffins. The recipe made so many, so I’m glad to read that they can be frozen. That’s my plan for next time. Thank you
Wonderful, Lisa, I’m so happy they were a success, thank you! :)