Homemade baked beans with bacon are the perfect sweet and savory accompaniment to any BBQ or pot luck. This baked bean recipe is easy to make, delicious, and feeds an army!
Ahhhhh nothing beats homemade baked beans with bacon. They truly hold a special place in my heart.
I have early memories of my dad making baked beans in our old kitchen. They made the house smell glorious, they cooked all day, warming up the rooms with nostalgia and the feeling of comfort.
Unfortunately for Dad, no one else in the house liked them, so he had to eat the whole pot himself.
Or maybe that was his plan all along?
Either way, I didn't come around to beans until I was much older and I dove right into them.
The first time I made these was for an end of summer BBQ that was predicted to be rained out. I moved the event indoors, and then it turned out to be 80° and sunny. Naturally.
But lucky for me, baked beans are good rain or shine, and these saucy babies are no exception.
I love this baked bean recipe. The beans are sweet, smoky, and salty. The beans get nice and tender, and the sauce is good and thick.
These are my go-to beans for every BBQ night, rainy weekend, and even Tim's birthday dinner.
Tim is infatuated with BBQ and these beans are the cornerstone of our indoor BBQs. I mean, it's probably why he married me.
I can't blame him one bit. No one can resist the siren song of perfect baked beans.
Homemade baked beans with bacon. Humble, no fuss, no bells and/or whistles, just plain good. Make yourself a pot, you deserve it.
Soaking Your Beans:
There are two ways to prepare your beans before baking: The overnight soak or the "quick" soak.
To soak overnight: rinse the dried beans in a colander with cold water.
Transfer the beans to a large bowl and cover with enough cold water to come up two inches above the beans. Cover and let sit for 24 hours.
For the quick method: Rinse the beans in cold water and dump into a 4 quart or larger pot. Pour enough water in the pot to cover the beans by an extra two inches.
Bring water and beans to a boil, and boil two minutes.
When your two minutes are up, remove beans from heat, cover pot and let sit for one hour.
Draining: Whichever method you use, when you go to drain your beans, do not dump the bean water out! You're going to need it for the recipe later.
Do I really need to soak my beans?
I've recently learned that this topic is up for debate. Epicurious.com put out a great article about it and I'll leave it here if you'd like to take a peek.
Personally, I always soak the beans and I'm always pleased with the way these beans come out. So I'm not going to go changing now!
But I'm not the boss of you, so no, you don't have to soak your beans. But I highly recommend that you do for two reasons:
- It shortens the cooking time for the baked beans. These beans take a minimum of five hours to bake, you don't need to add any more time to that.
- You need a good amount of liquid to bake these beans, and by using the reserved soaking liquid, you're adding more flavor to the pot!
Again this is totally up to you!
Can I Make Baked Beans with Bacon Ahead of Time
Absolutely yes!
These beans last forever. Much like Cher.
And again like Cher, the beans get better the longer they sit. So make these a day or two ahead, they'll be fabulous!
They also reheat really, really well.
AND you can freeze them!
After baking, just let the beans cool completely and then transfer them to a freezer safe container. They'll keep for months.
When you're ready to reheat, thaw beans in the fridge and heat on the stove over medium-low until heated through.
A Budget Friendly Meal
One of the reasons why I love baked beans so much is that they are CHEAP to make.
A bag of dry beans is less than $2 at my grocery store, and all the other ingredients I have in bulk in my pantry.
The bacon is probably my most expensive ingredient, but if I'm being honest, for these beans, I buy the cheapest 8oz package I can find.
The cheap bacon is nice and salty. It doesn't have any overwhelming flavors that are going to compete with anything else in the pot. It just tastes like plain old breakfast bacon. And that's what I want.
However, when Tim does the shopping, he gets our grocery store brand, thick-sliced stuff. That's good too....but seriously get the cheap stuff. Don't tell Tim.
Not only are the ingredients inexpensive, but this recipe makes a TON of beans. It'll fill a 5-6 quart pot easily. My family and I will eat these beans all week and still freeze a quart afterward.
It's a really great way to stretch a meal!
How to make Homemade Baked Beans With Bacon
Ingredients
- 16 oz Dried Great Northern Beans
- 8 oz bacon, chopped
- 1 medium white onion, diced
- 1 jalapeno, diced finely (optional)
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 1 small (6oz) can of tomato paste
- ¼ cup of brown sugar--light or dark
- ¼ cup molasses
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 5 cups of reserved bean liquid or reduced sodium chicken stock
Instructions:
Soak your beans using one of the above methods. Set aside while you prep the rest of the recipe.
Preheat oven to 250°.
Drain the soaked beans over a large bowl and save the liquid.
In a dutch oven--5.5 quart or 7.25 quart size-- cook bacon over medium heat.
Once the bacon has started to release it's fat, add the onion and jalapeno.
Cook until the onions are soft.
Add drained beans, ketchup, tomato paste, brown sugar, molasses, salt, pepper and cayenne. Stir until the mixture is evenly coated.
Add 5 cups of reserved bean liquid (or chicken stock) to the pot.
Turn heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
Once beans are boiling, cover pot with lid and transfer to a 250° oven.
Bake for 5-6 hours or until the beans are tender.
Taste before serving and adjust the salt, pepper and/or ketchup as needed.
The beans will thicken as they cool.
Serving Suggestions For Homemade Baked Beans With Bacon
These beans are great on their own right out of the pot, but they also make a great sidekick to all kinds of meals! Here are a few of my favorite ways to serve these guys up:
- Serve alongside pulled pork, cole slaw, and cornbread
- Serve with sausage and pepper sandwiches
- These guys never met a rack of ribs they didn't like
- Serve with hot dogs to create your own Saturday night Bean Supper (pronounced SUPPAH) at home--totally a Maine/New England thing.
- Have them for breakfast with eggs and toast
- Stir leftovers into chili! It's a great way to use up leftover beans and it's a great way to stretch a chili
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Homemade Baked Beans With Bacon
Ingredients
- 16 oz Dried Great Northern Beans
- 8 oz bacon, chopped
- 1 medium white onion, diced
- 1 jalapeno, diced finely (optional)
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 1 Small (6oz) can of tomato paste
- ¼ cup of brown sugar--light or dark
- ¼ cup molasses
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 5 cups of reserved bean liquid or reduced sodium chicken stock
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250°.
- Rinse beans in cold water and then soak the beans using either the quick method or overnight method*
- Drain the soaked beans over a large bowl and save the liquid.
- In a dutch oven--5.5 quart or 7.25 quart size-- cook bacon over medium heat.
- Once the bacon has started to release it's fat, add the onion and jalapeno. Cook until the onions are soft.
- Add drained beans, ketchup, tomato paste, brown sugar, molasses, salt, pepper and cayenne. Stir until the mixture is evenly coated.
- Measure out 5 cups of reserved bean liquid (or chicken stock) and add to the pot.
- Turn heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
- Once beans are boiling, cover pot with lid and transfer to a 250° oven.
- Bake for 5-6 hours or until the beans are tender. Taste before serving and adjust the salt, pepper and/or ketchup as needed.
- The beans will thicken as they cool.
Notes
*To soak the beans:
Overnight Soak: In a large bowl, add rinsed beans and cover with water making sure the water comes two inches above the beans. Cover the bowl and let sit overnight on the counter.
Quick Soak Method: Put rinsed beans into a 4 quart or larger pot and cover with water making sure the water comes two inches above the beans. Bring beans and water to a boil. Boil for two minutes and then remove from heat. Let beans sit in the hot water for an hour.
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