Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Kielbasa Baked Beans
Sweet, tangy sauce gathers around tender beans and lightly browned kielbasa in this hearty dish. Bacon adds a smoky bite, with molasses giving the sauce a deep sweetness. A spoonful has plenty of sausage among the soft beans.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Total
- 60 min
- Original yield
- Serves 10
- Ingredients
- 14 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Main course · Sides
- Primary protein
- Pork · Beans & lentils
- Cuisine
- American
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: 31–60 minutes
A few quick notes
1. Brown the bacon
Cook the chopped bacon until evenly brown, then drain it on paper towels while the onion and sausage cook.
2. Leave little bacon fat
Drain off the bacon grease except for a scant amount before adding onion, kielbasa and garlic to the pot.
3. Uncover at the end
Bake covered for the first thirty minutes, then uncover for the final fifteen until the mixture bubbles.
Get to know the ingredients
Pork and beans
Keep the pork and beans undrained so their sauce joins the other ingredients in the pot.
Kidney beans
Rinse and drain the canned kidney beans before adding them with the other beans and sauce ingredients.
Kielbasa
Slice the kielbasa half an inch thick before cooking with onion and garlic until lightly browned.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 10. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 5 steps completeMake room for Kielbasa Baked Beans
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Let the sauce settle
Rest the baked beans for five minutes after the oven so the sauce thickens a little before serving.
A little more help as you go
Slow cooker option
You can transfer the prepared mixture to a large slow cooker for a short low heat cook.
Offer heat separately
Serve hot sauce on the side so each person can add it to their beans if desired.
A few questions you might have
Do I drain all the beans?
Keep pork and beans undrained, but rinse and drain the kidney and cannellini beans before adding.
Can I use the slow cooker?
Prepare the mixture as directed, then cook on low for two to three hours, stirring halfway through.
Why limit slow cooker time?
The canned beans are already cooked, and longer cooking can make them mushy.
Should I serve right out of the oven?
Rest for five minutes first, letting the sauce thicken slightly before you spoon up the beans.
When does the bacon return?
Add it back with the remaining ingredients after the onion softens and the kielbasa lightly browns.
Any more cooking tips?
Slow Cooker Instructions Prepare the beans as directed then transfer them to a 6-quart or larger slow cooker. Cook them on low for 2 to 3 hours at the most, stirring about halfway through the cooking time. Remember, canned beans are already cooked so you want to avoid cooking them longer than 3 hours in a slow cooker or the texture can become mushy and undesirable.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: fromvalerieskitchen.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
