Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Easy Baked Beans with Bacon
Beans in a smoky, sweet-tangy sauce make a generous dish to bring to the table. Little pieces of bacon run through each spoonful, with the tomato sauce thickening around the beans. Scoop them out warm and enjoy the savory bacon against that dark molasses flavor.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 65 min
- Total
- 75 min
- Original yield
- Serves 6
- Ingredients
- 16 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Main course
- Primary protein
- Pork · Beans & lentils
- Cuisine
- American
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: over 60 minutes
A few quick notes
1. Cook bacon nearly crisp
Fry the cut bacon over medium heat until about crispy before draining most of the rendered fat from the pot.
2. Keep some bacon fat
Leave a couple tablespoons of fat in the pot for softening onion before stirring in beans and the whisked sauce.
3. Whisk sauce while bacon cooks
Use the bacon's cooking time to combine sauce ingredients in a separate bowl until smooth, ready for the drained beans.
Get to know the ingredients
Two drained beans
Drain the navy and kidney beans before adding them. The listed water goes into the sauce rather than using their can liquid.
Dark molasses
Use dark molasses. Blackstrap has a much stronger, nearly bitter flavor in this dish.
Tomato paste strength
If you're using double-concentrated tomato paste, halve the amount instead of using the full quantity for regular paste.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 6. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 8 steps completeMake room for Easy Baked Beans with Bacon
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
Taste after baking
Bake the combined beans uncovered, then taste and season with salt and pepper before serving them warm from the dish.
A little more help as you go
An oven-safe pot
A Dutch oven can move straight from the stove into the oven once the beans and sauce are stirred together.
Cut bacon with shears
Kitchen shears are offered for cutting bacon into small pieces before its first frying stage, making the preparation easier to handle.
A few questions you might have
What if my pot is not oven-safe?
Transfer the combined beans to a large baking dish or pan before baking them uncovered for the listed forty-five minutes.
Can my bean cans be slightly different sizes?
You can use slightly larger or smaller cans because sizes vary regionally. Drain both kinds before adding them to the pot.
Does the onion cook with the bacon from the start?
Add it after the bacon is almost ready and most fat is drained, then cook until softened before the beans go in.
What gives the sauce its smoky flavor?
The sauce ingredients include smoked paprika and liquid smoke, whisked with the tomato paste, molasses and other seasonings before adding to beans.
Should the beans be covered in the oven?
Bake them uncovered in the Dutch oven or baking dish, then taste for seasoning after the forty-five-minute cooking stage.
Any more cooking tips?
You can use slightly larger or smaller cans of beans since the can sizes vary regionally. If using double concentrated tomato paste, halve the amount. I recommend using dark molasses. I do not recommend using blackstrap molasses unless you really like its flavor since it’s quite intense bordering on bitter. Serves 6+ depending on how much people eat.
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: saltandlavender.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
