Be sure to try my Ambrosia Salad recipe next!
Baked Beans
Making Baked Beans from scratch (and not from a can), is a wonderful cooking skill and really gives you that authentic Baked Beans flavor and texture. It also allows you to have full control of the flavors and sodium content. This particular recipe is a combination of my grandmother’s sacred recipe, combined with a few tricks up my own sleeve. 😉 Baked Beans are something that require a little bit of judgement at the end in order to obtain your desired level of doneness and consistency. Beans also tend to cook at a different pace depending on geographic location, age of the beans, slow cooking temperature variations, etc. But I’ll walk you right through it!
What Kind of Beans for Baked Beans
Navy Beans are the variety of white bean that are commonly used to make Baked Beans.
Soaking Navy Beans
Since these beans are cooked low and slow for about 8 hours, I do like to soak them to ensure that additional cooking time isn’t required. This also makes them easier to digest.
Overnight Method: Rinse the beans with cool water and transfer them to a large bowl. Cover with 2-inches of cold water and let them soak for 8-12 hours. Then drain and rinse. Quick-Soak Method: Rinse the beans with cool water and transfer them to a medium saucepan. Cover with 1-inch of water and bring to a boil. Remove it from heat and let the beans soak for 1 hour. Then drain and rinse.
How to Make Them
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions. Oven-Baked instructions are included in the notes section of the recipe card. Add chicken broth, water, ketchup, sugar, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and seasonings to a medium saucepan over medium heat and stir until well combined. Remove from heat. Cut 6 strips of bacon in half and place half of them on the bottom of a slow cooker. Add half of the beans followed by diced onions, followed by the remaining beans.
Pour the prepared liquid on top. The liquid should just cover the beans. (Otherwise, add a little more water.) Add the remaining bacon. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
Remove bacon from the beans and roughly chop, then add it back. Combine cornstarch and cold water. Stir the cornstarch slurry into the bean mixture until well combined. Add up to 3/4 cup water if additional liquid is preferred. Cover and cook for 15 more minutes. (At this point, my beans are generally done.) Continue to cook, checking every 15 minutes or so, until your desired thickness and consistency is obtained. Then serve. The beans will thicken further upon standing.
Make-Ahead Method
These can be prepared 1-2 days ahead of time. To reheat, transfer to a covered casserole dish and let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes if possible. Then bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes. Note that they may dry out slightly, I like to add a little additional chicken broth when reheating to mitigate this.
Can you Freeze Baked Beans
Leftover baked beans can be frozen. Let them cool completely and then store them in an airtight container for up to 3 months. To reheat, transfer the thawed beans to a covered casserole dish and let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes if possible. Then bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes. You can also refrigerate in an airtight container for 3-5 days.
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6 quart Crock Pot – This one is programmable and will automatically switch to warm when the cooking time is up. You can also use a 4.5 quart Dutch oven for the oven method. Colander – For draining/rinsing the beans. (This is the one I have, it’s a great size.) Serving Spoon
