Baked Beans Recipe (2024)

LIne the bean pot with about four slices of salt pork. Use most of a bottle of ketcup and at least 1/2 cup of molasses and mix into the soaked beans. Submerge a halved onion into the beans. Bake at low heat most of the day--or cook in a slow cooker. Stir up the salt pork once the beans begin to soften and turn brown. You won't need any extra salt, but some fresh ground pepper is always nice. This is the way my grandmother made baked beans for many, many years.

Delicious beans! I could not, on account of being from Quebec and it being cabane a sucre time, resist adding a hint of maple syrup...Also, after everything was together, I cooked in a slow cooker on low for 5 hours after which I switched to an uncovered baking dish for about 2 hours.

I have come to the conclusion that considering the time to cook baked beans, I'd just as soon use B&M canned, with some molasses, onion, and catsup mixed in, then baked for about a half-hour. But these beans come as close to worth the time and trouble as any other recipe I've ever tried. I did add a little more molasses at the end. And I too found that more time was needed than 45 minutes to get a crusty top. (OK. What happened was that I inadvertently let it go for an hour before checking.)

I have been making this recipe for years. I alternate with maple syrup and molasses. Slab bacon is not a staple in my house but a few slices of regular style works just fine.

Omit the vegetarians. Problem solved

I made this tonight and it turned out beautifully. I added 3 tsps of maple syrup with the molasses. And to those who found the result too soupy, I offer this advice: just wait longer. After 4 hours at 250, my beans were soupy. I turned up the heat to 350 and cooked the beans for a further 60 minutes. The liquid reduced, the flavors concentrated, and all hands agreed it was a wonderful result.

Wow. So much unnecessary work. My hearty slow-cooker version is 1/10 the work. Soak beans overnight. Drain and place in slow cooker with browned pork/bacon and onion. Add water, molasses, brown sugar, dry mustard, cider vinegar, ketchup or tomato sauce, black pepper, garlic and bay leaves. Cook 8-9 hours on low, removing lid last hour to thicken sauce. Done.

Is there a vegetarian alternative to the bacon that will give good results?

I, too, have made multiple times this winter. I increase to have enough for freezer. I use 3C cannellini, 3/4C cubed salt pork, 1 lg onion, 1/2C molasses, 3t dry mustard, 1-1/2t ground pepper. I soak beans the night before, cooking as above, adding 3" piece of dried kombu (kelp) which helps with digestibility and 1/2 chopped onion. Cook as above in step #2. To get the right sauce thickness, I cooked at 250 degrees for 1 hour with the lid on and 3 to 3-1/2 hours with the lid off. Great recipe!

Canned beans pale in comparison to homemade. And, not really sure how anybody can complain about effort. Perhaps a little planning but certainly not effort. I find that the salt pork makes a huge difference. The fat melts into the beans and creates a wonderful mouth feel and rich flavor. You also need to cook these beans uncovered until the water is evaporated. Probably longer than the recipe calls for. The flavors will be muted and the texture off if you eat them too soupy

Yes, Penzey's Pork Chop Seasoning. Use it all the time for my vegans and they approve.

Caramelizing the onions lightly adds some richness, and -- entirely non-traditional -- soaking a few dried shiitakes to get a concentrated broth and adding that (just the liquid) does something good too.

When I made this, I substituted maple syrup for some of the molasses, and added about a teaspoon of tomato paste when cooking the onions. Great, easy, economical recipe.

I've made this twice just as written. Really delicious!

I made this yesterday. I soaked the beans overnight & par-cooked them in a pressure cooker for 10 minutes, reserving the bean cooking liquid. I followed Step 2, adding 2 cups of liquid from the pressure cooker. Because the beans were mostly cooked in the pressure cooker, they needed only an hour in the oven with the lid on, and 45 minutes with the lid off. Next time, I'll add less water and cook longer with the lid off so the sauce is more 'syrupy'.

This was my first time making baked beans from scratch. I used the Rancho Gordo Santa Maria Pinquito beans and they were a terrific choice. The day before baking, I cooked through step one, using my usual method of cooking the beans in chicken broth. The next day, I used the liquid from the cooked beans as part of the liquid needed to cover the beans. I also added a generous glug of Runamok Bourbon Barrel Aged maple syrup along with the molasses. Very tasty!

Great recipe. But, forgive me folks, I used the Beef Franks Hot Dogs ("Hebrew National" brand) that I had in the freezer and the beans were way better than the bacon.

This was pretty good! I added a glug of maple syrup because... why not? The amount of liquid at the end was totally fine, though I'm wondering how to make it a little more syrupy. It was pretty thin.I used a smoked ham hock I had in the freezer instead of bacon. I'm wondering what else I could use to make the flavor a little deeper. Maybe blackstrap molasses next time? Add some cocoa?

When using canned navy beans, 3 cans worked best to keep the balance with the amounts given of other ingredients. I did add a heaping 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar with 1 cup water. Cooked covered in the oven at 400 for half an hour lowered to 350 for half an hour lid off. Worked beautifully.

Fairly boring with muted taste in my opinion. Need to add ketchup, yellow mustard, brown sugar, onion, garlic, bay leaves, a touch of cumin and a sprinkle of cinnamon and vinegar. Finally a spectrum of flavors; acid, sweet, tomatoey and spice.

Dark brown sugar is a great substitute for molasses.

Splendid in slow cooker with smoked paprika and brown sugar. Used soya beans and added soy sauce.

Modified to make British Baked Beans. Eliminated all of the bacon, most of the molasses, and all of the dry mustard. Added a few cloves of minced garlic, a small can of tomato paste, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, a teaspoon or so or brown sugar, and several splashes of Worcestershire sauce. It was a mashup of Sam Sifton's recipe and a British Baked Beans recipe I found on allrecipes. Differences between the two--number of servings, canned beans vs. dry beans.

Call me crazy but I add a few stalks of chopped celery to my baked beans, they don't change the flavor much except maybe to add a 'fresh' note but they do act as little 'spacers' lightening up a hearty, heavy, yummy dish.

Used slow cooker (honey-baked) hambone most of recipe though 1/3 molasses 1/3 brown sugar, extra onion. (No soaking overnight - just 2 minutes of beans boiling water then left to sit covered 1hr.) Added leftover pinto beans lima beans. Total about 7 hours then to refridge overnight as baked beans are always better the second day. Warmed gradually another 2 hours. Plus cornbread and applesauce - delicious.

Slow cookerHoney baked ham boneRecipe 1/3 cup brown sugar less mustard leftover pinto beans small can lima beans.On table - apple cider vinegar to tasteAnd cornbread with honey butter.Sunday dinner with family - delicious

It seems like most people are talking about modifications - I found the recipe as stated was not sweet enough. So I guess that makes this recipe not so great? But after adding some brown sugar, catsup and vinegar to taste, it was really good.

Has anyone used sorghum instead of molasses or brown sugar? That's what we had on hand, so I'm trying it. Plus added a dollop of molasses after I could get to the store. In any case, I think it could benefit from something with zest - vinegar, tomato or ketchup, maybe a dash or Worcestershire or lemon?

Followed mostly except only had hot Chinese mustard powder, salt pork, not bacon and half molasses and half maple syrup. Fantastic recipe. Easy. Had to turn the heat up when uncovered to thicken and build crusty top. Will make again.

Awesome and delicious baked beans recipe!