45 minutes is all it takes to make these insanely easy stovetop baked beans. Your family will love how good they taste.
Easy stovetop baked beans
If you like more flavor in your food, these beans will hit the spot. They taste much better than canned beans, but are so easy to make yourself.
They have just the right amount of sweetness along with the savory flavor of bacon. These baked beans are perfect picnic food and go well with brats, chicken, and burgers.
What beans to use
Start out with canned beans….okay, so that makes them even easier to make. You can use dry beans but that just means you’ll have to soak the beans and simmer them until they are tender. When I’ve done dry beans they get an overnight soaking in water. Then they get simmered for 1 to 2 hours until they are tender. This will depend on if the beans are fresh or if they have sat around a while and gotten really dried out. Check them like you would check pasta for tenderness…plop one in your mouth. If they still have a crunchy bite, let them go for a bit longer. You want tender for your stovetop baked beans.
I used navy beans but cannallini beans , pinto beans or great northern beans would be fine. The difference in the beans is usually the size with navy beans being smallest, then great northern, pinto beans, and cannallini beans being largest. They all pretty much taste alike. Navy beans or great northern beans are my favorites for this recipe.
Baked beans call for bacon
The bacon I used was custom cut in a butcher shop ⅜ inches thick which made some nice chunks in the finished beans. If you don’t have a favorite butcher shop to do this for you, just buy thick-cut bacon at the grocery store.
If you are looking to cut the calories down, use 5 ounces of bacon instead of the 10 ounces in the recipe. That will cut out about 100 calories per serving. You will still get some of that smokey bacon flavor.
I’ve never tried it, but you could always make bacon-free baked beans and I’m sure they would also taste pretty good with the balance of ingredients.
What to serve with baked beans
What to serve with baked beans? This may seem like kind of a silly question. Serve it with PICNIC FOOD! Burgers…brats…hot dogs….fried chicken…Cole slaw…potato salad, like my Best Potato Salad Recipe..or..Grandma’s lime Jell-o marshmallow cottage cheese surprise! (Is that a Minnesota thing)?
I’m going to quit there. You know what to serve with baked beans.
Here’s the printable recipe…now get to fixin’.
Easy Stovetop Baked Beans
Ingredients
- 3 cans Navy beans, drained
- 10 oz. thick sliced bacon, diced
- 1 med. onion, finely chopped around 1 cup
- 1 green bell pepper, finely diced around 1 cup
- 1/4 cup dark molasses
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, light or dark
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tbsp ground mustard seed
Instructions
- In a large sauce pan or dutch oven cook the bacon on medium high temperature until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crisped, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Lower the heat to medium and add the onion and bell pepper and cook until softened, 4 minutes.
- Add the beans and remaining ingredients and stir well to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes to prevent sticking.
- Serve hot as a side dish.
Notes
- Cannellini, pinto beans, or great northern beans can be substituted for navy beans.
- Dry beans could also be used. Soak beans in water overnight then simmer them for 1 to 2 hours to desired tenderness. 1 pound of dry beans, (2 cups), equals 6 to 7 cups cooked. Drain and use them per recipe instructions. 3 cans of navy beans is about 5 1/4 cups drained.
- I used bacon custom cut in a butcher shop which was 3/8 inches thick then diced. 3 slabs was 10 ounces. Any thick cut bacon can be used.
- To reduce the calories per serving, use less bacon. You will still get a nice flavor. Using 5 ounces of bacon will reduce the calories per serving by nearly 100 calories.
- If the beans seem too thick after cooking, add more water 1/4 cup at a time.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Reheat in the microwave and add a bit more water if necessary.
These are delicious beans with a great balance of flavors. Beans are healthy. Eat more beans!
I love baked beans. I always “doctor” a can of baked beans to make them more flavorful. But I have to try your version because it sounds like the flavor profile that I am trying to achieve. Thanks Joe!