We love baked beans at our house.
I'm sure you're aware that there are two styles of baked beans: the saucy kind (Southern style) and the baked kind (New England style).
The saucy kind is even easier than this recipe: buy a can of your favorite brand, open it, heat it (or not), and enjoy.
Of course, there are all kinds of recipes to make the Southern style without resorting to a can, too, and most of them are delicious.
But if you like the New England style, like my husband does, you're stuck with a long-term project with several hours of cooking in the Crock Pot or oven.
Not anymore!
I found a recipe on-line, tweaked a bit (okay, a lot), and made the dry, sweet beans my husband loves...and it only took 20 minutes.
Incredibly Fast Baked Beans
ingredients:
1 can white beans, Navy or Great Northern
2 slices bacon, cooked and diced (optional)
1 Tablespoon minced onion
2 Tablespoons molasses
2 Tablespoons barbecue sauce or ketchup
a quick squirt of prepared mustard
a dash or two Worcestershire sauce
(feel free to increase the measurements if you like your beans not-too-dry)
Preheat your oven to 350°.
Rinse and drain the beans. In a small bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients, then mix them together with the beans.
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| This is the casserole ready to go into the oven. I forgot to take the "after" picture, but take my word for it: they were nicely browned! |
Place in a casserole dish and bake at 350° for about 15 minutes.
That's it!
Multiply the ingredients as needed for larger families or groups. Don't forget that with a larger amount, you'll also need to increase the baking time. I'd give it at least 30 minutes for a 3 quart casserole dish.
This didn't have the same melding of flavors that I get from my Crock Pot version, but the ease and speed more than makes up for it! (Hmmm, I just realized I've never shared that recipe. I'll have to do that when the weather cools off and I'm using my Crock Pot again!)
And with my Instant Pot hanging around, I don't have to use canned beans. I can cook a pot of beans, divide them into containers and freeze them, and pull one out when I want to use the cooked beans for a recipe like this one.
I'll leave you with this photo I took one evening. We had gone to Custer State Park in time to be there at sunset, and ran into this traffic jam. The air was balmy, the bison were in no hurry, and the tourists just wanted to watch. So we did, too. It probably took five minutes before we were on our way again, but what a lovely five minutes!
What is your favorite way to fix baked beans? Southern style or New England style?
Jan Drexler lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and growing family. When she isn't writing, she loves hiking in the Hills or satisfying her cross stitch addiction.
You can find Jan on Facebook, Jan Drexler, author, or her website, Jan Drexler.com.
Jan, your recipe reminds me of my grandmother's baked beans. She'd buy a gallon-size jar of navy beans and go from there. I never did find her recipe, though.
ReplyDeleteNowadays, my beans usually come from a can. There are so many good options out there now that it's almost not worth taking the time to make them from scratch. Bush's original is my favorite, but HEB makes a barbecue bean with beef, very reminiscent of what you'd get at a barbecue restaurant, that my husband loves. Not sweet, but very flavorful. And since he's the bean coinsure in the family, I usually defer to him. ;)
I've learned how to make the baked beans my husband loves, and they don't come from a can. :-)
DeleteAnd I do love the barbecue beans with beef - especially when they use a variety of beans and the best smoky barbecue sauce... I think I need to put beans on the menu more often!
I miss HEB, too. Good friends of ours are moving to West Texas next month (doing the Ellsworth to Dyess switch), and I told them about HEB. I just wish we had a grocery store like them here!
Snicker on the traffic jam -- looks more like a gossip session with the kids playing off to one side. What made them finally leave?
ReplyDeleteI haven't made a successful vegetarian bake beans recipe yet...I think you need the fat from the bacon to make it work. I tend to something with a tomato sauce base in the crockpot which really turns into a thickish chili. But it tastes good! Likely would not meet with your husband's approval though!
No, he doesn't really like the tomato sauce based beans, but he loves chili! Go figure!
DeleteYou might be right about the fat...have you tried using coconut oil? It's a saturated fat - and healthier than bacon fat. I don't know if it would add that something special you need. If you try it, let us know!
And the bison finally moved on when a bull came along. This time of year, the cows generally just move away when a bull comes along...unless they're ready for "romance!" (Which I've never witnessed, and I'm not sure I want to!) But between the bull, restless kids, and the lure of the grass on the other side of the road, they eventually moved on.
Looking at this picture makes me think it might be time for another visit to the park this evening...unless thunderstorms roll in...
Jan, I've always made the quick kind--doctoring up canned baked beans with some barbecue sauce and brown sugar (and maybe a little onion and ketchup). I sometimes microwave them and sometimes bake.
ReplyDeleteI love when there's time to bake them and let them thicken up. I'll have to try your recipe!
I enjoy the southern baked beans style with several type of beans included. This recipe sounds amazing, Jan. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDelete