These Old Fashioned Baked Beans are made from scratch with a sweet and savory sauce. This heirloom homemade baked beans recipe has been in my family for generations and guarantees the BEST Baked Beans you will ever have!
The Best Baked Beans EVER!
My Papa was known for a lot of recipes (Pot Roast, Chicken Pot Pie, Old-Fashioned Potato Salad, and Ham and Bean Soup to name a few), but he was FAMOUS for his Baked Beans. And once you have his homemade baked beans, you will NEVER settle for any recipe! They are saucy, sweet, savory, tangy, and smokey--everything good baked beans should be!
Just as my family makes these old fashioned baked beans for every potluck and summer picnic, millions of readers have made this baked bean recipe and come back to it time and time again.
With my foolproof instructions and my Papa's perfect ratio of seasonings, you will be serving these baked beans for years to come! Whether served alongside Crockpot BBQ Chicken Legs, Homemade Burgers, Grilled BBQ Chicken Breasts, or Instant Pot Brats, these baked beans make a classic side dish for endless meals. You are going to love them!
Ingredients for Homemade Baked Beans
- Navy Beans: You can start this recipe for baked beans with dried beans, which is a real money-saver! Or take a short-cut and start with canned navy beans, I have included directions for using either.
- Bacon (optional): Adding thick-cut pork bacon to the baked beans adds a rich, smokey flavor. However, omitting the bacon for Vegetarian Baked Beans will still be delicious--I do this many times myself.
- To Sweeten: No one ever said old fashioned baked beans were low in sugar! Using a combination of 100% apple juice, maple syrup, brown sugar, and molasses gives the baked beans so much flavor. The maple syrup adds rich, buttery notes, molasses thickens and colors the beans while giving them a smokey undertone, and brown sugar adds a toffee like flavor to the beans.
- For Flavor: Plain tomato sauce, dried mustard, apple cider vinegar, salt, and onion all work to add savory, acidic notes which help to balance out the sweetness of the baked beans and give them their sweet and tangy sauce that just baked beans are famous for!
How to Make Baked Beans from Scratch
The following tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Soak and Cook Dried Navy Beans
If you are starting this recipe with dried Navy beans, you will need to soak your navy beans for 8-12 hours in water. Once soaked, drain off the beans and cook on the stovetop in simmering water until tender or use my recipe for Instant Pot Dried Beans to prepare the navy beans in the Instant Pot.
Time-Saving Tip
Full disclosure, my Papa used canned beans to make homemade baked beans, and you can too! Replace the dried beans with 4 cups of rinsed and drained canned navy beans.
Pan-Fry Bacon and Onions (optional)
Adding bacon to the baked beans add an incredible savory undertone to the baked beans, but you will need to sauté the bacon prior to mixing into the baked beans, to yield the most flavor and best texture. If adding bacon, I also recommend sautéing the onion along with bacon, as it will soak up the flavor of the bacon, in turn flavoring the baked beans that much more.
For Vegetarian Baked Beans
Simply omit the bacon and add the raw onion to the baked bean sauce. You can skip sautéing the onions and I promise you will have delicious vegetarian baked beans.
Prepare Sauce for Baked Beans
The sweet, tangy, savory sauce is what makes these baked beans the absolute best! It is as easy as combining tomato sauce, brown sugar, molasses, maple syrup, salt, mustard with the apple juice and water, then gently folding in the beans, bacon, and onion.
Cook Baked Beans Low and Slow
It is best to cook your baked beans for a long period of time, which allows the beans to fully soften and absorb flavors of the sauce. This also allows time for the sauce to thicken and become rich and golden. I recommend baking these homemade baked beans covered in a 300 degree F oven for 2-3 hours and then uncover and continue to bake for 30-40 minutes.
The Secret to the Best Baked Beans
Baked Beans from scratch are already a trillion times tastier than anything canned, but if you want to take your homemade baked beans over the top, serve them with potato chips!
YES, potato chips!
My Papa taught me that trick and it is PERFECTION! Instead of using silverware to enjoy homemade baked beans, we scoop them up with plain potato chips. The sweetness of the baked beans makes a perfect contrast to salty potato chips.
Recipe Modifications
- Dress Up Pork and Beans or Canned Baked Beans: Instead of starting your baked beans with dried or canned navy beans, you can opt to use 32 ounces of prepared baked beans or pork and beans. Simply mix the canned baked beans with ¼ cup brown sugar and ¼ cup molasses, ¼ cup minced onion, and 2 teaspoons dried mustard powder. Bake as directed.
- Crockpot Baked Beans: If you would like to keep the heat out of your kitchen or don't have enough room in your oven, you can make these baked beans in the slow cooker. Prepare the baked bean recipe up to baking, omitting the added water. Pour the bean mixture into the liner of your slow cooker and cook on low heat for 4-6 hours or high heat for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.
- No Dried Mustard? Use 1 tablespoon of prepared yellow mustard.
- No Apple Cider Vinegar? Use white distilled vinegar.
- Like Your Baked Beans Sweeter? Add up to an an additional ¼ cup of brown sugar or use ketchup in place of the tomato sauce.
More Picnic Worthy Recipes
- BLT Pasta Salad
- Homemade Coleslaw
- Bacon Ranch Potato Salad
- Texas Sheet Cake
- Sour Cream Cucumber Salad
- Instant Pot Potato Salad
- Antipasto Pasta Salad
- Mini Cheesecakes
Baked Beans from Scratch
Ingredients
- 1-⅓ cups dried navy beans soaked overnnight
- 3 slices thick bacon chopped
- ¼ cup yellow onion chopped
- ½ cup tomato sauce or ketchup
- ¼ cup molasses
- ¼ cup brown sugar use up to ½ cup if you like REALLY sweet beans
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons dry mustard
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup apple juice or water
- ½ cup water
Instructions
Prepare Navy Beans
- Place dried beans in a container that can be fitted with a lid. Pour fresh water over the beans until the water is at least 1 inch above the beans. Seal the container shut. Soak beans for 8-12 hours.
- After soaking, drain the beans. Add the soaked beans to a large stock pan. Cover beans by 1 inch with fresh cold water.
- Bring water to a rapid boil, and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 1 hour. Drain cooked beans well.
- Alternatively, you can speed up the process by cooking the soaked beans in the Instant Pot after they have been soaked (Navy beans' texture is best if soaked before cooking.)
For the Baked Beans
- Preheat oven to 300℉.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the sliced bacon. Cook until bacon begins to render fat and then stir in the chopped onion. Sauté bacon and onions together until onions begin to soften and the bacon is browned and slightly crisp. This should take about 5-6 minutes. After browned, drain off the excess grease that the bacon has rendered.
- In a large bowl, mix together tomato sauce, brown sugar, molasses, maple syrup, dried mustard, vinegar, apple juice, water, and salt until well combined. Add in bacon and onion mixture and cooked beans and gently stir to combine.
- Pour the bean mixture into a 2-quart oven-safe dish. Beans should be pretty well submerged in liquid and the mixture should be relatively loose. If there does not seem to be enough liquid in the baking dish, add up to ½ cup of additional water or juice. Cover the pan with foil or an oven-safe lid.
- Bake covered for 2 hours. After 2 hours, remove the lid or foil, and bake for another 30-40 minutes, or until thickened.
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