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These Homemade Baked Beans from Scratch are rich, saucy, sweet, savory, and so much better than anything from a can. Made with navy beans, molasses, maple syrup, brown sugar, and optional bacon, this old-fashioned baked bean recipe was passed down from my Papa and has been a family-gathering staple for generations.
Serve these baked beans with grilled BBQ chicken breasts or classic burgers for a summer cookout, alongside Instant Pot Ham for a holiday meal, or, my family's favorite, straight from the dish with potato chips. You've got to trust me on the last one!
Homemade Baked Beans at a Glance
- Serves: 10 as a side dish
- Time Needed: 12 hour soak (for dried beans) + 60 minute simmer + 3 hour bake
- Use Dried or Canned Beans: Use dried navy beans for the most classic texture, or canned navy beans when you need a shortcut.
- Make-Ahead Side Dish Perfect For: Summer cookouts, potlucks, and holiday meals
- Stand-Out Flavor: With tender beans and a homemade sauce made with maple syrup, brown sugar, and molasses, they have rich, balanced flavor that isn't overly sweet.
Why This From-Scratch Baked Beans Recipe Works
After watching my Papa, and then my mom, make these baked beans for countless family gatherings, I learned that truly unforgettable baked beans come down to a few simple but crucial details: tender beans, a balanced sauce, and slow baking.
- Start with tender beans. Whether you use dried navy beans or canned beans, they need to be tender before baking. The oven thickens the sauce, but it will not magically soften hard beans, so soak and simmer dried beans first or use canned navy beans for a shortcut.
- Bake covered first, then uncovered. Covered baking gives the beans time to absorb the sauce without drying out. Removing the lid (or foil) at the end lets the sauce reduce until it is thick, glossy, and clings to the beans.
- Use a balanced homemade sauce. Molasses, maple syrup, brown sugar, tomato sauce, mustard, vinegar, and apple juice create a sweet-savory sauce that tastes rich without being one-note sweet.
- Check your dried beans. Older dried beans can take much longer to soften and sometimes never fully soften, even after soaking. Check the expiration date and always simmer until tender before adding them to the sauce.
Happy Cooking! xo Kristen
5-Star Reader Review
This is by far the best baked beans from scratch recipe. Following the recipe as written results in a perfect outcome. The beans are rich, sweet and paired with brown bread and ham, a perfect wintery Saturday night supper.-Cynthia C.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Recipe Highlights
Notes on Ingredients
These old-fashioned baked beans use simple pantry staples, but each ingredient helps build that signature sweet-and-savory flavor.
- Navy Beans: This recipe includes instructions for both dried beans and canned beans, so you can choose what works best for your schedule. If using dried beans, check the expiration date on the bag. Expired beans can remain tough no matter how long they cook.
- Bacon (optional): Pork bacon adds the richest smoky flavor, but you can omit it entirely if you'd like to keep the recipe vegetarian-friendly.
- Maple Syrup, Brown Sugar & Molasses: Using all three sweeteners creates a deeper flavor than relying on brown sugar alone. Maple syrup adds warmth, brown sugar contributes caramel notes, and molasses delivers the classic flavor associated with old-fashioned baked beans.
- Dried Mustard: Dried mustard balances the sweetness and adds depth to the sauce. You can skip it, but the flavor won't be quite the same.
- Apple Juice: Apple juice adds moisture and natural sweetness while helping create the signature saucy consistency without making the beans taste watered down.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: I prefer apple cider vinegar over other varieties here, as it pairs well with the apple juice and molasses already in the baked beans, while helping to cut through the sweetness and make the flavors pop.
Variations & Modifications
- Use Canned Beans: Replace the dried beans with 4 cups of rinsed and drained canned navy beans (~3 cans of navy beans). This shortcut cuts the prep time dramatically while still delivering great flavor.
- Skip the Bacon: Make this recipe vegetarian by omitting the bacon. Simply add the minced raw onion directly to the baked bean sauce and bake as directed.
- No Navy Beans? Dried or canned great northern beans or pinto beans can be used, but the texture won't be quite as classic.
- Make them Sweeter: Add an extra ¼ cup brown sugar or swap the tomato sauce for ketchup.
- No Dried Mustard? Replace with 1 tablespoon of prepared yellow mustard.
- No Apple Cider Vinegar? Use distilled white vinegar.
How to Make Homemade Baked Beans from Scratch
Don't let the process of making baked beans from scratch intimidate you, it is really quite simple -- whether you start with dried beans or canned beans.
Step One: Soak & Cook Dried Beans
If starting this recipe with dried navy beans, place them in a large bowl and cover with cold water by several inches. Let soak overnight, or for at least 8 hours.
After soaking, drain, add to a large pot, cover with fresh water, and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Once bubbling, reduce the heat and simmer until tender, but not falling apart, about 45-60 minutes. You should be able to easily mash a bean between your fingers.
If starting with canned beans, skip this step.
Step Two: Pan-Fry Bacon (Optional)
Add diced bacon to a large skillet and cook over medium heat until fat begins to render off the bacon.
Add the minced onion to the rendered fat and partially cooked bacon and continue cooking until the onion is softened and bacon is lightly crisp, about 4-5 minutes.
Not adding bacon? Skip this step and simply mix the raw minced onion into the beans. They will soften as the baked beans bake.
Step Three: Combine Beans + Bacon + Sauce
In a large mixing bowl, mix together the tomato sauce, brown sugar, molasses, maple syrup, salt, mustard, apple juice, and water until evenly combined.
Add the cooked (or drained canned beans), bacon, and onion and gently fold until the beans are coated in the sauce.
At this stage, the sauce will look a little thin. That's normal. As the beans bake low and slow, the sauce thickens into that rich, glossy consistency everyone wants in classic baked beans.
Step Four: Bake
Transfer the prepared baked bean mixture to a baking dish, cover with foil, and bake at 300℉ for 2 hours. That low oven temperature gives the beans time to absorb the sauce without the liquid evaporating too quickly.
After 2 hours, remove the foil, give everything a gentle stir, and continue to bake for 30-60 minutes, or until sauce thickens and clings to the beans.
Step Five: Serve
Now grab a spoon or a bag of potato chips and dig in! The salty crunch with the sweet, saucy beans? My Papa swore by it and after one bite, you will too.
Serving Suggestions
These homemade baked beans are especially popular for Memorial Day, the 4th of July, Labor Day cookouts, and Easter. But you can't go wrong serving them in the following ways:
- My Papa's Favorite Way to Serve Them: With a bag of potato chips. Lay's plain to be specific. Although I will argue that ridged potato chips hold up better to scooping. 😉 Either way the sweetness of the beans makes a perfect contrast to the salty chip.
- My Husband's Favorite Way to Eat Them: Piled onto a hot dog with minced onion and a squirt of ball park mustard.
- BBQ Dinner: Baked beans naturally pair with BBQ Chicken Burgers, Crockpot BBQ Chicken Legs, Crockpot Pulled Pork, or Instant Pot Ribs.
- Holiday Meals: Serve alongside Baked Ham with Pineapple Glaze and a Strawberry Spinach Salad for Easter Dinner or next to Instant Pot Turkey Breast and Crockpot Mashed Potatoes at Thanksgiving.
Make-Ahead + Storage Tips
Homemade baked beans can be served warm, chilled, or at room temperature for a short time when serving. In fact, many people, myself included, think they taste even better the next day.
- Make-Ahead: Make up to 3 days in advance, cover, and refrigerate. Reheat or serve cold.
- Leftovers: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or store in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- Reheat: Transfer the refrigerated or thawed baked beans to a baking dish. Cover with foil and bake at 300℉ for 45 minutes, or until warmed through. Alternatively, microwave in a heat-safe dish, covered with a lid or damp paper towel, in 60-second intervals, stirring between each interval, until warmed through.
Homemade Baked Beans FAQs
Yes! Prepare the baked bean recipe up to baking, but omit 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. Remove the lid and cook for an additional 30-45 minutes to let the sauce thicken.
Yes! Combine 32 ounces of prepared canned baked beans (or canned pork and beans) with 2 teaspoons of dried mustard powder and ¼ cup each of brown sugar, molasses, and minced onion. Bake as directed for a shortcut that still tastes homemade.
Yes! Follow my Instant Pot dried beans recipe to cook the soaked navy beans. Alternatively, you can follow my Instant Pot Baked Beans recipe to use the Instant Pot start to finish.
This usually happens for one of two reasons: the dried navy beans were not cooked until tender before baking, or the beans were baked uncovered for too long. The beans should be fully tender before they are added to the sauce, and they need to spend part of the baking time covered so the liquid doesn't evaporate before the beans have time to absorb the flavor.
Yes! The sauce thickens and the beans continue soaking up flavor. You can opt to serve them cold or reheat if desired.
More Picnic Worthy Recipes
If you love my Papa's old-fashioned baked beans recipe, don't miss these other family favorites:
- Old Fashioned Potato Salad -- another summer staple from my Papa
- Sour Cream Cucumber Salad -- my mom's contribution to every summer picnic
- Pasta Salad with Italian Dressing -- it didn't matter who, but someone had to bring this!
- Mini Cheesecakes with Vanilla Wafer Crust -- my cousin always made these and they are perfect for individual servings
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Baked Beans from Scratch
Ingredients
- 1⅓ cups dried navy beans, soaked overnight
- 3 slices thick bacon, chopped
- ¼ cup minced yellow onion
- 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 dried mustard
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup apple juice, or water
- ½ cup water
Instructions
Prepare Navy Beans
- Place 1⅓ cups dried navy beans in a large bowl 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 at room temperature for 8-12 hours.
- After soaking, drain the beans. Add the soaked beans to a large stock pan. Add enough fresh water to cover beans by 1 inch. Bring water to a rapid boil then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 1 hour or until beans are tender but not falling apart. 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℉ (150℃).
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the diced bacon and cook until bacon begins to render fat and then stir in the minced 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 ½ cup tomato sauce, ¼ cup molasses, ¼ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup pure maple syrup, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 2 teaspoons dried mustard, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, ½ cup apple juice, and ½ cup water until well combined. Gently fold in the beans, bacon, and onions.
- 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 30-60 minutes, or until thickened.
Equipment
- Large skillet (my favorite non-toxic nonstick pan)
- 2-Quart Dish (I have owned this dish for 20+ years!)
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I made these today and after 2 1/2 hours of cooking them they are still watery. Should I cook them longer in the oven? I soaked and simmered them like the directions said as well.
Thanks!
Hi Mary! I would leave them uncovered in the oven for 20-30 minutes to thicken.
Don't have to stir a lot let the beans get nice and thick and crusty around the top sides of the baking dish
Hi - I look forward to trying this but wonder if it can be frozen or canned? There's just two of us, so I love making something like this that I can preserve leftovers for future meals. Thanks!
You can definitely freeze these beans in small portions. I would allow to cool, place in freezer-safe bags/containers and then freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in refrigerator and heat as desired. Enjoy!
Any tips or recommendations when making this for a party of 50 people? I'm doing this for our post wedding BBQ reception!
First of all, congratulations on your wedding! As for preparing for 50 people, if you have access to large oven-safe pans (like full sheet pans for steam trays like 21x13x3 inches) I would recommend using those and planning on an extra hour of cook time covered and an extra 20 minutes uncovered. It should hold 4 batches of this recipe. If not, you can double the recipe 2 to 3 times and bake each doubled batch in a 4-quart baking dish. I hope that helps.
What are the corresponding measurements needed as far as ingredients if I have 1 pound of dried navy beans?
I would recommend doubling the recipe.
My first time making baked beans. I am so thankful I found your recipe. It was perfect. I used 3 cans of great northern beans, drained and rinsed well, then followed the directions. Sweet, but not too sweet. I wouldn’t change a thing. Will be making a double recipe for a party soon. It is now my “go to” recipe!
YAY! I love hearing this will be a staple recipe now.
My first time ever making neans ill be back later to let you know how they turned out. Looks good smells good too
Thank you for the recipe.
Denise canada
Do you add potato chips crushed on top or spoon beans over the chips. I’ve never had potato chips in my baked beans. Sounds interesting
Hi Ed! While I think either option would be good, I myself use the chips as a spoon for the beans. I hope you enjoy!
I baked them in a dutch oven. Best baked beans we have ever had.
Thank you so much! I am so happy to hear you enjoyed these baked beans.
These beans are hands down the best baked beans ever. We have always used bushes baked beans.....but these are made with love and care! Need to get this recipe out to more people somehow!
My 90 year old dad loves baked beans but is doing low sodium and canned ones are out. These wont be in his diet every day but making them myself I got to choose to put less salt and included them in his father's day meal..
I chose low sodium cans of great northern rinsed and no salt home canned tomato sauce. I wasn't going to add maple syrup but I am glad I did. I added 2 tablespoons of that famous hot sauce to balance the sweet.
They were great! I will make them for a special meal again. Thanks
I love hearing that you were able to modify this for your dad! What a perfect Father's Day treat!
How long will these baked beans last? I have a picnic in 5 days, and won't have any time to prepare prior. Thank you!
Hi Tracy Lynn! 5 days is the longest time I would recommend storing it in the refrigerator. I would personally prepare today, cool, then freeze. Defrost in the refrigerator the night before your party and then warm through, adding a splash of apple juice or water if needed. That way you can safely enjoy leftovers, should there be any after your party. Enjoy!
Such a great recipe….thank you for sharing! And thank you for recommending using the insta pot to cook the dried beans. I doubled the recipe, but I’m thinking I’m going to make a second batch. I don’t think there will be any left after our barbecue.
Ha! I always have to make a triple or quadruple batch myself. We love them so much! I hope everyone devours!