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This Homemade Baked Beans recipe is made from scratch with a rich, sweet, savory sauce that tastes so much better than anything from a can. Made with navy beans, brown sugar, maple syrup, molasses, and bacon (if desired), this recipe delivers classic baked beans that are perfect for everything from summer cookouts to holiday dinners.
This baked bean recipe was passed down from my Papa and has been a staple at nearly every family gathering for generations. And while they are always right at home next to grilled BBQ chicken breasts and classic burgers, these old-fashioned baked beans fit in just as easily at a Sunday dinner alongside baked ham and my great-grandma's Texas sheet cake.
Homemade Baked Beans Recipe at a Glance
- Yield: 10 generous side dish servings
- Options for Prep: Start with dried beans OR canned beans for a shortcut
- Flavor: Sweet, tangy, smoky sauce that is not overly sweet
- Dietary Note: Dairy-free & easy to make vegetarian
- Heirloom Family Recipe Generations-old recipe with hundreds of 5-star reviews
Recipe Highlights
Kristen's Keys for Homemade Baked Beans
To replicate the flavor and texture that made my Papa's baked beans so well loved (and guarantees the pan is scraped clean), pay attention to the following tips:
- Do not undercook the beans before baking. The navy beans should already be tender before they go into the oven. If they are still firm, they will stay firm no matter how long they bake.
- Use a combination of molasses, brown sugar, and maple syrup to sweeten the baked beans. Together, they create a sauce that is rich and nuanced rather than overly sweet.
- Cook low and slow. Cooking the baked beans at a low temp lets the flavors develop without drying out the beans.
- Serve baked beans with potato chips. Okay this is technically optional, but the sweet and salty combination is magical. Try it once and you may forgo utensils permanently!
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.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ingredients for Homemade Baked Beans
These old-fashioned baked beans use simple pantry staples, but each ingredient helps build that signature sweet-and-savory flavor.
- Navy Beans: The classic choice for baked beans, as they are creamy, tender, and soak up the sauce beautifully. This recipe includes instructions for both dried beans and canned beans, so you can choose what works best for your schedule.
- Bacon (optional): Bacon adds smoky depth, but the recipe is still fantastic without it. In fact, both of my kids prefer bacon-free baked beans. (My Papa would be shocked by this!)
- Maple Syrup, Brown Sugar & Molasses: This trio creates the BEST baked bean sauce. Maple syrup adds warmth, brown sugar brings caramel-like sweetness, and molasses gives the beans richness, color, and that classic baked bean flavor.
- To Flavor: Tomato sauce, dried mustard, apple cider vinegar, and minced onion balance the sweetness and give these baked beans their rich, tangy flavor.
- Apple Juice: Sounds unexpected, but it helps create that saucy texture, while adding additional flavor that water alone can't duplicate. Be sure to use 100% apple juice, not sweetened or flavored juice.
How to Make Baked Beans from Scratch
Don't let the process of making baked beans from scratch intimidate you, it is really quite simple! I have even provided a few modifications to speed things up without sacrificing any flavor!
Step One: Soak and 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 about. about 45-60 minutes.
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 tomato sauce, brown sugar, molasses, maple syrup, salt, mustard with the 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.
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.
Recipe Variations & Modifications
- Baked Beans with Canned Beans: Replace the dried beans with 4 cups of rinsed and drained canned navy beans (~3 cans of navy beans). My Papa often started with canned beans himself to save time!
- Baked Beans with Pork and Beans: Combine 32 ounces of canned pork and beans (or prepared canned baked beans) with 2 teaspoons of dried mustard powder and ¼ each of brown sugar, molasses, and minced onion. Bake as directed for a shortcut that still tastes homemade.
- Slow Cooker Homemade Baked Beans: Prepare the baked bean recipe up to baking, omitting the added water. Pour the bean mixture into a large slow cooker and cook on low heat for 4-6 hours or high heat for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally. This is especially nice in the heat of the summer!
- Vegetarian Homemade Baked Beans: Omit the bacon from the recipe and skip sautéing the onion and add it right to the baked bean sauce. The baked beans will still have plenty of flavor!
- Make them Sweeter: Add an extra ¼ cup brown sugar or swap the tomato sauce for ketchup.
- Use the Instant Pot to cook the soaked navy beans for a hand-off approach. Follow my Instant Pot dried beans recipe to cook the soaked navy beans.
- No Dried Mustard? Replace with 1 tablespoon of prepared yellow mustard.
- No Apple Cider Vinegar? Distilled white vinegar works just as well.
Storage Tips
Homemade baked beans can be served warm from the oven, at room temperature, straight from the fridge, or reheated. And honestly, the flavor actually improves after chilling as the sauce thickens and the beans continue soaking up flavor.
- Refrigerate: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freeze: Transfer the cooled baked beans to 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.
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
- Tri Color 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 overnnight
- 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 dry 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. Cover beans by 1 inch with fresh cold water. Bring water to a rapid boil, and 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 dry 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 30-40 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.
This recipe was originally published in 2015 and updated in 2026.
Hi! Thanks for sharing this recipe. I am planning to make it in the slow cooker, so I wasn’t sure if I just soak the beans and put the soaked being straight in the crockpot or if I need to simmer them for an hour on the stove before putting the beans in the crockpot. Thanks for clarifying!
Hi Ashley! Yes, you need to simmer the beans on the stove before adding to the crockpot. I hope you enjoy and happy 4th!
These were the best baked beans!! I loved them on my first try. I’m wondering if you’ve ever tried adding anything like spices to add some heat? Or red pepper or maybe even kidney beans? I don’t want to mess with perfection but I have a feeling I will be making these often.
I am so glad you enjoyed Christa. I definitely would not recommend kidney beans. However, adding some smoked paprika or hot sauce is definitely a welcomed addition.
I was looking for a good meatless baked beans recipe made from scratch and dry beans, this is the only one I could find that even sounded correct and healthier. I used regular mustard and omitted the vinegar. I accidentally let it bake about 20 min longer and the sauce reduced quite a bit, but the flavor was still amazing! After we taste tested, everyone immediately grabbed a bowl. I don't usually do recipe reviews but I had to for this one. Next time I will be more mindful of the time and see the outcome beforeI try to increase the amount of sauce. Thank you for sharing it with us. It was delicious
I am so glad you found this recipe and gave it a try--but most importantly, I am so happy you enjoyed! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.
I’ve made this recipe 4 times and it’s great! The only issue I have is that everyone in the house thinks that they need to taste test them before they’re done so when they are they’re half gone! I double the recipe, LOL!
I am so glad you enjoy this so much Dean! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
These beans are DELICIOUS! Our family doesn’t like things really sweet so I used the water & tomato sauce, instead of the apple juice & ketchup. They were even a hit with my toughest critics, the kids!
LOVE hearing that!!! I am so glad you you all enjoyed--and even better that you cut out some of the sugar with success 😉
Hello,
Have you or anyone tried this, but cut back on the sweetness? Or some sugar substitutes? Thanks.
Hi Mecca! I have made this many times with no brown sugar or only brown sugar and no maple syrup. I often do this for weekday meals and save the really sweet version for holidays. We still love it!
This is my second time making this, and use the crock pot. The first time I made it I used bacon from the farm which totally melted in! I didn’t have apple juice so I used water, and a half a cup of applesauce which worked beautifully!, I also use coconut sugar instead of brown sugar. I had all I could do to not devour the whole thing in one sitting after it was done! Best beans ever! I’m retired and by myself, and in these uncertain times, a delicious recipe like this is a keeper! Oh, and I DID try with potato chips(dark russets)! I highly recommend eating that way! 😋
This time I am making it vegetarian. I’ll let you know how awesome that will be too!
This is SOOOO much better than canned baked beans, and I know what’s in it!
I am so so glad you enjoyed so much. And I am glad you tried it with potato chips...so good. I hope you enjoy it many more times.😊
They are awesome even even without bacon!
I love them without bacon myself 🙂