I am very upset with myself for never trying homemade baked beans before. My vast experience with them has been the following: open can of baked beans. Dump can into pot. Turn on heat. Cook until beans are warm. Consume. Are you judging me because I’m a food blogger and have only ever eaten canned baked beans?
DON’T JUDGE ME I’M SORRRYYYYY.
Better late than never, though, amIright?
Can I just say that homemade baked beans are so astronomically better than the canned version that I am crying so many tears over my wasted years of non-homeade-baked-bean-ness? Because I am. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Homemade versions of things are always better. Maybe not always…but most of the time. I’m not sure I could make a homemade crescent roll that would beat Mr. Pillsbury over in my refrigerated section.
BUT, I can say with confidence that most of the time, homemade stuff blows canned/boxed/processed food out of the water. And these baked beans exemplify that point BIG time.
And as if you needed more encouragement to make these baked beans and shun the canned beans forever, this recipe is super easy to make. Here are your steps:
- Dice onions, garlic, bell pepper, and bacon, and throw into a large, heavy bottomed pot (Dutch ovens are bae) to cook for a few minutes.
- Add your beans and other flavor bomb ingredients – i.e. ketchup, brown sugar, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
- Stir together, and simmer for 45 minutes.
- When you’ve got about 10 minutes left, stir a slurry made with corn starch and water into your beans so your sauce gets nice and thick and coats those beans like a CHAMP.
Proceed to burn all remaining cans of baked beans that lurk in your pantry. GET OUT OF HERE with that. These are too easy not to make every three seconds, and they are the perfect summer side dish. Baked beans are besties with cookouts. Cookouts are besties with summer. Therefore…baked beans are besties with summer. I am also besties with summer right now because it allows me to eat these baked beans every other day when we grill out.
P.S. One more note about these beans…they aren’t actually baked. These are lazy girl baked beans that just simmer on your stove top for a while. Am I cheating by calling them baked beans? WHATEVER JUST LOVE THEM ANYWAY.
Y’all.
I can count on one hand the amount of times in my life that I’ve said “y’all” in my life, but it’s a y’all kind of moment.
Y’all. We have SIX days to pack up our entire house. We are moving on August 1st, but we will be in Mexico from July 22-29, so those days can’t be packing days. I’ve known about this move for about five weeks now, and guess how much packing I have done so far?
That would beee….big fat zero. What is happening? I’m avoiding packing like the PLAGUE. And the days are ticking, ticking, ticking down. I’m the worssstttttttt. I just want to crawl into my hole of summer break relaxation and pretend that I don’t have to pack up everything I own in six days. And take apart the furniture. And remove everything from every drawer and closet….ugh. Can you tell I just LOVE moving??
Thanks to college and then Army life, Seth and I have moved every. single. year. for the last 6 years. Whyyyyyyyyy.
Okay, pity party over. I promise you I will get some major packing done…I’ll let you know how that goes. Stay tuned, people. It might get ugly. The bright side is that once the dreaded August 1st date comes and goes, we will be in a WAY bigger, WAY nicer, and WAY more fenced in house. Yas.
I will avoid packing by making fifty batches of these baked beans and delivering them to all our family and friends…
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound bacon, diced into bite sized pieces
- 4 15oz cans navy beans (or great northern beans), drained and rinsed
- 1 cup ketchup
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- ⅔ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup mustard (regular yellow mustard and dijon both work)
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- In a large, heavy bottomed pot (a Dutch oven would be perfect), add your bacon. Let that cook for a few minutes while you chop your veggies. Add your onion, bell pepper, and garlic to the bacon and cook until the veggies have softened
- To this, add all of your remaining ingredients (beans, ketchup, brown sugar, maple syrup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and cornstarch. Season with salt
- Stir this mixture until fully combined
- Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer
- Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally
- When your beans are done, season them to taste with salt and pepper, and you're ready to serve!
*This recipe is gluten free*
Nutrition info is for 1/2 cup servings.
If you make this or any of my other recipes, be sure to Instagram it and hashtag #thegarlicdiaries!
In the mood for more summery sides? Check these out:
Grilled Spring Veggie Pasta Salad
Crunchy Sesame Kale Salad [21 Day Fix]
These baked beans are FABULOUS. Homemade is always so much better. My mouth is seriously watering thinking of all those spices and maple syrup hanging out together in these beans. Yum. Have fun in Mexico!
Thank you so much, Amanda! Oh my goodness they are so good…obsesssseedddd.
Its look sooo delicious. Perfect dish!
thanks for sharing recipes with us here. Looking more from you dear
kereta sewa subang bestari recently posted…Perkhidmatan Kereta Sewa Murah Usj – Julai 2013
Thank you for the sweet comment!!
Girl I love love homemade baked beans! I feel they taste so much better than the canned stuff! Will totally be trying out your version soon :)
Agreed, Ami!! Thank you so much :).
You definitely do need to try and make your own!! They are so, so much better. Thanks, Gayle :)!
I love these baked beans! It’s okay that they aren’t really baked :) You don’t always want to heat up your house in the middle of summer anyway. Good luck with the packing….that is a lot of moving you have done!
Thanks, Kathy! Agreed on the hot house. I try to keep my oven off as much as possible during the summer! It is a lot of moving we have done…sigh…hopefully we won’t have to move for a few years after this one!
I’ve never been a baked bean fan, but I have to say these looks pretty darn tasty! My husband LOVES baked beans, so I’m definitely going to have to make these for him. I absolutely HATE packing for a move, it’s the worst. Good luck with getting everything packed and the move! :)
Keri @ Fashionable Foods recently posted…Summer Vegetable Chowder
I have never been super into baked beans either, but this homemade version converts me big time to a baked bean lover! I love hearing you call Kyle your husband instead of fiancé ?!!! Yay! Ugh, I know – moving is the worst. Thanks, Keri!
Guuuurl, better late than never is Foe-show! Seriously how amaze-balls are homemade baked beans though!? Right? Now you will never go back! These look amazing! I looooooove loads of brown sugar all up in my beans, so these magical bad boys are calling my name! SO much YUM! And umm how did you make beans look so peeertty?! You are talented… but Ih already knew that! ;) Cheers, dear! xo
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary recently posted…Chilled Rosè & Watermelon Soup {with goat cheese, pistachios & raspberries}
Homemade baked beans are SOOOO dang good! Agreed on the brown sugar! It’s funny that you say that about the pictures, because I wasn’t super happy with these. So thank you for making me like them more!
Stumbled on your blog from your comment over at the Roasted Root and I’m so glad I did! Love your site and LOVE these baked beans. Nailed it :)
Thank you so much Lauren!! I’m very glad you made your way over here :).