Easy Baked Beans
Get ready for the ultimate comfort side dish! I am so excited to share my Easy Baked Beans recipe with you. We are combining tender navy beans with a rich, caramelized blend of molasses,
Before You Start
Let’s talk about important parts of the recipe before you start…
Welcome to My Easy Baked Beans Recipe
Hello everyone! I am thrilled to share my Easy Baked Beans recipe with you today. This is truly the ultimate comfort side dish for any gathering. In this recipe, I will show you how to transform simple, tender navy beans into a mouthwatering masterpiece by combining them with a rich and sticky blend of molasses, brown sugar, and tomato paste. I also include a fantastic step where we cook bacon directly in the saucepan so that every single bite is packed with incredible flavor. We will bring everything to a gentle simmer before transferring it to a baking dish to finish in the oven, creating a gorgeous dark crust on top. These Easy Baked Beans pair perfectly with pulled pork, ribs, or absolutely any BBQ meat you can think of. Let me walk you through the process of making this incredible dish!
Preparing for Your Easy Baked Beans and Choosing Your Cooking Method
The very first step in making my Easy Baked Beans is deciding how you want to finish the cooking process. This versatile comfort side dish is designed to be started on the stove in a saucepan and finished in the oven inside a baking dish. If you have the time, I highly recommend following the entire recipe, including the oven baking, to achieve that amazing flavor and texture. To start the preparation, I set my oven to preheat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Next, I prepare my medium-sized baking dish. The great news here is that there is absolutely no greasing or flouring necessary for this baking dish! However, if you are in a rush and need to get your Easy Baked Beans on the table quickly, you can optionally complete the entire recipe on the stove. To do this, you would simply avoid using the oven by adding 10 to 15 minutes of an extra simmer time later in the process. If you choose this stove-top only route, you can skip this initial oven preparation part entirely. Either way, you are going to end up with incredibly tender navy beans that pair wonderfully with your favorite BBQ meat.
Sautéing the Onion and My Special Bacon Cooking Method
Once the preparation is done, it is time to build the flavor base for the Easy Baked Beans in a large saucepan or a medium pot. I start by preheating the saucepan on medium-high heat with two tablespoons of frying oil. Then, I add one finely chopped onion and sauté it with occasional stirring until it becomes beautifully glossy, which usually takes about three to four minutes. Now comes a very important part of my recipe: the bacon! I optionally add half a pound of bacon chopped into small pieces and cook it with occasional stirring until some of the fat is rendered, taking about two to three minutes. You might notice that some recipes require sautéing bacon first and adding the onion in the next step. While this leads to very crispy bacon at first, the onion often does not cook enough. More importantly, what is initially well-cooked and crispy bacon will most definitely become just weird and chewy pieces in the final baked beans. My method, where the bacon is cooked second and initially less than you might want, will allow it to fully integrate into the meal and become a true part of this comfort side dish. But as always, feel free to adjust any of my recipes to your liking. If you want to use turkey bacon instead of pork bacon, you can, but please keep in mind that is a modification that is not part of the recipe. This unique method ensures the bacon flavor infuses perfectly with the molasses, brown sugar, and tomato paste we will add soon.
Caramelizing the Butter, Brown Sugar, and Molasses
After the onion is glossy and the bacon has started to render its delicious fat in the saucepan, I lower the temperature to medium to begin the sweet caramelization process for my Easy Baked Beans. I add two tablespoons of butter and a quarter cup of brown sugar directly into the mixture. While constantly stirring, I let the butter melt and the brown sugar caramelize for about two to three minutes. This caramelization step is absolutely crucial for creating the deep, rich flavor profile that makes this the ultimate comfort side dish. Once the brown sugar is beautifully caramelized and sticky, I add three tablespoons of molasses to the saucepan. I continue to cook the mixture while stirring for about one more minute. The combination of the caramelized brown sugar and the dark, robust molasses creates an incredible sweetness that will eventually balance the savory tomato paste and the natural earthiness of the tender navy beans. It smells absolutely heavenly at this stage, and it is the perfect sweet foundation before we move on to the short simmer.
Building the Savory Sauce and the Short Simmer
With our sweet base ready in the saucepan, it is time to build the savory elements of the sauce for our Easy Baked Beans. I add a quarter cup of tomato paste, one teaspoon of ground mustard (or you can use one tablespoon of regular mustard), one tablespoon of vinegar, three grated cloves of garlic, one teaspoon of paprika, one teaspoon of salt, and half a teaspoon of ground pepper. I thoroughly stir all these incredible ingredients together, ensuring the tomato paste is fully incorporated into the molasses and brown sugar mixture. Next, I increase the heat to medium-high and bring it to a simmer at about 195 degrees Fahrenheit with occasional stirring. Once it reaches that perfect simmer, I add the star of the show: two 15-ounce cans of tender navy beans, including all of their liquid! You can use other kinds of canned beans if you prefer, but tender navy beans are my absolute favorite for this. I thoroughly stir the beans into the sauce and bring it to a light simmer. Note: If you are in a rush and want to skip the optional baking dish step, you can reduce the heat to medium and cook with occasional stirring for about 10 to 15 minutes until all ingredients are combined and the liquid is reduced. Finally, I always make sure to taste the Easy Baked Beans at this stage and add more salt or pepper if needed.
The Optional Bake and Serving Your Easy Baked Beans
If you have the time, the optional baking phase is what truly elevates these Easy Baked Beans to the next level. After the short simmer in the saucepan, I carefully transfer the tender navy beans and that rich sauce into the medium-sized baking dish that we prepared earlier. I place the baking dish into the preheated 350-degree Fahrenheit oven. The secret here is to bake them uncovered for 45 to 60 minutes. Baking them uncovered allows the sauce made from tomato paste, molasses, and brown sugar to become incredibly thick, and a beautiful, delicious dark crust forms right on top of the beans. When they are done to perfection, I carefully remove the baking dish from the oven. I always serve my Easy Baked Beans warm. They are the absolute perfect comfort side dish to serve alongside pulled pork, BBQ ribs, or frankly, any BBQ meat you might be grilling up. The way the savory bacon and sweet sauce complement smoky BBQ meat is just incredible. Enjoy every single bite of this amazing dish!
Recipe
(click on any ingredients and tool to learn more on CookingHub.com)
Advertisement:
Share
Click on the icons below to share "Title of the item to share"