The Best Homemade Baked Beans With Bacon

These homemade baked beans with bacon are made with pantry staples, they’re so simple to make and incredibly delicious! There’s a rich tomato base, along with molasses, brown sugar and rosemary.  Enjoy on their own or as a hearty side with dinner. Oven baked beans never tasted so good!

This oven baked beans recipe was originally published in July of 2015 and has been updated.

Hey everyone!  How’s it goin’?  Are you all ready for Valentine’s Day?  Our fur baby’s birthday is that day (he’ll be 8!) so, of course, he is top priority.

But, I’m sure hubby and I will do something special to celebrate…make a nice meal or something.  Cards all lined up and ready to go. 

I usually get hubby a mushy one and a funny one.  I gotta say, the funny one was so funny, I chuckled out loud in the store 😀

Do you do anything special with your sweetie or your gal pals?  There’s nothing sexier than beans (HA), so let’s get to it!

This recipe is definitely a dish that is perfect all year round!  Just think about it – they are great in the winter after coming in from outside; they warm ya up and fill your belly.

And in the summer, who doesn’t love baked beans sitting around a campfire? Lately, hubby & I have enjoyed ’em with steak for supper. Have a glass of wine with it and that’s fine dining I tell ya!

Baked beans has it goin’ on – well, you know, as far as beans goes 🙂

Are Beans Good For You? Why you Should Eat ‘Em!

Yes!  Beans are something that we regularly eat at home and you should to!  Why?

-Beans are loaded in fibre, protein, vitamins and are low fat, which means they are good for you and fill you up.

-Beans are versatile!  For instance, you can make old fashioned homemade baked beans (like here), put ’em in soups, salads, and they are fabulous in dips.

-Beans are freakin’ cheap (especially dried beans)! You can buy a huge bag for a couple bucks and can get a whole bunch of meals from one bag.

What Type of Beans Should I Use for Homemade Baked Beans with Bacon?

For this recipe you want to use dried navy beans (not pre-processed canned beans).

How to Make Baked Beans

There’s nothing complicated with making this recipe (which I’m a huge fan of). All of the ingredients are simple pantry staples.

STEP 1:  PREPARE BEANS

-Firstly pick over the beans (that is, remove any foreign objects, like rocks, and any imperfect beans).

-Then, rinse them with fresh, cold water

-Place the dried beans in a large bowl, cover with fresh, cold water and let them soak overnight. You can store them in the fridge as they soak.

-Then, the next day, remove them from the water/drain, rinse again with fresh, cold water and they are ready to use!

STEP 2: COOK BACON

-Crisp bacon in the oven and crumble once cool enough to handle.

STEP 3: ADD BEAN BASE TO POT

-Combine canned tomatoes, tomato paste, molasses, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, brown sugar and worcestershire sauce in a large dutch oven or similar pot.  Blitz with an immersion blender until smooth OR using a potato masher to break up.

STEP 4: ADD AROMATICS & FLAVOURINGS

-Next, add bay leaves, onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, rosemary, crumbled cooked bacon and black pepper. Stir to combine all those goodies!

STEP 5: TOP POT UP WITH WATER

-You want enough liquid in the pot because the beans need that to cook. Plus, water will be absorbed through cooking/heating. Stir water in.

STEP 6: COOK

-Bake, checking on every so often by stirring and adding more water, as necessary.

Tip—>When beans are tender and cooked to your liking, add a little more water if you like things looser.  Remove bay leaves and season with salt to taste. Enjoy!

Good news—>Other than crisping the bacon first, all of the ingredients are placed in one pot and baked for about 6 hours.  Nothing to it!

Can you Freeze Beans?

YES!

As an added bonus, these baked beans with bacon freeze really well so you can make a batch and have ready to go when you just don’t have the time to cook.

After they have cooled, portion them up and place into vacuum seal bags. Spread the sealed bags out flat and place in the freezer. 

You’ll have a delicious meal ready when you are!

Helpful Tips & Variations

Soak beans overnight in a bowl of cold water.  Ensure that the beans are fully covered.

When prepping the beans for the oven, if you don’t have an immersion blender, you can easily mix the wet ingredients (tomatoes, etc) by mashing with a potato masher.

You’ll want to check on the beans every 2 hours or so to check and see if more water is required and they aren’t sticking to the pot.  I will usually add about 1/2 cup to a cup of water at a time, if necessary, to loosen the mixture up.

If you want a slightly ‘creamier’ consistency in the tomato based sauce, after the beans are cooked you can remove about a cup of beans and blitz with an immersion blender or mash with a potato masher.  Then, add back to the pot.  Stir to combine.

Want to omit the bacon?  Everything will still taste delicious!  For instance, I’ve also used cubed, cooked ham or even shredded, cooked pork instead of bacon in this recipe.  You can add either ham or pork during the last hour of the bean cooking time.

Make It A Meal!

Round things out with some cheesy skillet cornbread for dunkin’ in that rich tomato sauce. A lovely side salad is delish too.

And, if you’re looking for other delicious bean recipes, another fave of mine is Newfoundland boiled beans (my dad’s recipe) or my smoky baked black beans.

Hope you enjoy these baked beans with bacon as much as we do…I’m pretty sure you’ll be going back to the pot for seconds 😉

Until next time, take care and chit chat again soon!

~Dawn

P.S. If you think these old fashioned baked beans will make your belly happy too, please be sure to hit that little Pin button down below.  Many thanks, you guys! XO

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5 from 7 votes

The Best Homemade Baked Beans With Bacon

These homemade baked beans with bacon are made with pantry staples, they're so simple to make and incredibly delicious! There's a rich tomato base, along with molasses, brown sugar and rosemary.  Enjoy on their own or as a hearty side with dinner. Oven baked beans never tasted so good!

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine American, Canadian

Keyword baked beans, scratch made beans

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 5 hours 30 minutes

Total Time 5 hours 50 minutes

Servings 8 people

Calories 234kcal

Author Dawn – Girl Heart Food

Ingredients

• 2 cups dried navy beans -soaked overnight
• 1 can whole tomatoes -about 796ml can
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 onion -chopped
• 2 cloves garlic -minced
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes -or to taste
• 2 sprigs rosemary -minced, or 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 8 slices bacon
• 4 cups water -more, as necessary, for desired consistency
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt -or to taste

Instructions

• Pick over beans (i.e. remove any foreign objects, like rocks, and any imperfect beans). Rinse with fresh, cold water by using a colander. Soak beans overnight in refrigerator (put beans in a bowl and generously cover with fresh, cold water). 
• The next day, when you are ready to go, preheat oven to 375 F. Place bacon on parchment paper covered baking sheet and cook until crisp, 15-20 minutes (or you could fry bacon on stovetop on medium heat until crispy).  Drain grease. Once cool enough to handle, crumble bacon. Lay to one side. Reduce heat in oven to 325F.
• Place canned tomatoes in dutch oven (about 5-6 quart size) along with tomato paste, molasses, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce.  Blitz with an immersion blender to combine (or break up tomatoes with a potato masher). Drain beans and rinse again with fresh, cold water. Add them to the pot.
• Next, add bay leaves, onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, rosemary, reserved cooked bacon, and black pepper.  Stir to combine. Top up with water (about 4 cups – it will be a lot, but it will reduce and thicken as the beans cook).  Stir.
• Cook for about 5.5 – 6 hours, covered, carefully checking on every 2 hours or so by stirring, making sure beans don’t burn or stick. Top up with water (if necessary and to your desired consistency). Once beans are at desired doneness, season with salt. Remove and discard bay leaves. Enjoy!

Notes

• I like to check on the beans every 2 hours or so to check and see if more water is required and they aren’t sticking to the pot.  I will usually add about 1/2 cup to a cup of water at a time, if necessary, to loosen the mixture up.
• When prepping the beans for the oven, if you don’t have an immersion blender, you can easily mix the wet ingredients (tomatoes, etc) by mashing with a potato masher.
• More recipe tips in body of post above.

Tried this recipe? That’s awesome!Mention @dawn.girlheartfood or tag #girlheartfood

Nutrition (estimate only)

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 234kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 442mg | Potassium: 581mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 245IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 2.3mg

Nutrition Facts

The Best Homemade Baked Beans With Bacon

Amount Per Serving (1 serving)

Calories 234 Calories from Fat 81

% Daily Value*

Fat 9g14%

Saturated Fat 3g19%

Cholesterol 14mg5%

Sodium 442mg19%

Potassium 581mg17%

Carbohydrates 31g10%

Fiber 5g21%

Sugar 17g19%

Protein 7g14%

Vitamin A 245IU5%

Vitamin C 4mg5%

Calcium 80mg8%

Iron 2.3mg13%

* Nutrition estimate only. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.