Classic Homemade Baked Beans Recipes

OLD-FASHIONED BAKED BEANS

Steps:

• In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, bring beans, salt and 2 qt. water to a boil; boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; let stand for 1 hour. Drain beans and discard liquid. Return beans to pan. Cover with remaining water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until beans are tender. Drain, reserving liquid. In a greased 2-1/2 qt. baking dish, combine beans, 1 cup liquid, onion, molasses, bacon, brown sugar, mustard and pepper. Cover and bake at 325° for 3 to 3-1/2 hours or until beans are as thick as desired thickness, stirring occasionally. Add more of the reserved cooking liquid if needed.

BAKED BEANS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Put a heavy-bottomed pot (with a lid) over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring often, until the fat renders and bacon begins to crisp, about 6-8 minutes. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes more. Stir in the ketchup, tomato puree, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire, salt, pepper, and cayenne and mix well. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the beans until well coated, cover, and bake in the oven for 1 hour. Remove the lid and continue baking until sauce thickens and the beans begin to brown, about 15 minutes more. Remove from the oven and allow to cool at least 15 minutes before serving.
• Serve warm or at room temperature.

BAKED BEANS FROM SCRATCH

Steps:

• Place the navy beans into a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let stand 8 hours to overnight. Or, bring the beans and water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Once boiling, turn off the heat, cover, and let stand 1 hour. Drain and rinse before using.
• Place the beans in a large saucepan with 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 1 hour.
• Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Stir the ketchup, maple syrup, brown sugar, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and chili powder together in a small bowl; set aside.
• Once the beans have simmered for 1 hour, drain, and reserve the cooking liquid. Pour the beans into a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish and stir in the chopped onion and the molasses sauce. Stir in enough of the reserved cooking liquid so the sauce covers the beans by 1/4 inch.
• Cover, and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C), and cook 6 hours longer. Stir the beans after they have cooked for 3 hours. Once the beans are tender and the sauce has reduced and is sticky, remove from the oven, stir, recover, and allow to stand 15 minutes before serving.

OLD FASHIONED FRENCH CANADIAN BAKED BEANS

Steps:

• Cover beans with water and soak overnight.
• Rinse beans then bring to a boil in approximately 1 quart of water, bay leaf and garlic - simmer for 30 minutes.
• Turn off heat and let beans stand for approximately 1 1/2 hours until soft. Drain and reserve the bean liquid. Discard bay leaf and garlic.
• Mix together remaining ingredients (excluding beans and bacon).
• Add beans to bean pot (or any covered dish).
• Stir in molasses mixture to beans. Top off with some of the reserved bean liquid.
• Arrange bacon on top.
• Cover and bake at 300 degrees for 7 hours. For the final hour of cooking, remove cover to let bean brown up nicely.
• Note: check occasionally and keep beans covered with reserved bean liquid during cooking.

REAL OLD FASHION OVEN BAKED BEANS

Steps:

• THE NIGHT BEFORE:.
• Wash & sort beans for any small stones.
• Place in a large kettle & cover with water, about 3 inches above the beans.
• Cover & soak overnight.
• THE NEXT MORNING:.
• Drain & add 6 cups fresh cold water.
• Stir in the baking soda (this helps remove the "music" afterwards, but no guarantees. LOL!).
• Cover & bring to a boil -- WATCH CAREFULLY so as to not boil over!
• Reduce heat & simmer for 10 minutes.
• Drain & reserve the bean water.
• Preheat oven to 300°.
• Add remaing ingredients plus 2 cups of the reserved bean water.
• Place everything into the bean pot (or whatever you're using) & cover.
• (Use double-thick aluminum foil to cover if need to.).
• Bake for 3 to 4 hours.
• IMPORTANT: Check every couple of hours, adding more bean water if needed, so the beans don't cook dry.

OLD-FASHIONED BAKED BEANS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Heat 10 cups water and the beans to boiling in ovenproof Dutch oven. Boil uncovered 2 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients except 3 cups water.
• Cover and bake 4 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in 3 cups water. Bake uncovered 2 hours to 2 hours 15 minutes longer, stirring occasionally, until beans are tender and desired consistency.

CLASSIC BBQ BAKED BEANS

Steps:

• Preheat grill to high.
• Place a large Dutch oven or cast-iron pot over direct heat and cook bacon until fat has begun to render. Add onion and red pepper and cook until they begin to soften, about 3-5 minutes. Add the beans, including canning liquid, and bring to a simmer.
• Add brown sugar, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, molasses, mustard, hot sauce, and Creole seasoning and stir to combine. Close the lid and cook the beans until the liquid has thickened, about 60 minutes. Cover the pot and move to the cooler side of the grill, then cook for another 20-30 minutes or until desired tenderness.

CLASSIC BOSTON BAKED BEANS

Steps:

• Soak beans in cold water to cover overnight in a large bowl. Drain in a colander.
• Heat oven to 300 degrees. Arrange onions in the bottom of a bean pot or Dutch oven. Top, working in order, beginning with tomatoes, and continuing with bay leaves, dry mustard, cloves, brown sugar, and salt and pepper. Add soaked beans and pour over molasses. Top evenly with salt pork. Add 5 cups water and cover.
• Transfer to oven and bake, without stirring, until the beans are tender and the liquid has thickened, about 6 hours. Check the beans every 45 minutes, adding hot water, if necessary, to keep beans slightly soupy at all times. Remove from oven, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary, before serving.