With just 7 simple ingredients, you can whip up a batch of the best ever bbq baked beans. Perfect for picnics, potlucks, barbecues, and more!
This super simple bbq baked beans recipe brings a flood of summer memories along with it. After coming home from a full, hot day of swimming and diving and flipping and flirting at the pool, It seems like there was always a pot of bbq baked beans on the stove.
In This Post
Loaded with bacon, green bell pepper and onion, there was always a wooden spoon sitting to the side of the pot, tempting me to take a bite as they simmered and bubbled their way toward dinner.
Those pork and beans were always bubbling hot. Literally bubbling. When my mom wasn’t looking, I’d sneak a spoonful, then blow, and blow, and blow as I debated how long I could hold out for that first bite. Inevitably, I couldn’t take it one. second. longer. before taking the baked bean plunge way too soon, scorching and blistering the roof of my mouth, and leaving it totally raw.
It made for a challenging second bite. But you can bet your barbecued baked bean dollar, it was 100% worth it and I was always up for the task. And still am.
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
- Be generous with the bacon. Because those smokey bits are the best part, use a whole package of bacon in this recipe.
- Skip the cheap stuff and use a good quality barbecue sauce. It’s mixed in and cooked down, but it’s the main flavor builder. Make it from scratch, or buy a decent brand like Stubb’s.
- Yellow mustard adds an essential vinegar tang to the dish. If you’re not a fan of tang, or vinegar, or mustard, start off with 1 teaspoon instead of 1 tablespoon, and build your flavor from there.
What’s in This Recipe?
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Bacon — Chop the bacon before cooking it in the same pot as you will for the beans.
- Green bell pepper — Are earthier than red bell peppers, which offsets the smoky, sweet bbq sauce.
- Yellow onion — Infuse the bbq beans with flavor.
- Canned pork and beans — Because Mom always did.
- Barbecue sauce — Since this recipe calls for mustard and brown sugar for extra flavor, I use regular barbecue sauce instead of mesquite or honey flavor.
- Brown sugar — Don’t use plain granulated sugar, which lacks the caramel undertones and depth of flavor that brown sugar has.
- Yellow mustard — It’s the tangiest of the crew, making it perfect for this simple bbq baked beans recipe.
How to Make BBQ Baked Beans
- Fry the bacon until crisp. There’s no need to add oil to the Dutch oven because the bacon releases its own fat. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to soak up the excess grease, but reserve 2 tablespoons of the drippings for cooking the vegetables.
- Cook the diced onion and bell pepper in the reserved drippings. The drippings will add so much flavor. Cook just until the veggies are soft.
- Stir it all together. Add the canned pork and beans, bbq sauce, brown sugar, bacon, and mustard to the Dutch oven.
- Simmer until thick. The longer you simmer the beans, the thicker and more flavorful they’ll be. About 1 hour is ideal.
FAQs
If you’ve ever wondered what variety of bean is in a traditional can of baked beans, it’s the navy bean. In this recipe, a big can of pork and beans is the starting point.
If you’re feeling extra ambitious, you could use dried beans, but because my mom has always used canned for this recipe, I do too.
This recipe makes enough to serve a group for potlucks and makes a great take-along dish for a summer get together. If you’re preparing for a smaller crowd and don’t want leftovers, go ahead and halve the recipe, but know this: These beans are awesome eaten straight from the fridge the next day and only get better with time.
To cut the recipe in half, everything divides pretty easily, but use just 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar.
Definitely, but make sure to freeze plenty of the saucy cooking liquid with the beans to prevent them from drying out. You’ll want to eat the frozen beans within a month or two since their texture can change over time.
Make Ahead and Reheating Tips
Just like homemade chili, these bbq beans only get better with time. Feel free to simmer the batch now and store in the fridge for a day or two before reheating.
If serving at your own house, reheat the beans gently on the stove over medium heat.
If taking to a bbq or potluck, pop them into a slow cooker for a few hours on “low.” Carefully transport the entire slow cooker to your destination and plug it back in, this time on “warm.”
What to Serve with Baked Beans
- Comforting Mains — Tender Baby Back Ribs, Meatloaf, Beer Braised Bratwurst
- Burgers — Garlic Burgers, Greek Turkey Burgers, Bacon Cheeseburgers
- Sides — Baked Potato Salad, Grilled Corn On The Cob, BLT Pasta Salad, Dill Cucumber Salad, Creamy Coleslaw
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a 
star rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
The Best BBQ Baked Beans Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound bacon , sliced
- 1 green bell pepper , seeded and diced
- 1 medium yellow onion , diced
- 53 ounces pork & beans (a 3-pound can)
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
Instructions
- Bring a dutch oven or large pot to medium high heat and add the sliced bacon. Cook for about 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until bacon begins to crisp. Drain the bacon slices on a plate lined with a paper towel, and reserve 2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings in the pan, discard the rest.
- Add the green bell pepper and onion to the bacon drippings and cook for 5 minutes or until the vegetables soften, stirring often.
- Add the pork & beans, barbecue sauce, brown sugar and mustard and stir to combine. Stir in the crumbled bacon.
- Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer, cover with a lid and cook for 1 hour. Stir occasionally so the beans don't stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition
More Easy Bean Side Dishes You’ll Love
- Classic Three Bean Salad
- Green Beans with Browned Butter Almondine
- Outrageous Herbaceous Chickpea Salad
- Creamy Homemade Pinto Beans
- Cannelini Beans
- Easy Refried Beans
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Paula
Is it just me, or is this Baked Beans recipe a misnomer? There is nowhere on the recipe indicating to put the beans in the oven to BAKE. I could understand calling them BBQ Beans or Stove Top BBQ Beans, but baked beans? I think not.
My recipe is the same as yours, only I bake mine in a 350 degree oven for 90 minutes.
Kevin Hangman
Excellent BBQ beans! Turned out great. I did add some canned pineapple chunks. Think it worked out well…
John Higgins
WOW!! Made this recepie for a 4th of July BBQ yesterday. Recieved many compliments with several saying they were the best baked beans they ever had! Definitely will be made again. Thanks Heidi!!
Heidi
So glad you liked it John!
Amy R.
I made this recipe for the 4th of July and my family loved them but honestly, I personally did not like the flavor..Not sure why. I think I’ll still make them again but I won’t partake in eating them.
Jane Smith
While the beans don’t look bad, I wouldn’t call this the best BBQ baked beans. It contains canned pork and beans. I’m sure there are better recipes out there that start from scratch, rather than a can of already baked beans. JMO
Oh Jane! But they ARE! If you feel like it , you can certainly use baked beans or plain beans and add in all the goodies. That’s truly what makes this recipe. I use BBQ baked beans because that’s what my mom used. Or did she? I think she did!
Glenn Haller
Its pork n beans!! If you make them from fresh beans, you spend the xtra time to boil, then you would add your tomatoe products, which puts you in the same place, hours later as ypu would be to use pork n beans. Not a big deal!
Kelly
In reading your recipe, I realized that you never actually state to re-add the cooked bacon. I’ll assume it’s at the same time you add the beans.
Jan
Your best BBQ beans remind me of a popular local BBQ joint who’s famous for their delicious BBQ beans. They use rib and smoked roast beef scraps instead of bacon and finely diced jalapenos instead of bell peppers along with a bit (2-3 Tablespoons) of apple cider vinegar. Give it a try!
Averie @ Averie Cooks
Thanks for linking up that bean dish of mine and the tweet! I have another baked beans recipe with bourbon and bbq sauce that I made about a year ago and now I have a craving for baked beans seeing yours and all the others. Pinned yours!
Chris @ Shared Appetite
Mmmmmm beans! Your baked beans look amazing! And loving the other recipes you linked up too! Thanks for including mine :)
Nicole ~ Cooking for Keeps
Ahhhh that bacon pic!! Perfection. Must try these sometime this summer!
Stephie @ Eat Your Heart Out
This recipe is absolutely something my boyfriend could in no way keep out of. Halve the recipe? Try needing to double it! ;-)
Thank you so much for sharing my recipe!
Janet
I have never made baked beans before, but I have to say these look so good I will have to try them this weekend for our cookout.
Ruth Gepford Flaherty
How were they?
Matt Robinson
Your mom nailed it with these, what an awesome recipe. Totally reminds me of my childhood summers as well.
Olivia - Primavera Kitchen
OMG these beans look so good. I love beans of any kind especially because I grew up in Brazil and down there we eat beans every day, no kidding ;-) The ingredients you used are almost the same ingredients Brazilians use too, but we like to cook beans in a pressure cooker cause it is faster. I’ve never had baked beans, but I must try it soon ;-)
Millie l Add A Little
Love the look of these bean! they look amazing!
http://youtube.com/addalittlefood
Amanda
Great BBQ Beans recipe! Will have to try this one out for our next cookout! :)
Annalise @ Completely Delicious
Definitely going to give your Mom’s recipe a try! I’ve yet to find my perfect baked bean recipe, sounds like this could be it!
Liz @ The Lemon Bowl
I am crying with happiness over this!! I just bought some heirloom beans at the farmers market and now I know what I’m doing with them!
Bri | Bites of Bri
Heidi, your timing is impeccable! My family is doing barbecue and baked beans for Fathers Day this weekend. I can’t decide which of these to make or should I make a few?! They all look so good!