The Best BBQ Baked Beans

With just 7 simple ingredients, you can easily whip up a batch of the best ever bbq baked beans. Perfect for picnics, potlucks, barbecues, and more!

Easy Baked Beans Recipe

Just the thought of this recipe for bbq baked beans makes the top of my mouth hurt. Because willpower and baking beans simply do not mix.

This is my mom’s baked beans recipe and with it comes a flood of summer memories. Of coming home after a full, hot day swimming, swimming, swimming and diving and flipping and flirting at the pool. Then finally home to the coolness of the air conditioned house where my mom often had these babies on the stove, percolating their way towards dinner.

It took just one step through the door and me and my swimsuit-soaked shorts were making a beeline for the stove. There was always a wooden spoon sitting to the side, laced with the dried sauce from my mom’s stirring of the baked beans. One lick and that set off the need for more.

That pot of beans were just begging me to take a bite. Just onnnnnne bite with a little morsel of each ingredient’s goodness. A few  beans, onion and okay, green pepper too. I suppose it wouldn’t kill a teenager. And of course, a few extra sliced of barbecue sauce-soaked bacon. That was always my favorite part. Because, I mean, bacon.

Those pork and beans were bubbling hot. Literally bubbling. And I’d blow, and blow and debate on how long I could hold out for that first bite. And inevitably, I couldn’t take it one. second. longer. and I’d take the baked bean plunge and spoon that barbecued bite into my mouth. And ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS end up with a scorched roof of my mouth that would quickly blister and leave totally raw.

Which made for a challenging second bite.

But you can bet your barbecued baked bean dollar, I was always up for the task.

What’s in BBQ Baked Beans?

All you need to make this easy baked beans recipe are 7 simple ingredients:

• Bacon
• Green bell pepper
• Yellow onion
• Pork & beans
• Barbecue sauce
• Brown sugar
• Mustard

How to Make Baked Beans

Add the sliced bacon to a large Dutch oven and cook until it begins to crisp (note that you don’t need to add any oil to the Dutch oven beforehand as the bacon releases its own fat).

Place the bacon on a paper towel-lined plate and save some of the drippings. Cook the diced onion and bell pepper in the reserved drippings until the veggies soften.

Add the pork & beans, barbecue sauce, brown sugar, crumbled bacon, and mustard to the Dutch oven. Bring the baked beans to a boil, then simmer for 1 hour until thickened.

Can I Halve This Recipe?

This recipe makes enough to serve a group 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, you must be crazy. Because they’re the best part and eating them cold out of the refrigerator the next day is almost even better than the first day.

But in case you still want less, cut the recipe in half, everything divides pretty easily, but use 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar.

Can I Make Baked Beans From Scratch?

If you’d rather not use pre-made pork and beans, I’m sure you could make these bbq baked beans completely from scratch. However, this is how my mom always made baked beans, and I love this recipe as is.

Tips for Making the Best Baked Beans

I use a 1-pound package of bacon in this recipe because to me, those bacon bites are the best part! Feel free to use less if you’d prefer.

I use canned pork & beans for this recipe because that’s what my mom has always done. My mother-in-law said her mother-in-law used to use Great Northern beans in her recipe. You can certainly experiment and mix and match. I think I’ll give it a try next time.

Even though it’s mixed in and cooked down, I still use a high quality barbecue sauce in this recipe since it’s the main flavor builder. And I go the easy route and buy it from the store instead of making homemade. This time around I used Stubb’s. I tend to choose a regular barbecue sauce instead of mesquite or honey flavors because of the extra mustard and brown sugar I add in.

The yellow mustard adds a 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.

More Barbecue Side Dishes to Try

• Baked Potato Salad
• BLT Pasta Salad with Avocado
• Dill Cucumber Salad
• Pico de Gallo
• How to Make the Best Creamy Coleslaw

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.

3.48 from 48 votes

Print

The Best BBQ Baked Beans

With just 7 simple ingredients, you can easily whip up a batch of the best ever bbq baked beans. Perfect for picnics, potlucks, barbecues, and more!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword baked beans

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings 12

Calories 361 kcal

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
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon mustard

Instructions

1. 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.

2. Add the green bell pepper and onion to the bacon drippings and cook for 5 minutes or until the vegetables soften, stirring often.

3. Add the pork & beans, barbecue sauce, brown sugar and mustard and stir to combine. Stir in the crumbled bacon.

4. 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.

5. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition Facts

The Best BBQ Baked Beans

Amount Per Serving (1 g)

Calories 361 Calories from Fat 153

% Daily Value*

Fat 17g26%

Saturated Fat 6g38%

Cholesterol 34mg11%

Sodium 1030mg45%

Potassium 556mg16%

Carbohydrates 43g14%

Fiber 7g29%

Sugar 14g16%

Protein 12g24%

Vitamin A 104IU2%

Vitamin C 11mg13%

Calcium 84mg8%

Iron 3mg17%

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

More Bean-Packed Recipes You’ll Love

• Classic Three Bean Salad
• Green Beans with Browned Butter Almondine
• Outrageous Herbacious Chickpea Salad
• Tuscan Tuna and White Bean Salad
• Dilly Beans (Pickled Green Beans)

Craving more life balance, less stress, and better health? Check out my Nourished Planner, the daily planner to help create simplicity and under-schedule your life.

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