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Southern Baked Beans
These Southern Baked Beans are the best homemade baked beans you will ever make! An easy‚ delicious side dish for any cookout or BBQ!
A DELICIOUS HOMEMADE BAKED BEANS RECIPE
I worked on this baked bean recipe for a few years before first publishing it in 2011. It is still my absolute favorite way to make baked beans. Everyone asks me to bring this to the cookout! I love a good thick‚ flavorful sauce with a good smoky bacon flavor. These Southern Baked Beans are pretty simple to make and I promise everyone will be asking you for the recipe after they try them!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:Â
Can I make these baked beans ahead of time? You bet! Just make them and store them covered in the fridge up to 3 days in advance. Reheat them in the oven before serving. How do I make thicker Southern Baked Beans? The longer these beans are cooked‚ the thicker they continue to get after the aluminum foil is removed‚ so if you prefer thicker‚ richer beans‚ just continue to cook until it reaches your desired thickness. What else could I add to these beans? To bulk them out and make them last even longer‚ add some cooked ground beef‚ ground pork‚ or ground turkey. Or go old school and add sone sliced hot dogs or kielbasa. To add some heat‚ try adding some sliced jalapeños. Can I make these in the crock pot? Yep! Check out my recipe for Crock Pot Baked Beans. Can I freeze Baked Beans? Yes‚ once they’ve cooled transfer them to a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. How to store leftover Southern Baked Beans? Leftover beans should cool down to room temp before placing them in a container and refrigerating them for up to 5 days.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
bacon – it’s important you fry this up fresh and not use precooked bacon. We need that bacon grease for flavor.
onion – if you don’t like onions‚ just leave it out.
canned pork &; beans – you need 48 ounces total. Sometimes you can find the larger 16 ounce cans and sometimes stores only carry the smaller 8 ounce ones. So as long as you get a total of 48 ounces‚ you are good.
mustard – you are not going to taste this as a separate flavor. It just adds depth of flavor.
maple syrup – use the real stuff or the corn syrup stuff‚ they both work just fine here.
ketchup – it’s always got to be Heinz for me but use your favorite.
molasses– this is the ingredient that really gives these beans the extra depth of fantastic flavor.
brown sugar – you can use light or dark brown‚ I prefer the light.
HOW TO MAKE SOUTHERN BAKED BEANS:
In a large frying pan‚ fry bacon until crispy‚ drain on a paper towel then crumble the bacon. Reserve about 1/4 cup of the bacon grease in the pan. Finely chop the onions and saute them over medium heat in the bacon drippings until onion is clear. If your bacon didn’t produce enough grease‚ just add a little oil to your pan if necessary.
Add in all the remaining ingredients into the pan (including cooked and crumbled bacon) and stir.
Pour bean mixture into an ungreased 9×13-inch baking dish and bake covered (with aluminum foil) for about an hour (until brown and bubbly).
If you like your beans to be a little less sauce-y‚ take the aluminum foil off and bake for about another 20-30 minutes (stirring the beans occasionally.) The longer it cooks‚ the thicker it gets. So if you want them thicker‚ just let them continue to cook for longer. Stir again before serving.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Crock Pot Baked BeansSausage Baked BeansBeanie Weenie CasseroleCalico Baked BeansRoot Beer Baked BeansBeef and Bean Cowboy CasseroleCrock Pot Beans and HamAppalachian Soup BeansRed Beans and RiceBlack Eyed Peas Recipe
Originally published: February 2011Updated photos &; republished: March 2024
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Southern Baked Beans
These Southern Baked Beans are the best homemade baked beans you will ever make! An easy‚ delicious side dish for any cookout or BBQ!
Course Side DishCuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes minutesCook Time 45 minutes minutesTotal Time 55 minutes minutes
Servings 10 servings
Calories 238kcal
Author Brandie @ The Country Cook
Ingredients½ pound bacon1 medium onion3 (16 ounce) cans pork and beans‚ undrained or 8 (6 ounce) cans3 Tablespoons mustard (yellow or dijon)¾ cup maple syrupâ…” cup ketchupâ…“ cup molasses¼ cup brown sugarsalt and pepper‚ to taste
InstructionsPreheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large frying pan‚ fry ½ pound bacon until crispy‚ drain on a paper towel then crumble the bacon. Reserve about 1/4 cup of the bacon grease in the pan Finely chop 1 medium onion and sauté over medium heat in the bacon drippings until onion is clear. If your bacon didn't produce enough grease‚ just add a little oil to your pan if necessary. Then add in 3 (16 ounce) cans pork and beans‚ undrained‚3 Tablespoons mustard‚¾ cup maple syrup‚2/3 cup ketchup‚1/3 cup molasses‚1/4 cup brown sugar and salt and pepper‚ to taste and crumbled bacon and stir. Pour bean mixture into an ungreased 9×13-inch baking dish and bake covered (with aluminum foil) for about an hour (until brown and bubbly). If you like your beans to be a little less sauce-y‚ take the aluminum foil off and bake for about another 20-30 minutes (stirring the beans occasionally.) The longer it cooks‚ the thicker it gets. So if you want them thicker‚ just let them continue to cook for longer.Stir again before serving.
Notes
Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
NutritionCalories: 238kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 9g | Sodium: 355mg | Sugar: 32g