Baked Beans

Southern summer cookouts just ain’t complete without my mama’s Baked Beans recipe. Made with just six simple ingredients, these beans bake up into a sweet, thickened, perfectly seasoned and aromatic side dish that no barbecue menu can be without. When it’s all said and done, baked beans can be easy and delish without a whole lot of fuss. This is the recipe that’s gonna grab all the compliments without all the dang on work! Thanks to my Mississippi mama for passing it along!

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With summer just warming up, I’m getting my grilling menu all the way together. And without a doubt, my mama’s Southern style baked beans will be present and accounted for. Listen, they are pure comfort food with its silky, smoky, sticky and thickened notes of delish vibes. They deserve a seat at the table ya dig?

The Lowdown on the Best Baked Beans Recipe

Cuisine Inspiration: Southern Comfort from a Mississippi Bred Mama
Primary Cooking Method: Baking
Dietary Info: Vegetarian and Gluten-Free
Key Flavor: Sweet, Smoky, Savory and Tangy
Skill Level: Easy y’all!

• Quick and Easy: We ain’t slaving away in the kitchen for this one. This recipe is as easy as they come y’all. Basically I will have you on the porch drinking sweet tea in no time.
• Simple Ingredients: This bbq baked bean recipe uses just 6 simple store-bought ingredients that come together just perfectly.
• Hearty and Delish: The combo of bbq sauce and brown sugar creates the perfect smoky sweetness while the savory tang of the other ingredients creates such a comforting dish.
• Crowd-Pleaser: When you get invited to the cookout, make sure you pull up with a large pan of these baked beans.

Ingredients You Need to Make BBQ Baked Beans

• Vegetarian Canned Baked Beans: These babies already got some seasoning in them so its convenient and quicker to throw together. We like to use Bush’s but grab your fave here.
• Light Brown Sugar: This is gonna add a touch of caramel like sweetness with that depth from the additional molasses.
• Finely Diced Onion: As they bake, they are gonna give us that aromatic flavor with a bit of texture. Finely dice so they blend into the sauce.
• Finely Diced Green Pepper: These give a slightly tangy and fresh crunchy texture to the mix.
• Barbecue Sauce: This is gonna give such a rich and smoky flavor to the baked beans with its combo of tomatoes, sugar, vinegar and spices. We grab Sweet Baby Ray’s but do you boo!
• Yellow Mustard– This is gonna give that tangy kick that balances the sweetness out.

How to Make Baked Beans

Step 1: Prep the Beans

1. Preheat that oven to a toasty 375 degrees then grab your fave casserole dish and pour your vegetarian baked beans into it.
2. Now, dive into the fun part! Throw in the brown sugar, onion, green pepper, barbecue sauce, and yellow mustard.

Step 2: Mix and Bake!

1. Mix it up until everything’s friendly with each other. It should be well combined y’all.
2. Bake the bbq baked beans uncovered for about 60 minutes. It should have some good bubblin action.
3. Next, pull those sizzling beans out, give ’em a good stir, and let them rest for about 10 minutes. They should be piping hot and full of flavor!

What to Serve With Homemade Baked Beans

• Classic BBQ Vibes: Serve these up with hot dogs, baby back ribs, beef ribs, grilled corn on the cob, vinegar coleslaw, strawberry lemonade and key lime pie.
• Southern BBQ Cookout: Get those rib tips on the grill along with Southern potato salad (Black folks style), fried corn, and peach sweet tea.
• Potluck: This is such a great side to take to a potluck. Make sure you bring a warmer to keep the beans nice and toasty or pop in the oven for a bit before serving.
• Southern Feast: These bbq baked beans are right at home with fried chicken, mac and cheese, honey cornbread and mustard greens.
• Baked Potato Bar: Create a bar with baked potatoes and include toppings like these easy baked beans, candied bacon bits, shredded cheese, sour cream, broccoli and other veggies.
• Game Day Spread: These are a great side for a game day party including buffalo wings, lemon pepper wings, pepperoni pizza, and chips and salsa verde.

Recipe Substitutions

• Beans: Replace with pinto or black beans or make your own if you ain’t about that canned life.
• Sugar: You can replace the brown sugar with granulated but you will lose some of that deep caramel-like molasses flavor. You can always add a little molasses to it or you can replace with maple syrup or honey.
• Diced Veggies: Grab shallots in place of onions and yellow or red peppers in place of green peppers.
• BBQ Sauce: Feel free to add your favorite brand here or even use a homemade one. I love this chipotle bbq sauce. It has a nice subtle kick.
• Yellow Mustard: Dijon or whole grain mustard will give a unique flavor switch-up.

Recipe Variations and Additions

• Meat: Whether you cook and crumble bacon to add or throw in some crumbled and cooked sausage, chorizo or ground beef, this will give some savory texture and additional flavor. Just crumble and cook then drain and add to your bean mixture before baking.
• Alcohol: Just a splash of bourbon can really elevate these homemade baked beans to new heights.
• Heat: Toss in a little hot sauce or chili paste to get that kick poppin!
• Spices and Herbs: Adding in some additional spices and herbs like cumin, cayenne, rosemary, sage or thyme will really deliver some unique aromatic notes to your baked bean recipe.
• Smoke: To give the beans more smoke flavor, either add a few drops of liquid smoke to the mix or add the beans directly to the grill to smoke them. It will infuse them with so much flavor.

Expert Tips and Tricks for Southern Baked Beans

• Grab Quality Ingredients: Because there are just 6 simple ingredients, quality really matters. Grab quality bbq sauce and mustard y’all. It will make a world of difference.
• Test Doneness: You are looking for bubbling action with the beans being tender but not mushy in the end.
• Rest Before Serving: Give the beans about 10 minutes to rest and set up and thicken letting those flavors really settle before serving it up y’all.

How to Store this Homemade Baked Bean Recipe

• Fridge: Let those beans cool to room temp then scoop them into airtight containers and pop in the fridge. They should keep for about 4-5 days.
• Freezer: Just add the room temp baked bean recipe to freezer-safe containers the same way. They should keep up to 3 months.
• Reheating: Thaw in the fridge overnight if frozen then reheat in an oven-safe dish with a foil cover at 350 F degrees for about 20-30 minutes until they are bubbly again. If you gotta speed up the process, pop in a microwave safe container into the microwave for about 2-4 minutes, stirring halfway through to keep the cooking even.

Best Beans Recipes

• Southern Pinto Beans
• The Best Red Beans and Rice
• Hoppin’ John
• Southern Black Eyed Peas
• Butter Beans
• Southern Green Beans
• Green Bean Casserole