Take your time making Crock-Pot Baked Beans and develop a rich and flavorful side that will have you saying, ‘Can it!’ to the store-bought variety.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 hours
Yields: 10 servings
A word of warning: Once you do baked beans in a slow cooker, you will never be able to go back to the canned stuff you find at the store. That’s been the case with me as I developed this recipe. Sure, for the sheer convenience of it all, those Heinz Beans cans are totally fine—tasty, even—but the flavor and consistency of homemade beans is just on another level.
This dish has ‘autumn’ written all over it. When you feel that first chill in the air and the gang come over for the start of football season, that’s when you’ll start booting up that Crock Pot to make beans so sophisticated, you’ll think it was prepared by chefs at Le Cordon Bleu.
Sometimes sweet, at other times spicy, these Crock-Pot beans have such a diverse flavor profile—and this is me keeping it simple! Part of the fun of using a slow cooker is throwing in all your favorite ingredients and seeing how each influences the overall taste. Try it out for yourself and conjure up your own bespoke baked beans recipe.
Do I Need To Soak My Beans First?
Because this recipe opts to go low and slow in the Crock-Pot, you don’t really need to soak your beans beforehand. Letting them soak overnight in tepid water or boiling them for a few minutes then letting them sit for 1–2 hours is definitely an option, though one I only choose when time is of the essence and I want to be eating my beans sooner than later. The joy of slow-cooking is how “hands off” it all is, so I generally disregard any steps that make more work for myself.
Ingredients
- 8 oz. bacon, uncooked and diced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15 oz.) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15 oz.) can northern beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp molasses
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
Instructions
- In a cast-iron skillet over HIGH heat, drizzle in the olive oil and fry the bacon bits until they’re crispy (about 5-8 minutes).
- Remove the bacon from the pan and turn the heat to MED-LOW, then sauté the onions and garlic in the bacon fat for 4-5 minutes.
- In the bowl of your Crock-Pot, pour in the beans, the cooked bacon, onions, garlic, and the rest of the ingredients. Stir it, put the lid on, and then cook on LOW for 4-5 hours.
FAQs & Tips
That’s the whole idea! The longer they cook over low heat, the more the flavors will meld and the tastier they’ll be. If you plan on having them in the evening, I recommend starting them before you even have breakfast on the go.
No, you can get rid of the fat and use olive oil if you want a healthier option; however, the bacon fat contains so much flavor that I think you’ll be doing your taste buds a disservice by using anything else.
The beans should be first left to cool completely. Then you can store them in an airtight container and then in the fridge. They should keep for up to 5 days. You can also freeze them, if you like. You can use a freezer-safe bag for this. Just remove as much air as possible before sealing. The beans should last for up to 6 months frozen. To reheat, let them thaw in the fridge overnight then cook on the stove or in the microwave. You can even reheat them in the slow cooker, though I’m not sure it’s worth the extra time.
Northern beans (or great northern, as they are sometimes called) are similar to cannellini beans. Both are average sized and white, though the cannellini beans have a tough exterior and a more robust taste. Northern beans have a more delicate texture.
If you like. You may find the flavor slightly lacking but if you’ve never done them on LOW, you won’t know the difference. Check on the beans after 2 hours.
Serving Suggestions
A big bowl of beans needs a big bowl of tortilla chips to go with it. Make sure they’re the sturdy kind; these beans are hefty. Don’t like that crunch? Pick up a baguette or some such loaf from your local baker’s. Whether you go with a chip or a bun, you’ll need something to shift those beans from your bowl to your salivating mouth. A spoon is kinda boring. If you plan on serving these beans as a side, let that entree be your favorite pulled pork recipe, hot dogs, or hamburgers.
Crock-Pot Baked Beans
Ingredients
- 8 oz. bacon uncooked and diced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans drained and rinsed
- 1 (15 oz.) can kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1 (15 oz.) can northern beans drained and rinsed
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp molasses
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
Instructions
- In a cast-iron skillet over high heat, drizzle in the olive oil and fry the bacon bits until they are crispy (about 5-8 minutes).
- Remove the bacon from the pan and turn the heat on to medium-low, then sauté the onions and garlic in the bacon fat for 4-5 minutes.
- In the bowl of your crockpot, pour in the beans, the cooked bacon, onions, garlic, and the rest of the ingredients. Stir it, then put the lid on, and cook on low for 4-5 hours.
