Best Canned Baked Beans Recipe
Updated Feb 15, 2022, Published Jul 01, 2020
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With just a few ingredients you may already have on hand, you can turn ordinary canned baked beans into extraordinary! This Canned Baked Beans recipe is an easy and delicious way to make canned beans taste like you made them from scratch! Perfect with my BBQ Chicken Thighs and Cajun Chicken Drumsticks!
“The first baked beans I’ve made in 50 years of marriage that my husband has really loved!”
Why This Recipe is a Keeper!
Short on time or don’t want to go to the trouble of making baked beans from scratch? This canned baked beans recipe is your solution!
Here’s a recipe you’ll want to file away for all your special occasions like graduations, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, summer barbecuing, potlucks and even the holidays!
If you love the convenience of canned baked beans but find them lacking in homemade flavor, my Canned Baked Beans recipe is the easy way to dress them up and taste like you made them from scratch! This is the best baked beans recipe from canned beans with hundreds of four and five-star reviews!
The flavor base in canned baked beans is already there, but with some help with simple ingredients you may already have, no one will ever know you started with a store-bought convenience item!
This baked beans recipe with canned beans is:
- Easy!
- Budget-friendly because not many extra ingredients are needed–just good, flavorful mostly pantry ingredients.
- Completely make-ahead.
- A sure crowd-pleaser!
How to make Canned Baked Beans Taste Homemade:
Recipe Ingredients:
Here’s everything you’ll need to make this canned baked beans recipe, along with how to prep the ingredients. See the recipe card below for the exact quantities.
Ingredient Notes:
- Canned Baked Beans: Use an “original” or simply-flavored style of canned baked beans. Avoid any that have hickory smoke flavor, maple, or other flavorings; they won’t work with these other ingredients and may compete.
- Bacon: Use your favorite brand but here, too, avoid flavored bacon.
- Mustard: I like spicy brown mustard for this baked beans recipe, but Dijon or yellow mustard will also work.
- Molasses: Readers have reported good results using maple syrup instead of molasses. You’ll have more of a maple flavor, which I think works well if you don’t mind it and don’t complicate the flavors by using flavored bacon, beans, etc.
Step-By-Step Instructions:
- Gather and prep all the ingredients.
- Start with four 16.5-ounce or two 28-ounce cans of original recipe canned baked beans such as Bush’s.
- Cook the bacon until crispy, then transfer it to a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve the bacon drippings.
- Cook the onion in the reserved drippings until it’s softened.
- Combine everything in a 4-quart baking dish. Save a little bacon to sprinkle over the top.
- MAKE AHEAD: The beans can be assembled up to two days ahead. Refrigerate covered until needed.
- Bake uncovered for one hour or until hot, bubbling, and the top of the beans are caramelized. Yessssss…….like this!
- Garnish with the reserved bacon…
- And let everyone dig in!
- So easy and they’ll be the hit of your get-together!
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- If you prefer to cook this baked bean recipe in a slow cooker, it will work. However, the top won’t get caramelized. As a reader suggests, place a tea towel over the top of the slow cooker to absorb the steam produced so it doesn’t water down the beans. Cook for 5 to 6 hours on LOW or 3 to 3.5 hours on HIGH.
Storing Leftovers:
First, ensure the beans didn’t sit out too long at your gathering. Two hours at room temperature is the max. Longer than that and you’re flirting with a foodborne illness.
Store any leftovers in the refrigerator or freeze them for later use in an airtight container for 2-3 months.
FREEZER-FRIENDLY: Freeze them in an airtight container for two to three months for later use. Thaw in the refrigerator or microwave and bake as directed.
More great summery side dishes for your next get-together!
Get more great summery side dish ideas at: 30 Best Sides to Take to a Cookout!
Best Canned Baked Beans Recipe
Ingredients
- Cooking spray, for pan
- 6 slices bacon, diced
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 4 cans (16-ounce) baked beans, or 2 (28-ounce) cans, preferably original recipe such as Bush's, undrained
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2-3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 2 to 3-quart casserole dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Place the bacon in a skillet or saute pan and cook for 4-5 minutes over medium heat until rendered and crispy. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Place the onion in the skillet with the bacon drippings and cook for 5-6 minutes or until very soft. If the pan gets dry, add 1-2 tablespoons of water and continue cooking until the onions are cooked to a soft stage.
- Combine the beans, onions, 3/4 of the bacon and the remaining ingredients using 2 tablespoons of brown sugar to start with in the prepared baking dish.
- Taste and adjust sweetness with more brown sugar as desired. Add the apple cider vinegar for a little tanginess if you desire.
- Sprinkle the remaining bacon over the top.
- Bake uncovered for 1 hour or until bubbling and the top is caramelized.
Notes
- Use an “original” or simply-flavored style of canned baked beans. Avoid any with hickory smoke flavor, maple flavor, or artificial flavorings. Likewise, flavored bacon, except peppered bacon, could also affect the result.
- Although I prefer to use original or simply-flavored beans, maple syrup can be substituted for molasses.
- Beans can be assembled to the point of baking up to 2 days ahead.
- Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking or add additional baking time.
- Can also be made in the slow cooker, but you won’t get the caramelized top, and the beans could be a bit soupier. Place a clean kitchen towel over the slow cooker then place the lid on. The kitchen towel will absorb some of the steam which can water down the beans. Cook for 5 to 6 hours on LOW or 3 to 3.5 hours on HIGH.
- Freeze in an airtight container for 2-3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or microwave and bake as directed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Am fixing this for tomorrow. I will not have time to bake in the oven for one hour. If I bake it tonight, what’s the best way to reheat it quickly? Can it be microwaved?
If I don’t bake tonight, can I stovetop cook it then reheat it tomorrow?
Hi, Lora, Thanks so much for your question. I would cook the onion a bit more to really soften it up and get it done to the point of baking and then refrigerate overnight. When needed, put it in the microwave and cook in increments, stirring a couple of times until it’s good and hot. You won’t have the nice, caramelized top you’d get from baking. You could bake it tonight and then microwave it, too. However, when heating in the microwave, it’s a good idea to stir several times to get the item heated evenly so that caramelized top is going to go away. Hope this helps!
Do I drain the beans?
Hi, Ruth, Thanks so much for your question. No, don’t drain the beans. The sauce will thicken up when you bake the beans. Thanks again and hope you enjoy!
Instructions don’t mention molasses. Are both brown sugar and molasses used?
Hi, Thanks so much for your question! I’ve clarified the recipe; I can see where that might be confusing. You would add the “remaining ingredients” which includes the molasses. Yes, both brown sugar and molasses are used. Hope it’s clear now! If not, just give me another shout. Thanks so much and hope you enjoy!
Been making these for years and everyone loves them. When there’s a potluck, my beans are always requested. In fact taking them tonight for a 20 person bbq.
Thanks so much, Marsha! Glad you and everyone else enjoys! And definitely send them over to my site for the recipe! 🙂
Carol…oh my freaking gosh, these were absolutely amazing! I made them for Easter and my very picky husband was blown away! The only thing I left out was the molasses because I didn’t have any and honestly don’t care for the flavor. Anyway, love this recipe! The search is finally over!
Thank you so much 😛😋
Hi, Renee, Thank you so very, very much! You really made my day!
Do you drain the canned beans?
Hi, Carol Jean, First of all, my middle name is Jean! 🙂 Thanks so much for your question. I don’t drain the beans. I use what’s there and then add the ingredients to it per the recipe to jazz them up. Thanks again and hope you enjoy!
How many people will the two large cans serve? I need to feed about 30 people.
Hi, Louise, Thanks so much for your question. My recipe feeds about 10-12 people so you’d want to triple the recipe and use six of the 28-ounce cans. Thanks again and hope everyone enjoys!
Love these beans! In our permanent rotation.
I make the recipe as is except for combining some steps to simplify the prep.
I use a cast iron skillet to render the bacon. When it has almost rendered, I add the onion in with the bacon and cook that. The rest of the ingredients are then added per the recipe and the skillet goes in the oven.I serve the beans at the table from the skillet.
They stay warm and there’s at least one less dish to wash!
C’est bon, c’est bon!
Making this tomorrow for Independence Day.
Hi, Ruth, Hope you enjoy! Have a great holiday weekend!
I am hosting a few friends around our pool for 4th of July and plan to do my BBQ Pulled Pork in a crockpot and would like to do my Baked Beans in a crockpot, as well. Do you have any suggestions of how to do this so I can make the beans ahead of time and heat them in the crockpot until time for service. Thank you!
Hi, Traci, Thanks so much for your question. You can get it all prepped today and just get it in your slow cooker tomorrow. If you have the room, you can even store it in the insert and refrigerate it. Before you start to heat the beans, let it sit out at room temperature a bit so you don’t crack your insert from any temperature change. When doing them in a slow cooker, you won’t get the nice, caramelized top and they’ll probably be a little more watery. Four hours on HIGH should heat them through. You can always hold them on the warm setting then. Thanks again and hope everyone enjoys!