Baked Beans
To make baked beans from scratch, simmer navy beans with bacon, onion, brown sugar, molasses, mustard, and ketchup in a covered pot or Dutch oven at 325°F for 2 to 2.5 hours until thick and deeply flavored. You can use canned beans to cut the total time down to under an hour.
Good baked beans should taste like more happened than opening a can and introducing it to heat. These start with navy beans, bacon, onion, and garlic, then build a dark, sticky sauce from molasses, brown sugar, ketchup, yellow mustard, dry mustard, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper. Dried beans give you the full slow route, but canned navy beans work when dinner has already developed a schedule. Either way, cooking the onions in the rendered bacon fat first gives the pot a savory base before any sugar shows up and starts demanding attention.
The beans bake covered at 325°F so they can absorb the sauce without drying out, then finish uncovered until the liquid darkens and clings instead of sloshing around the pot. If it tightens too quickly, add a little water rather than letting stubbornness turn dinner into masonry. Rest the finished beans for 10 minutes because the sauce thickens further as it cools. What lands on the plate is smoky, tangy, sweet, salty, and substantial enough to stand next to ribs, burgers, or barbecue without acting like an afterthought. There is bacon in the pot and molasses in the sauce; modesty was never really the assignment.
Ingredients
- 1 lb dried navy beans (or three 15-oz cans navy beans, drained and rinsed)
- 6 strips thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/3 cup molasses (not blackstrap)
- 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 2 cups water or low-sodium chicken broth (for dried bean version)
- 1/2 cup water (for canned bean version)
Instructions
- 1IF USING DRIED BEANS: Sort and rinse the beans, then soak them in a large bowl covered by at least 3 inches of cold water for 8 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse. Bring beans to a boil in a fresh pot of water, reduce heat, and simmer for 45 minutes until just barely tender but not falling apart. Drain and set aside. Skip this step entirely if using canned beans.
- 2Preheat your oven to 325°F.
- 3In a large Dutch oven or heavy oven-safe pot, cook the bacon pieces over medium heat until the fat has rendered and the bacon is just starting to crisp, about 6 to 8 minutes. Do not drain the fat — you need it.
- 4Add the diced onion to the bacon and fat. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute.
- 5In a bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the molasses, brown sugar, ketchup, yellow mustard, dry mustard, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.
- 6Add the drained beans to the pot. Pour the sauce mixture over the beans and stir to combine. Add 2 cups of water or broth (for dried beans) or 1/2 cup water (for canned beans). Stir again. The liquid should just barely reach the top of the beans.
- 7Bring the pot to a low simmer on the stovetop, then cover with a tight-fitting lid and transfer to the preheated 325°F oven.
- 8Bake for 1 hour 45 minutes, covered. Remove the lid, stir gently, and taste for seasoning. Bake uncovered for an additional 30 to 45 minutes until the sauce has thickened and darkened and coats the beans. If it looks dry at any point, add water 1/4 cup at a time.
- 9Remove from the oven. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving — the sauce continues to thicken as it cools slightly. Taste once more for salt and adjust.
Nutrition Information
Estimated per serving: 1 of 8 servings.
Estimated from the ingredients and quantities in this recipe using standard food-composition values. Brand choices, trimming, cooking loss, optional ingredients, and actual portion size can change the numbers. How we calculate nutrition estimates.
Pro Tips
- Do not skip the uncovered baking time. That last 30 to 45 minutes is where the sauce goes from 'watery and embarrassing' to 'I made this on purpose and I am proud of it.'
- Dry mustard is not the same as yellow mustard. They're in the same family the way a golden retriever and a wolf are in the same family. Use both in this recipe — they do different jobs.
- If your beans taste flat after baking, the fix is almost always a little more apple cider vinegar and a pinch more salt, not more sweetener. Reach for the acid before you reach for the sugar.
Substitutions
Storage Instructions
Cool completely before storing. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat with a splash of water stirred in, or microwave covered in 90-second intervals. Freeze in freezer-safe containers for up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Make Ahead
These baked beans are genuinely better the next day. Make them up to 2 days ahead, store covered in the refrigerator, and reheat low and slow on the stovetop before serving. Add a small splash of water or broth when reheating — they will have thickened further in the fridge and need a little help loosening back up.
