Southern style Homemade Baked Beans with Bacon in a thick, rich, glossy sauce with a perfect balance of sweet and a hint of tang. An essential side for a blow out BBQ or Southern feast – think pulled pork, barbecue chicken, sticky ribs, Fried Chicken, sweet juicy corn, coleslaw, potato salad, macaroni salad and cornbread. Swoooooon!!
Southern Baked Beans
Southern Baked Beans are like the bolder, brasher big sister of our Aussie baked beans. Whereas our beans are known as a breakfast staple, with its translucent, shiny tomato sauce, the Southern version is a a side dish that’s packed with big, bold southern flavours.
The sauce is glossy, it’s sweet, it’s savoury, and even though it’s “just” a side dish, no one could overlook it on a table laden with food!
Here it is pictured with a side of Coleslaw, Pulled Pork and crusty Artisan bread (it’s unbelievably quick and easy, no knead. Though….. cornbread would be much more on theme on this plate!)
What goes in Southern Baked Beans
You’ll find a lot of recipes are based around store bought canned baked beans – sauce and all. I really just prefer making it from scratch – you can control the flavour yourself, you know what goes in it, and all that usual jazz. 🙂
So here’s what you need to make these Southern Baked Beans.
Just a note on a few of the ingredients:
Beans – I usually make this with red kidney beans, just something I picked up from Ina Garten’s baked beans recipe. Flavour wise it doesn’t really make a difference what beans you use because the sauce flavour is so strong. So feel free to use navy beans (haricot) which is the more common type of beans used in Southern Baked Beans, pinto, cannellini or any other small to medium beans of choice;
Molasses – adds colour, gloss and flavour. Easy substitute: golden syrup!
Tomato passata – this is just plain, pure, pureed tomato. If you’re in the US, it’s sometimes labelled “tomato puree” instead. More information on tomato passata here.
How to make baked beans
It’s probably thoroughly not in the spirit of baked beans to NOT bake it! But it starts on the stove with the browning of the bacon, so I just find it easier to leave it on the stove.
But you can bake it if you prefer! It can also be slow cooked – directions included in the recipe.
I know baked beans are traditionally served as a side in the states, but in all honesty, the sauce of this Homemade Baked Beans with Bacon is so good, with such much kapow flavours, I’m happy to slurp it up just like this: in a big bowl with some corn bread to slop up all that sauce. (Try the muffin version too, they’re fabulous!)
Or even as breakfast. I promise there is a couple of pieces of (burnt) toast under that very generous serving of baked beans! Try it with a fried or poached egg, or even scrambled eggs!
Big Barbecue Feast!
And of course, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t suggest a load of dishes for a big barbecue feast. Here are some barbecue favourites that demand a side of baked beans!!
I know I keep going on and on about giant BBQ feasts, but of course baked beans are a brilliant side dish for normal meals too. 😂 It will keep in the fridge for days, so you can keep bringing it out over and over again… who can get sick of these baked beans?? – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Homemade Baked Beans with Bacon (Southern)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp oil
- 150g/ 5 oz bacon , chopped
- 1 medium onion , finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic , minced (or 1 1/2 tsp garlic paste)
- 3 x 400g / 14oz cans red kidney or other beans, drained and rinsed (Note 1)
- 3/4 cup ketchup (Note 2)
- 3/4 cup tomato passata / US tomato puree (Note 3)
- 1/4 cup molasses (Note 4)
- 2 tbsp cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 tsp mustard powder (or 1 tbsp Dijon or American mustard)
- 1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 3/4 tsp EACH salt & pepper , plus more to taste
Instructions
- Heat oil over high heat (can skip oil if bacon is super fatty). Add bacon and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add onion and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes until onion and bacon are golden.
- Add remaining ingredients. Stir, bring to simmer, then place lid on.
- Then either turn down heat to medium low (simmering gently) and cook on the stove for 1 hour, stirring every now and then so the bottom doesn't catch. OR bake at 160°C/325°F for 60 minutes.
- SLOW COOKER option: Reduce water to 1/4 cup, transfer to slow cooker and cook for 6 hours on low.
- The sauce should be thickened (cook with lid off for a bit if not thick enough) and glossy. Adjust salt and pepper to taste at the end. See notes for serving suggestions!
Recipe Notes:
- 1 can = 1 3/4 cups beans once drained
- Recipe calls for 3 cans = 5 1/4 cups beans
- 1 cup dried beans = 2 3/4 cups cooked
- So you will need 2 cups dried beans (2 x 2.75 = 5 1/2 cups cooked beans)
Nutrition Information:
Originally published June 2017, updated June 2020 with fresh new photos, brand new video!
More bean recipes
Life of Dozer
In case you missed the Life of Dozer video on Monday – Dozer’s analysis of deconstructed Gado Gado at a glance:
And Life of Dozer from the original publication date:
First sunrise back in Sydney with Mr D after arriving home from my trip to Japan. 🙂 Even though his boarder reported no signs of separation anxiety or even a fleeting moment of forlornness that would indicate that he missed me in the slightest (😤), I was greeted with sufficient enthusiasm to think otherwise!
This should be a good one for the pressure cooker.
Ooh YES!!! So in a slow cooker, I do 6 hours on low, so I think for a pressure cooke, about 45 minutes will do the trick! 🙂
That recipe looks great! Reminds me of the recipe my mom made when I lived in Texas. Only difference is that she used French’s Yellow Mustard (American Yellow Mustard) in steed of the mustard powder. I’ve got to make these and fry up some eggs of fry some chicken.
Oooh, thank you for the reminder, I meant to add a note that using mustard instead of powder is ok! I sometimes use mustard too – Dijon or American. 🙂 N xx
As a Baked Bean loving Brit I cant wait to try these they look delicious !!
Absolutely beautiful pic of Dozer and I bet he missed you loads.
Yessss!!! Brits and Aussies, we are ALL about the baked beans!!!
Living here in Spain I can’t get baked beans, that’s not to say they don’t do beans here, they just don’t do baked beans. I look forward to trying the recipe. Thanks as always for sharing.
Woah! No Heinz over there?? I thought baked beans were EVERYWHERE in Europe!!!
No…. not here, well almost not here. There are a very few shops in the big towns and cities but the cost of a tin really is exorbitant! Here of course, in my little village half way up a mountain, it is impossible.
The good news is that it forces me to make my own, not only beans but just about everything. It obliges me to take the path of local seasonal foods. I buy nothing ready made, no ready made meals and few ready made “essentials”. There is no self raising flour, no spice mixes (and if it weren’t for the relatively local Arab shop no spices either!), no fancy sauces in tins, no ready made mixes for cakes, pastry etc. It is absolutely fantastic!!
Utmost respect to you! 🙂 N x