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baked BBQ beans with garnish
Hopewell Heights

The Best BBQ Baked Beans from Scratch (made with dry beans)

Baked BBQ Beans From Scratch made with dry beans, bacon, and a homemade sauce. It's so much better than the canned baked beans you grew up with.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 359
Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb dried navy beans
  • 1 onion diced finely
  • ½ lb bacon diced finely
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • 2 teaspoons mustard powder
  • ¼ cup molasses
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • ¾ cup ketchup
  • 1 ½ cup water

Method
 

  1. Prepare and cook the beans: Soak dry beans in water overnight.  
  2. In the morning, drain the beans, place them in a medium pot full of cold water, cover, bring to a boil, and then reduce to a gentle simmer for an hour until beans are fork tender but not mushy.  Drain and rinse the cooked beans with cold water. Set aside.
  3. Make the BBQ sauce: In a heavy-bottom Dutch oven, sauté the bacon and onion for 5 minutes until the onion is translucent.  
  4. Add the remaining ingredients (salt, pepper, mustard powder, molasses, brown sugar, ketchup, and water) to the DO with the onion and bacon and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
  5. Bake the beans: Add the cooked beans to the boiling barbecue sauce, stir, and remove from the heat.  
  6. Cover with a lid and bake at 275 for 5-6 hours.  Stir every 30 minutes and add a few tablespoons of water if the beans begin to look dry at any point.
  7. Serve hot.

Nutrition

Calories: 359kcalCarbohydrates: 56gProtein: 13gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.03gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 791mgPotassium: 798mgFiber: 11gSugar: 28gVitamin A: 102IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 107mgIron: 3mg

Notes

Tips:

  • The best beans for this easy BBQ are what you’ve got: Any variety of beans works here, or even a mix of dried beans. Think dried Pinto beans, navy beans, red kidney beans, cannellini beans, Great Northern beans, black beans, or whatever you have on hand. 
  • Don’t feel like making homemade sauce from scratch? No problem. Just stir together 2 cups of your favorite BBQ sauce with a little water and go from there. Go with something savory and tangy like Worcestershire sauce, a sweet, smoky, spicy BBQ sauce, or whatever else pleases your palate. 
  • Keep an eye on moisture: If the beans start looking dry while baking, add a few tablespoons of water and give them a stir.

Storage:

Once they've cooled, store these baked BBQ beans in an airtight container in the fridge. They'll stay good for up to 5 days. The flavors get slightly better after a day or two, which means they’re a solid bet for making ahead. 
What if you’ve got leftovers you won’t get to in time? Just freeze them in a freezer-safe container or bag for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat gently on the stovetop or in the oven with a splash of water to keep them from drying out.

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