This Southern Baked Beans Recipe makes the best baked beans! It’s a perfect side dish for so many meals and a family favorite recipe for years! So savory, scrumptious, and easy to make!
If you’re looking for a simple yet delicious recipe that’s perfect for any meal, baked beans are the way to go! We love it with hamburgers, grilled chicken, ribs, and more! This classic dish is a crowd-pleaser that’s easy to make and can be customized to your taste.
How to Make Baked Beans Recipe
Rich, smokey, and so delicious, my recipe comes together quickly and then bakes slowly so that all those flavors just meld perfectly together!
Ingredients
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, notes, and estimated nutritional information.
- Beans – Use canned navy beans or soaked dried beans.
- Bacon – My recipe included diced bacon in the baked beans and then strips of bacon on top of the beans.
- Garlic – Use 1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced, or substitute with 1 teaspoon of Stone House Seasoning.
- Onion – Dice and include 1/2 of a medium sweet onion. If you do not care for onions, omit them. You can also use 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder instead of fresh onion if you prefer.
- Worcestershire sauce – Use Coconut Aminos if sensitive to soy.
- Unsulphured molasses – Adds a deep, smokey flavor to the cooked beans.
- Dark brown sugar – Dark brown sugar contains more molasses than light brown sugar. I prefer the richness of dark brown sugar in my baked beans, but you can use either. You’ll use brown sugar mixed in the recipe and a little sprinkled on top. You can also use brown coconut sugar as a replacement for brown sugar for a lower glycemic option.
- Ketchup – Use 1/4 cup of ketchup in this recipe
- Yellow mustard – I have found that yellow mustard helps to round out the flavor in the baked beans.
Oven-Baked Beans
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- While the oven preheats, pour your navy beans into a medium stockpot set over medium heat.
- In a medium skillet, add diced bacon, onion, and garlic. Cook until the bacon is crisp and the onion is tender. Then, remove from the heat and add to the navy beans. Add Worcestershire sauce, molasses, brown sugar, ketchup, and yellow mustard and stir to combine well. Pour into the deep dish you plan to serve from or leave in a stockpot. Finally, top with the optional (but highly recommended!) bacon and sprinkle the top with brown sugar.
- Place into the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Increase temperature to 425º F for 10 minutes to crisp bacon. Remove from oven and allow to rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
Slow Cooker Baked Beans
- Add your navy beans to the slow cooker and set aside.
- In a medium skillet, cook your diced bacon, onion, and garlic until the bacon is crisp and the onion and garlic are tender. Add to the slow cooker. Add Worcestershire sauce, molasses, dark brown sugar, ketchup, and mustard. Stir to combine well.
- Cook on a low setting for 6-7 hours or on a high setting for 3-4 hours. If your baked beans are not as thick as you would like, remove the lid to the slow cooker about 30 to 45 minutes before serving and allow them to continue cooking until thickened. If too thick, you can stir in water a few tablespoons at a time until it reaches the desired thickness.
Optional: top with baked bacon strips before serving.
Storage Tips
To make ahead. Cook and allow to cool. Wrap well or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
To freeze. Cook and allow to cool completely. Store in an airtight freezer-safe container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat and serve.
So, here’s my Southern Baked Beans recipe. Get ready to make it often!
Southern Baked Beans Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 (16-ounce cans) navy beans
- 3 strips bacon, diced
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ medium sweet onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup unsulphured molasses
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
For the Top of Baked Beans (optional):
- 2 slices bacon, halved
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325º F.
- Pour navy beans into medium stockpot.
- In a medium skillet, add diced bacon, onion, and garlic. Cook until bacon is crisp and onion is tender. Remove from heat and add to navy beans.
- Add Worcestershire sauce, molasses, brown sugar, ketchup, and yellow mustard. Stir to combine well. Pour into deep dish you plan to serve from or leave in stockpot. Top with bacon and sprinkle top with brown sugar.
- Place in oven and bake 45 minutes. Increase temperature to 425º F for 10 minutes to crisp bacon. Remove from oven and allow to rest about 5 minutes before serving.
Slow Cooker Baked Beans
- Add navy beans to a slow cooker.
- Cook bacon, onion, and garlic in a medium skillet until the bacon is crisp and the onion and garlic are tender. Add to the navy beans in the slow cooker.
- Add Worcestershire sauce, molasses, brown sugar, ketchup, and yellow mustard. Stir to combine well.
- Cook on LOW setting for 6 to 7 hours or HIGH setting for 3 to 4 hours. If the baked beans are too thin, remove the lid to the slow cooker for the last 30 to 45 minutes of cook time until the beans have thickened to desired consistency. If too thick, stir in water a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the desired consistency. Top with optional baked bacon for serving.
Notes
Store baked beans in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Freezer Friendly:
Allow the baked beans to cool. Store in a freezer-safe, airtight container for up to 3 months. To reheat, allow to thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then reheat in a 350ºF oven for 15 – 20 minutes until heated throughout. Vegetarian/ Vegan:
To make these baked beans vegetarian and vegan friendly, simply omit the bacon from the recipe as well as the optional topping.Â
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
From the Add a Pinch recipe archives. Originally published 2013.
Just tried them today and loved it! I discovered it helps to cook the bacon for a bit first before adding the onion and garlic .. Otherwise the onion is done before the bacon is crisp.
Thanks for the recipe!
Hahahah, I noticed the same thing
If you add a can of APPLE PIE Filling, Every one will ask, what is the great taste?????
I LOVE this idea 😀
I read all the reviews and wondered why some people said their beans turned out soupy. I have noticed canned beans vary from brand to brand on the bean to liquid ratio. Some brands seem to have a lot more liquid than others. I use Bush’s navy beans and the recipe is perfect.
Do you need to drain the beans?
Should the beans be drained of all liquid?
Hi Maggie,
The brand I use is very thick and does not have extra liquid, but if yours has a lot of added liquid you may want to drain. Thanks!
So are you supposed to use the whole can of navy beans without draining and rinsing them?
When you bake the beans do you cover them
I don’t cover them, Jann. I just top with bacon and brown sugar and place in the oven.
Hi, if I use soaked beans, do I need to cook in stove top for a while before baking them?
definitely
If I use a cast iron skillet to cook bacon, could I just add other ingredients to skillet and use it in oven ?
Shoulda read the comments! It seemed like I needed to just have soaked the beans. ? I’ve cooked kidneys in a little water, chili seasonings and onion, garlic & pepper. How would I do these?
Just wanted to let you know that this has become my go-to recipe for homemade baked beans. So good! Thanks for the recipe!
OUTSTANDING!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Made these tonight and doubled. Didn’t have bacon, so used leftover ham and just added a little oil so it didn’t burn. Used great northern beans (drained) from Sams 2-48 ounce jars. Tripled the molasses and only 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Wanted a little more zip so added 1/2 cup of Open Pit and 1 tsp. of seasoning salt. Didn’t change anything else. I have never made baked beans before and probably shouldn’t have tweaked so much, but know how I wanted them to taste. I searched for 1/2 hour on google and out of all the places I looked, this was the flavors I wanted. Might try a dash of liquid smoke next time. but we’ll see. Simply delicious! Thank you, Robyn!
hmmmm….I have a 2nd cousin named Robyn Stone, originally from SC. I haven’t seen her in 40 years. …..just came across your website, I don’t think you are her, but hello anyway. Stone would have been her maiden name.
I’m in Montana
So great to meet you!
Now cut up a pkg of hot dogs 1/2″ ± thick to stir into beans and you have my version of Beanie Weenies.
Should I drain the beans? What’s the best option?
I’ve been wondering about whether to drain and rinse the beans myself. I drained and rinsed and it turned out dry. Flavor was great, but I guess next time I’ll not drain.