Easy, hearty and delicious pork and beans, made with pork shoulder, cooked low and slow with beans and all in a baked bean-like sauce. This pork and beans recipe can be cooked in the oven or a slow cooker or crockpot.
This pork and beans recipe starts with canned beans, so there is no need to soak and pre-cook beans. The delicious beans are then cooked in a bold-flavoured baked bean sauce, together with the pork shoulder roast. This is a great dish for getting all the great flavours of pork and beans without all the work.
While this dish does need some time in the oven, the hands-on time is a short 10 minutes, so once it’s in the oven, you just need to check on it a couple of times. It’s a wonderful dish to cook on the weekend, when you can enjoy the lovely smells through the house. And for those who love to use their slow cooker, I’ve included a slow-cooker version here as well.
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Pork shoulder roast – look for a boneless pork shoulder roast, if you can. One with a small bone is fine, too. It doesn’t matter if it’s wrapped in string or not. I like a pork shoulder roast that has good fat marbling, but not excessive fat.
Beans – you’ll need two 19 oz (560ml) cans of pinto beans. You could substitute canned navy beans, if you like. Be sure to drain and rinse the beans well before using.
How to make pork and beans
You can make this pork and beans recipe in the oven in a Dutch oven or in a slow cooker. Here I am showing the oven method, which is my preferred method. This is simply a visual summary of the steps to make this recipe. Always refer to the complete instructions for both methods in the Recipe Card below.
- Mix together the sauce ingredients and set aside.
- Brown the pork should in a Dutch oven, browning it well on all sides. Remove the pork to a plate.
- Add the onion to the pot and cook until softened.
- Return the pork to the pot.
- Add the sauce to the pot. Cover the pot and place into the oven.
- Cook, covered, until the pork is fall-apart tender. Remove the pork to a plate.
- Add the beans to the pot.
- Return the pot to the oven to cook uncovered until the sauce reduces and thickens.
Recipe tips!
- While I’ve provided a slow cooker version of this recipe, I do prefer the oven method, personally. I just love the way the pork and sauce cooks up in the oven. Unless you really want to do a slow cooker meal, go for the oven method.
- I’ve found that pork shoulders can give off varying amounts of liquid as they cook, but I’ve tried to keep the added liquid to a minimum, to keep from watering down the sauce too much. So that said, for the oven method, keep an eye on the liquid level and add additional water if you feel it’s needed. If the liquid is getting syrupy at any time, definitely add some water. For the slow-cooker version, I’ve specified just adding some water at the start, so you don’t have to check it as regularly.
- Do taste your sauce at the end of cooking. As there is salt in the beans and in the sauce ingredients, you may not need to add additional salt … or you may. Taste and add some if necessary.
- Depending on the cut of pork you started with, you may have some fat on the top of the dish when it’s finished cooking. You can spoon it off and discard (or use the edge of a paper towel and let it wick up onto the towel). Another option, if you are making ahead, is to simply refrigerate it. Once cooled, the fat will solidify on the top and you can easily spoon it off and discard before re-heating.
Top tip
All canned beans are not created equal. For recipes like this, where beans are the star of the pot, buy a good-quality, name-brand canned bean. Off-brand or store-brand beans can sometimes be tough and chewy, which can make a huge difference in a dish like this one. So don’t take the chance, when making this bean-rich dish.
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email and I’ll send it to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Seasons and Suppers.
You can unsubscribe at any time.
Get the Recipe: Pork and Beans
Ingredients
- 2 lb pork shoulder roast, boneless recommended
- Cooking oil
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 cup onion, diced
- 2 19 oz canned pinto beans, drained and rinsed or substitute canned navy beans
Sauce:
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup fancy molasses, not cooking molasses or blackstrap molasses
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Prepare the pork by removing any string around the roast. Cut away any large bits of fat around the outside of the roast and discard. Season pork with a bit of salt and pepper.
- Prepare the sauce by combining all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and stirring well to combine. Set aside.
- For the oven method, preheat the oven to 350F. (not fan-assisted)
- Heat the cooking oil in a large Dutch oven (for the oven method) or heavy skillet (for the slow cooker method) on the stovetop over medium heat. Brown the pork well on all sides, then remove to a plate. If there is a lot of fat/liquid in the pot, remove and discard all but 1 Tablespoon of the fat. Add the onion to the pan and cook, stirring, until softened. Proceed with the instructions below, depending on your preferred cooking method.
- Tip! I've found that pork shoulders can give off varying amounts of liquid as they cook, but I've tried to keep the added liquid to a minimum, to keep from watering down the sauce too much. So that said, for the oven method, keep an eye on the liquid level and add additional water at any time if you feel it is getting low (if it's getting syrupy at any time, definitely add some water).
Oven Method:
- Return pork to the pot with the onions (along with any juices on the plate). Pour the sauce over-top of the meat. Place the lid on the Dutch oven and place in the preheated oven. Set the timer for 45 minutes.
- After 45 minutes of cooking, remove the pot from the oven and flip the meat over. Add 1/4 cup water to the pot. Replace the lid and place the pot back into the oven for another 45 minutes. Remove the pot again and flip the pork. Again, add 1/4 cup water to the pot. Replace the lid and return to the oven for an additional 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and check the pork. If it will split apart easily with a fork, it's time to add the beans. If not, cover and return to the oven for an additional 15-30 minutes or until the pork is falling apart.
- Remove the pork to a plate (it may fall apart into large chunks, but that’s ok).
- Add the drained and rinsed canned beans to the pot with the pork. Stir to combine the beans with the sauce. If you feel a little more liquid is needed, add a bit more water to the pot. Return the chunks of pork to the pot.
- Return the pot to the oven, UNCOVERED, and bake for an additional 30-45 minutes, or a bit longer, if you'd like to really thicken it up.
Slow Cooker Method:
- Spoon the softened onions into the slow cooker and place the seared pork and any juices. Pour prepared sauce over-top of the pork. Add 1/2 cup water to the pot. Cover and cook on low for 6 – 7 hours on LOW. If you like, you can flip the pork part way through cooking. Cook the pork to the point that it easily falls apart when pulled with a fork. At that point, remove the pork to a plate (it may fall apart into large chunks, but that's ok).
- Add the drained and rinsed canned beans to the pot with the sauce. Stir to combine. If you feel a little more liquid is needed, add a splash of water. Return the pork to the cooker. Continue cooking in the slow-cooker, UNCOVERED, until the sauce thickens, about 30 minutes more.
- For both the oven and slow cooker methods, if you feel you'd like to thicken the sauce a touch, mix together a slurry of 1 Tablespoon cornstarch with 2 Tablespoons water. Add to the sauce, a bit at a time, stirring and cooking, until the desired thickness is reached.
- Taste the sauce and add additional salt and pepper, as needed.
Notes
- While I’ve provided a slow cooker version of this recipe, I do prefer the oven method, personally. I just love the way the pork and sauce cooks up in the oven. Unless you really want to do a slow cooker meal, go for the oven method.
- Do taste your sauce at the end of cooking. As there is salt in the beans and in the sauce ingredients, you may not need to add additional salt … or you may. Taste and add some if necessary.
- Depending on the cut of pork you started with, you may have some fat on the top of the dish when it’s finished cooking. You can spoon it off and discard it (or use the edge of a paper towel and let it wick up onto the towel). Another option, if you are making ahead, is to simply refrigerate it. Once cooled, the fat will solidify on the top and you can easily spoon it off and discard it before re-heating.
Recipe was inspired by an Ali Slagle (NYT) recipe. I have changed up the sauce and cooking method.
More Baked Beans to Love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Do you have a version for an instapot?
Hi Annette and no sorry I don’t. I don’t have an instant pot anymore to test with.
Absolutely delicious. I doubled the recipe, used mostly pinto and white beans and a hit of black beans to round out the appropriate amount. I added some bbq sauce (maybe a 1/2 cup, not much and increased the amount of molasses to get the flavour I prefer. I did the oven method. The pork was so tender and flavourful. This will be on the regular rotation.
Thanks as always for sharing such wonderful recipes.
So glad to hear, Cindy :) Thanks so much!
Very good and easy to make. Actually used left-over pork roast. Added some liquid smoke.
Glad you enjoyed it, Roger and a great use for left-over pork roast! Thanks :)
This was excellent! I took two days making this as I ran short on time. Browned the pork shoulder roast on all sides. The next day, added it to the crock pot with the sauce, cooked all day and it was the falling-apart-shredded-pork. Delicious!
So glad you enjoyed it, Mary! Thanks so much :)
Just curious if you don’t have molasses, would there be a substitution to use?
Hi Julie, I suspect you could use some combination of dark corn syrup and brown sugar, though I’m not sure the exact amount or proportions. Google might offer some advice for you on this.
Making this for the first time in the crock pot, it smells fantastic! Can’t wait to try it. Used a tomato sauce base and added some ketchup and worchestershire sauce because we aren’t fans of really sweet beans, thanks for the idea!
Enjoy Deb! Thanks so much :)
This was delicious, made exactly as written, and used the oven method, this one is going in my saved list for sure, I baked a wonderful no knead crusty bread to go with it, 😋
So glad to hear, Karen :) Thanks so much!
May I ask what brand of fancy molasses you used? I’m only seeing Grandmas Molasses Original where I shop, can I use that or would it be better to order fancy molasses? Thanks, looks delicious!
Hi Maria, I generally use Crosby’s, but I’m pretty sure that Grandmas is “Fancy” Molasses, so you’ll be fine picking that one up :)
Thank you for this recipe! I recently made this & as we were finishing our bowls, the boyfriend was already asking when I can make it again. Simple ingredients yet SO flavorful. I made it in oven last time but in the SoCal heat, will be trying slow cooker method next. Again, thanks!
So glad to hear, Lina :) Thanks!
Hi Jennifer, I only have Brer Rabbit Molasses. I think it’s a black strap molasses. I know it has is a more bitter flavor…. should I increase the brown sugar? Or do I really need the fancy molasses.
Hi Amy, I think you could try it if you are ok with the stronger molasses taste. I think I would go the other way though and reduce the molasses amount instead of increasing the sugar. I imagine you should probably reduce the molasses amount by 1/2 or maybe even 1/3 for blackstrap.