Get the Recipe: Easy BBQ Baked Beans
Oven‑baked BBQ beans made with canned navy beans, smoky bacon, brown sugar, molasses and BBQ sauce for a rich, saucy side, perfect for Summer BBQs or potlucks.
Ingredients
- 28 oz canned navy beans, two 14oz cans, drained and rinsed *see Note 1 below
- 1/2 cup onion, diced
- 2 strips bacon, diced and partially cooked *see Note 2 below
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce, your favourite store bought or homemade
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dry powdered mustard, or 1 Tablespoon yellow prepared mustard
- 2 Tablespoons Fancy molasses
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F. (regular bake setting/not fan assisted)
- Partially cook the 2 strips bacon (diced and partially cooked *see Note 2 below) by dicing and cooking in a hot skillet on the stovetop, just until some of the fat cooks off and the bacon begins to brown. Carefully spoon the bacon out onto paper towels, leaving the fat behind in the skillet. Set aside.
- Drain the 28 oz canned navy beans (two 14oz cans, drained and rinsed *see Note 1 below) and rinse well. Add to a large bowl, together with the 1/2 cup onion (diced) and 1/2 cup brown sugar (loosely packed).
- In a small bowl or measuring cup, make the sauce by combining the 1/2 cup BBQ sauce (your favourite store bought or homemade), 1/2 cup ketchup, 1 1/2 teaspoons dry powdered mustard (or 1 Tablespoon yellow prepared mustard) and 2 Tablespoons Fancy molasses. Stir to combine. Add to the bowl with the beans and stir to combine. Add the 1/2 cup chicken broth and the bacon and stir to mix well.
- Pour the bean mixture into a small casserole dish (mine shown here is 5x10 inches. Cover the dish with foil.
- Bake in preheated oven, covered, for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the oven, remove the foil, stir and return to the oven to bake, uncovered, for a further 30-40 minutes, or until thickened, bubbly and darkened. Let the beans stand 5-10 minutes before serving, to allow the sauce to set up.
- You can bake these beans up to 24 hours ahead. Allow to cool slightly, then wrap tightly and refrigerate. Reheat, covered, in a 350F oven until warmed through, about 20 minutes or microwave to rewarm.
The beans are ready when the sauce is thick, glossy, and clings to the beans; if they look dry, add a splash of broth and bake 10 more minutes.
Notes
Note 1: To keep your baked beans nice and saucy, aim for about 28 oz total canned beans. If your cans are larger, you can either hold back some of the beans (and save them for another use) or increase all of the sauce ingredients by about 50% to keep the bean‑to‑sauce ratio in order.
Note 2: I like to pre-cook the bacon, simply to cook off some of the fat (so I don't get too much added to the beans as they cook that might pool on top). That is really just my preference. You can safely add uncooked, diced bacon to the beans, and the bacon will cook in the beans if you prefer. You could also lay a couple of strips over the top of the beans, as an option.
Be sure to read the notes above this Recipe Card for more tips, substitution suggestions and step-by-step photos that you might find helpful.
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 341kcal, Carbohydrates: 67g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 5mg, Sodium: 1082mg, Potassium: 669mg, Fiber: 7g, Sugar: 36g, Vitamin A: 159IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 107mg, Iron: 3mg
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