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Homemade Slow Cooker Baked Beans are a tasty and inexpensive dinner menu addition. Skip canned baked beans and try this DIY side dish that’s infused with bacon.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Navy beans: Baked Beans are traditionally made with navy beans, but you can use small white beans or super-size with great northern beans. To soak beans overnight, add 4 quarts water to a large bowl and add 1 pound of rinsed beans. Soak at least 8 hours. To quick-soak beans, add 1 pound of rinsed beans to a large saucepan and cover with 3 inches of water. Bring to a boil. Boil rapidly for 5 minutes, then remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 1 hour.
- Molasses: This robust, sweet syrup accentuates the sweetness of the brown sugar (brown sugar is a mixture of cane sugar and molasses). I love the flavor that results from using brown sugar and molasses in a 2:1 ratio.
Step-by-step instructions
- Drain soaked beans well. In small bowl, whisk together ketchup, brown sugar, and molasses.
- In the bottom of a slow cooker, add beans, water, bacon, celery, onion, and bay leaf. Add sauce and stir to combine.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 to 6 hours or LOW for 8 to 10 hours, or until beans are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This Slow Cooker Baked Beans recipe makes 12 generous side dish servings.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: Baked beans can be made up to 3 days in advance. Reheat over the stove until an internal thermometer reaches 165 degrees.
- Oven-baked beans: Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. In the bottom of a Dutch oven or large saucepan, add all ingredients except salt and pepper and stir to combine. Cover and and bake, stirring every hour, until the beans are tender, about 4 to 5 hours.
- Ham bone: Instead of bacon, add a meaty ham bone and 1 cup chopped leftover ham to your slow cooker. Remove the ham bone before serving.
- Fun flavors: For a different flavor, add 4 cloves minced garlic or 1 tablespoon brown mustard to the slow cooker. Or, substitute half of the ketchup for your favorite barbecue sauce.
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Slow Cooker Baked Beans
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried navy beans picked over and soaked overnight (see note 1)
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons molasses (see note 2)
- 3 cups water
- 1/2 pound bacon chopped
- 1 cup celery diced
- 1 cup onion diced
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Drain beans well. In small bowl, whisk together ketchup, brown sugar, and molasses. In the bottom of a slow cooker, add beans, water, bacon, celery, onion, and bay leaf. Add sauce and stir to combine.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 to 6 hours or LOW for 8 to 10 hours, or until beans are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Navy beans: Baked Beans are traditionally made with navy beans, but you can use small white beans or super-size with great northern beans. To soak beans overnight, add 4 quarts water to a large bowl and add 1 pound of rinsed beans. Soak at least 8 hours. To quick-soak beans, add 1 pound of rinsed beans to a large saucepan and cover with 3 inches of water. Bring to a boil. Boil rapidly for 5 minutes, then remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 1 hour.
- Molasses: This robust, sweet syrup accentuates the sweetness of the brown sugar (brown sugar is a mixture of cane sugar and molasses). I love the flavor that results from using brown sugar and molasses in a 2:1 ratio.
- Yield: This Slow Cooker Baked Beans recipe makes 12 generous side dish servings.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: Baked beans can be made up to 3 days in advance. Reheat over the stove until an internal thermometer reaches 165 degrees.
- Oven-baked beans: Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. In the bottom of a Dutch oven or large saucepan, add all ingredients except salt and pepper and stir to combine. Cover and and bake, stirring every hour, until the beans are tender, about 4 to 5 hours.
- Ham bone: Instead of bacon, add a meaty ham bone and 1 cup chopped leftover ham to your slow cooker. Remove the ham bone before serving.
- Fun flavors: For a different flavor, add 4 cloves minced garlic or 1 tablespoon brown mustard to the slow cooker. Or, substitute half of the ketchup for your favorite barbecue sauce.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
Worked out Perfectly!!!