Slow Cooker Baked Beans

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.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 6

Total Time 6 10

Servings servings (1/2 cup each)

Calories 273kcal

Author Meggan Hill

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

US Customary - Metric

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.

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