🫘 Southern Homemade Baked Beans with Bacon
🧾 Ingredients
For the Baked Beans:
4 cups cooked white beans (Great Northern or navy beans), or canned (drained & rinsed)
1 lb (450 g) bacon, chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Sauce:
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup ketchup
¼ cup molasses
2 tbsp yellow mustard
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp salt (adjust to taste)
½–1 cup bean cooking liquid or water
👨🍳 Instructions
Preheat oven
Set to 175°C (350°F).
Cook the bacon
In a large skillet, cook chopped bacon until crispy.
Remove bacon and set aside, leaving about 2 tbsp of grease in the pan.
Sauté aromatics
Add chopped onion to the bacon grease and cook until soft (about 5 minutes).
Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Make the sauce
Add brown sugar, ketchup, molasses, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, salt, and pepper.
Stir well, then add bean liquid or water to loosen the sauce.
Combine everything
In a large baking dish or Dutch oven, mix beans, cooked bacon, and sauce mixture.
Bake low & slow
Cover and bake for 45 minutes.
Uncover and bake another 30–45 minutes until thick, bubbly, and caramelized on top.
Rest & serve
Let sit 10 minutes before serving—the sauce thickens as it cools.
🌟 Tips
For extra flavor, add a splash of apple cider vinegar or a dash of hot sauce
Want it sweeter? Add a bit more brown sugar
Want it smoky? Use smoked bacon or add a drop of liquid smoke
Southern Homemade Baked Beans
