Homemade Baked Beans

By
Molly Watson
Molly Watson
An award-winning food writer and cookbook author, Molly Watson has created more than 1,000 recipes focused on local, seasonal ingredients.
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Updated on 08/31/21
Homemade baked beans recipe

The Spruce
Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 6 hrs
Soaking Time: 8 hrs
Total: 14 hrs 20 mins
Servings: 8 servings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
263 Calories
12g Fat
34g Carbs
6g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 263
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 12g 15%
Saturated Fat 4g 21%
Cholesterol 12mg 4%
Sodium 656mg 29%
Total Carbohydrate 34g 12%
Dietary Fiber 6g 22%
Total Sugars 19g
Protein 6g
Vitamin C 1mg 6%
Calcium 82mg 6%
Iron 2mg 12%
Potassium 469mg 10%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

There is a definite difference between homemade baked beans and those out of a can. When you make them from scratch, the beans maintain more of their texture and flavor, the notes of good-quality molasses can be detected.

Note that using full-flavored molasses and dark brown sugar will yield stronger, more deeply flavored baked beans. Feel free to play a bit with the amount of molasses and brown sugar you add.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound navy beans, or Great Northern beans

  • 1/4 pound salt pork, or bacon

  • 1 onion

  • 1/3 cup molasses

  • 1/3 cup brown sugar

  • 1 tablespoon dry ground mustard

  • 3 cups boiling water

  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Gather the ingredients
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  2. Rinse the beans and pick them over, removing any truly shriveled specimens or bits of rock or grit. Put the beans in a large bowl and cover them with cool water. Let them soak overnight.

    Rinse the beans
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  3. Preheat an oven to 250 F or get out a slow cooker and set it to high.

  4. Chop the salt pork or bacon and put half of it in the bottom of a Dutch oven, heavy pot, or the slow cooker.

    Chop the salt pork and put in a pan.
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  5. Drain the beans and put half of them on top of the bacon.

    Drain the beans and place on top of bacon.
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  6. Peel and chop the onion and put it on top of the beans.

    Peel and chop the onions and place on top of beans.
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  7. Add the remaining beans and top of them with the remaining salt pork or bacon.

    Add remaining beans and bacon.
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  8. In a medium bowl or large measuring cup, combine the molasses, brown sugar, and mustard with 3 cups boiling water. Stir to dissolve the sugar and mustard.

    Combine molasses and water in a bowl.
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  9. Pour the mixture over the beans.

    Combine mixture over beans
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  10. Cover the pot or slow cooker and cook the beans for 4 hours. Check on them; if the beans are tender to the bite, stir in the salt.

    Add salt to the pot.
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  11. Cover again and cook for another 2 hours, removing the lid after the first hour (you can leave the lid on if you prefer soupier beans). The beans should be tender and the flavors fully blended.

    Pot full of cooked beans.
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  12. You can serve the beans right away, but something even more magical happens to their flavor if you let them cool and reheat them the next day.