Baked beans are the perfect side dish for a summer bbq, family potluck, or weeknight dinner. I love that this recipe uses a sauce based on stewed tomatoes instead of ketchup. Instead of the usual 1/2 cup or more of brown sugar, it only calls for 2 tablespoons, and the molasses is enough to add a little sweetness and richness, but it’s not overpowering. I also love that you can throw everything together a few days ahead of time and then pop it in the oven an hour before you need it or, if it works better for you, you can even cook this dish in a slow cooker. Try these baked beans for your next backyard bbq!
Ingredient Notes
- Great Northern Beans
- Navy Beans
- Baby Butter Beans
- Pinto Beans
- Stewed Tomatoes – One unique thing about this recipe is that the base of the sauce is stewed tomatoes, instead of super sweet ketchup like many baked bean recipes.
- Molasses – Must a touch of molasses adds some sweetness and depth t the flavors.
- Light Brown Sugar – Again, just a little sweetness is added with a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar.
- Yellow Mustard – This recipe calls for yellow mustard, but a nice coarse grain mustard would probably work just as well in a pinch.
- Tabasco Sauce – Or something similar. Any hot sauce will do. This adds a little something to the sauce without being spicy.
- Bacon – Everything is better with bacon and these beans are no exception!
- Onion – The onion here gets cooked up in the bacon drippings to add that caramelized, smoky flavor.
How to Make Not-Too-Sweet Baked Beans
- Fry up a few slices of bacon, cook your onions in the bacon drippings, and rinse and drain your beans.
- Place beans in an oven-safe dish or a crockpot. Place the tomatoes in the jar of your blender and pulse a few times. Add them to the beans, along with the molasses, mustard, brown sugar, and salt
- Add the cooked onions and bacon.
- Cook the beans in either in the oven or the crockpot, until the flavors combine and your house smells amazing. It’s perfect for any type of festivity any time throughout the year, but there is something about a big pan of baked beans at a cookout that just fits, you know?
Storing and Other Tips
- For cooked beans or leftovers, store tightly covered in the fridge and use within 4 or 5 days. They also freeze well, if you want to freeze in individual portions for later use.
- These baked beans can be in the oven or the crock pot. The oven is the faster cooking method, but the crock pot is nice for keeping the beans warm is serving a crowd. You could always bake them in the oven and then transfer to the slow cooker for serving as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make these with different beans?
Absolutely. Part of the charm of this recipe is the fact that it contains multiple types of beans, but you don’t have to use the exact combination listed. Don’t like butter beans? No problem! Toss some black beans in there. It will be delicious with whatever varieties you choose.
Can I make these ahead of time?
These baked beans are perfect for making ahead! Cook your bacon and sauté your onions in the drippings. Pulse your tomatoes in the blender, then mix everything together. You can store them, tightly covered, in the fridge like this until ready to cook.
Not-Too-Sweet Baked Beans
These savory baked beans are cooked in a stewed tomato-based sauce and contain just a touch of molasses and brown sugar for sweetness.
Servings people
Equipment
- Slow Cooker optional
Ingredients
- 1 15 ½- ounce can Great Northern beans
- 1 15 ½- ounce can navy beans
- 1 15 ½- ounce can baby butter beans
- 1 15 ½- ounce can pinto beans
- 2 14 -½ ounce cans stewed tomatoes
- ⅓ cup molasses
- 2 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon prepared mustard
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco or other hot sauce
- 6 ounces bacon ½ of an average-sized package, divided
- 1 medium onion thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Reserving two slices of bacon, cook the remaining bacon in a large skillet. While it’s cooking, place all beans in a colander and rinse and drain. Transfer to a large baking dish.
- Pulse the tomatoes in a blender or food processor about 5-6 times or until they are breaking down but not smooth. Pour over beans. Add molasses, brown sugar, mustard, salt, and pepper.
- When the bacon has cooked, remove bacon from the pan and cook the onions in the bacon drippings, stirring frequently. While the onions are cooking, crumble the cooked bacon over the beans. Add onions and combine all the ingredients well. Cut remaining slices of bacon into 1″ pieces and place over the beans.
- Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Allow to stand for 5 minutes and then serve.
SLOW COOKER INSTRUCTIONS
- Follow the instructions for cooking in the oven, except place the ingredients in the crock of a slow cooker instead of baking dish. Cook on low for 4 hours or high for 2 hours.
Notes
- For cooked beans or leftovers, store tightly covered in the fridge and use within 4 or 5 days. They also freeze well, if you want to freeze in individual portions for later use.
- These baked beans can be in the oven or the crock pot. The oven is the faster cooking method, but the crock pot is nice for keeping the beans warm is serving a crowd. You could always bake them in the oven and then transfer to the slow cooker for serving as well.
- Part of the charm of this recipe is the fact that it contains multiple types of beans, but you don’t have to use the exact combination listed. Don’t like butter beans? No problem! Toss some black beans in there. It will be delicious with whatever varieties you choose.
- Don’t skip rinsing! This step is vital, as it both improves the flavor and texture of this dish.
Nutrition
Calories: 322kcal, Carbohydrates: 49g, Protein: 16g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.02g, Cholesterol: 11mg, Sodium: 788mg, Potassium: 936mg, Fiber: 11g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 89IU, Vitamin C: 6mg, Calcium: 117mg, Iron: 5mg
Calories: 322kcal
Cost: $10
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Questions & Reviews
They were a hit at Mother’s Day lunch. My husband says we won’t ever have baked beans with pork ‘n’ beans again.
I haven’t made these yet but I’m excited to see a not so sweet bean recipe. That’s my biggest complaint about baked beans.
After searching for a baked bean recipe that would meet a very restrictive diet due to numerous food allergies (it is almost impossible to find a recipe that does not use ketchup), we stumbled upon “Our best bites” website and their “Not So Sweet Baked Beans” recipe. To our surprise, this recipe tasted much better than any pre-made baked beans we ever ordered from a store or restaurant! They were relatively simple to make, using our slow cooker, and tasted wonderful! No one suffered from allergic reactions and we did not miss any of the artificial ingredients typically included. Thank you so much for allowing us to enjoy one of our favorite side dishes again!
Oh yay!!!! I’m so happy to hear all these things!!
My husband & I don’t care for traditional baked beans because they are so sweet. I found these & they were great. I chose to dice the onion instead of slicing it & added about 1/2 Tbs cornstarch stirred into the entire mixture before baking. I baked them almost 2 hrs which got them a consistency that I wanted. We liked this recipe so much that I’ve made them 3x since summer. The 1st time was for a group, the other times just for us. Tyty
This was really good. I was fed up with too-sweet baked beans. These were really delicious and tasted like baked beans without being so ooey-gooey sweet. Thanks for the recipe.
Yay!!!! So glad you liked them!! Thanks for letting us know!
My grandma used to make these for every family gathering, including Christmas Eve. So these beans remind me of Christmas! I’m glad to have a recipe and can’t wait to try it!
I have resesrching bsked Lima Bean recipes for awhile now and this is the closest recipe yet I hsvr found. I was going to go with tomato sauce but stewed tomatoes sounds much better. There is only one place in LA that serves lima beans this way and they are great at lunch with a glass of fresh brewed ice tea.
I am going to use dried lima beans and soak them over night…
Im having a problem converting the dried measurement of beans to 4-15 1/2oz. Cans…but I’m going to use one bag of beans and this will go along side the Easter ham, carrots and brussel sprouts.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. Im not a big fan of store bought baked beans.
Canned beans are so salty. It would have been a better dish using soaked natural beans without the hidden salt.
True, but you can always use no-salt-added beans as well.
Mine came out runny toooo! Maybe we were supposed to drain the canned tomatos? I just dumped the whole can in the blender.
Hi! I made these today for a get together and they were delicious. I prepped it all the night before and then stuck it in the oven in the afternoon. My husband, friends, and I enjoyed it. The only thing though is that they came out runny. Would you know why that is?