Homemade Baked Beans That’ll Steal the Cookout
Homemade baked beans made with canned pork and beans, bacon, bell pepper, onion, and a sweet-tangy sauce of barbecue sauce, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, and ground mustard. Bakes in 45 minutes. Perfect for Memorial Day, summer cookouts, and anytime you need a crowd-pleasing side dish. Six pantry ingredients turn three cans of beans into the side everyone asks about.
A Cookout Worth Coming Home For
Hi, I’m Mary Katherine, and I’m so glad you’re here today. With Memorial Day right around the corner and barbecue season finally here, I wanted to share one of those recipes that earns its keep every single summer — homemade baked beans.
Now, I know you can pop open a can of baked beans and call it done. I’m not going to judge you for that — we’ve all done it. But once you taste what happens when you doctor up a few cans of plain pork and beans with bacon, onion, bell pepper, and a homemade sauce, I think you’ll agree there’s just no comparison. The canned version starts to taste flat after you’ve had the real thing.
What I love about this recipe is how forgiving it is. It uses canned pork and beans as the starting point, so you’re not soaking dried beans overnight or babysitting a pot for hours. The flavor comes from cooking the bacon first, sautéing the veggies in that bacon grease, and stirring in a sauce that hits all the right notes — sweet, tangy, a little smoky. It’s not overly sweet, which I love, but if you want it sweeter, I’ll tell you exactly how to adjust it.
This is the kind of dish that disappears at a barbecue. People ask for the recipe. Then they make it themselves the next weekend. So if you’re putting together a Memorial Day spread or planning any cookout this summer, save this one. You’re going to be making it all season long.
Homemade Baked Beans
Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 50 minutes (5 min on stovetop + 45 min in oven) Total time: About 1 hour 5 minutes Servings: 8–10 as a side
Ingredients
- 3 cans (15 oz each) pork and beans, mostly drained
- 4 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped (or 6–8 slices regular)
- 1/2 large yellow onion, diced
- 1/2 bell pepper, diced
- 1/3 cup barbecue sauce (Sweet Baby Ray’s is our favorite)
- About 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- About 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon ground (dry) mustard
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. I usually wait to turn the oven on until the bacon is almost done — that way it’s preheated right when we need it.
- Cook the bacon. Chop your bacon into bite-sized pieces and cook it right in a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat until it’s good and crispy. Pull it out onto a paper towel-lined plate to drain — but leave that bacon grease in the pan. That’s where so much of the flavor comes from.
- Sauté the veggies. While the bacon cooks, dice your onion and bell pepper. I love using my chopper for this — it makes very quick work of it. Add the veggies straight into the bacon grease over medium-low heat and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes until they soften up.
- Drain and add the beans. While the veggies cook, open your three cans of pork and beans. Drain off most of the liquid from the top — you don’t want too much liquid because we’re adding a flavorful sauce. Pour the beans right into the skillet with the veggies.
- Stir in half the bacon. Take about half of your cooked bacon and stir it into the beans. We’ll save the rest to sprinkle on top before baking.
- Add the sauce ingredients. Add the barbecue sauce, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, and ground mustard right into the skillet. Give it a good stir until everything is mixed evenly. Let it bubble for a minute or two so the flavors come together.
- Top with the rest of the bacon. Sprinkle the reserved bacon right over the top.
- Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes. The beans will still look juicy when you pull them out — don’t worry, that sauce thickens up as it cools. Give it a few minutes to rest before serving.
Tips & Variations
- Want it sweeter? Swap the maple syrup for an equal amount of brown sugar, or just add a touch more of whichever you’re using.
- No cast iron skillet? Cook the bacon and veggies in any oven-safe pan, or transfer everything to a baking dish before the oven step.
- Make it ahead. You can do all the stovetop work in the morning, then bake right before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What kind of beans should I use for homemade baked beans? This recipe uses canned pork and beans as the base — three 15-ounce cans. Pork and beans already have a light tomato-based sauce, which gives us a head start on flavor. You can use any brand, store-brand works just fine.
2. Can I make these baked beans without bacon? You can, but the bacon does a lot of work in this recipe. It adds smoky flavor, and we use the rendered grease to cook the veggies. If you’re skipping it, I’d add a little smoked paprika to the sauce and use about a tablespoon of butter or oil to sauté the onion and pepper.
3. Can I substitute brown sugar for maple syrup in baked beans? Yes, absolutely. Just swap an equal amount of brown sugar for the maple syrup — about 3 tablespoons. If you like sweeter baked beans, add a little more.
4. How long do you bake baked beans in the oven? At 350°F, 45 minutes is about right. The beans will still look juicy when they come out, but the sauce thickens as they cool. If you want them thicker, you can go another 10 to 15 minutes.
5. What’s the best barbecue sauce for baked beans? We use Sweet Baby Ray’s because we love the flavor, but honestly any barbecue sauce you have on hand will work. A sweeter sauce will give you sweeter beans; a tangier or smokier sauce will lean those directions. Use what you love.
6. Can I make these baked beans ahead of time? Yes. You can either do all the stovetop work earlier in the day and bake right before serving, or bake them fully, refrigerate, and reheat at 325°F covered with foil until warmed through, about 20 to 25 minutes.
7. How do you store leftover baked beans? Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop with a splash of water if they’ve thickened too much.
8. Can I freeze homemade baked beans? Yes. Let them cool completely, then transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat gently on the stovetop.
9. What main dishes go with baked beans? Baked beans pair with just about anything off the grill — burgers, hot dogs, ribs, grilled chicken, pulled pork sandwiches, or smoked brisket. They’re also wonderful with cornbread for a meal in themselves.
10. Can I make these baked beans in a slow cooker instead? You can. Cook the bacon and sauté the veggies on the stovetop first (you really want that flavor base), then transfer everything to a slow cooker with the beans, sauce ingredients, and remaining bacon. Cook on low for 3 to 4 hours.
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear how it turned out. And remember to go out today and find somebody who needs a little bit of kindness, and give them some of yours.
— Mary Katherine
Homemade Baked Beans
Ingredients
- 3 cans 15 oz each pork and beans, mostly drained
- 4 slices thick-cut bacon chopped (or 6–8 slices regular)
- 1/2 large yellow onion diced
- 1/2 bell pepper diced
- 1/3 cup barbecue sauce Sweet Baby Ray’s is our favorite
- About 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- About 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon ground dry mustard
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. I usually wait to turn the oven on until the bacon is almost done — that way it's preheated right when we need it.
- Cook the bacon. Chop your bacon into bite-sized pieces and cook it right in a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat until it's good and crispy. Pull it out onto a paper towel-lined plate to drain — but leave that bacon grease in the pan. That's where so much of the flavor comes from.
- Sauté the veggies. While the bacon cooks, dice your onion and bell pepper. I love using my chopper for this — it makes very quick work of it. Add the veggies straight into the bacon grease over medium-low heat and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes until they soften up.
- Drain and add the beans. While the veggies cook, open your three cans of pork and beans. Drain off most of the liquid from the top — you don't want too much liquid because we're adding a flavorful sauce. Pour the beans right into the skillet with the veggies.
- Stir in half the bacon. Take about half of your cooked bacon and stir it into the beans. We'll save the rest to sprinkle on top before baking.
- Add the sauce ingredients. Add the barbecue sauce, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, and ground mustard right into the skillet. Give it a good stir until everything is mixed evenly. Let it bubble for a minute or two so the flavors come together.
- Top with the rest of the bacon. Sprinkle the reserved bacon right over the top.
- Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes. The beans will still look juicy when you pull them out — don't worry, that sauce thickens up as it cools. Give it a few minutes to rest before serving.
Video
Notes
- Want it sweeter? Swap the maple syrup for an equal amount of brown sugar, or just add a touch more of whichever you’re using.
- No cast iron skillet? Cook the bacon and veggies in any oven-safe pan, or transfer everything to a baking dish before the oven step.
- Make it ahead. You can do all the stovetop work in the morning, then bake right before serving.
