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These World’s Best Baked Beans will be the last recipe you will ever make! This easy recipe is the perfect side to a potluck and a tried and true family recipe that your family will go crazy over!
A good side dish really makes a meal, in my opinion. Try out some more of my favorite sides that will complement just about anything! My favorites are these Creamy Parmesan Garlic Brussels Sprouts, this delicious Grilled Asparagus, and these yummy 1-Hour Dinner Rolls.
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy: This recipe uses simple ingredients but put them together and you have the best baked beans for any potluck!
- It Has Bacon: Are baked beans even worth eating if they don’t have bacon? The added ingredient fills the beans with flavor.
- Goes With Everything: These beans can be used as a side to so many different recipes! I especially love having them at all of my summer BBQs.
World’s Best Baked Beans Recipe
This recipe is a family tried and true favorite! It’s simple to make, and it’s packed full of flavor. Using canned pork and beans make it so easy and no one will ever know because the other ingredients make this recipe shine! The secret to these baked beans is the bacon and brown sugar and the incredible flavor that it adds. They are hearty and rich, and turn out perfect every single time! The best part is that once they’re baked, you can put it in a slow cooker to keep it warm. Keeping them in the slow cooker also makes it easy to transport.
Our family requests these beans for every occasion, especially in the summer! Serve these beans at your next BBQ alongside this pasta salad and some grilled chicken. You won’t regret it!
Ingredients in Baked Beans
These ingredients are simple and easy for the world’s best baked beans. Once you try this recipe you will always want to have these ingredients on hand! It’s a perfect side dish because it goes with everything! Check out the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact ingredient measurements.
- Bacon: The crispy bacon is the secret ingredient that really makes this recipe stand out.
- Green Pepper: I like to dice this up nice and small.
- White Onion: You can also use a yellow onion if that’s what you have.
- Pork and Beans: This part is so easy. You just open the cans and dump them in!
- Ketchup: This adds a deeper flavor to the beans.
- Brown Sugar: The brown sugar adds a sweet flavor that goes especially well with the bacon.
- Worcestershire Sauce: This savory and sweet sauce complements the other ingredients perfectly.
How to Make Easy Baked Beans
The world’s best baked beans take just over an hour to bake. Prepare the beans in the morning so that it’s ready to throw in the oven when you need them. This is easy because then you can bake them while you make the main course.
- Preheat Oven/ Cook the Bacon: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Fry up the bacon and crumble in pieces. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and discard some of the grease.
- Cook the Green Pepper and Onion: Returning to the same skillet, add the diced green pepper and onion to some of the bacon grease then cook until tender.
- Stir in the Remaining Ingredients: Stir in the cooked bacon, pork and beans, ketchup, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Place the beans in a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Cover and Bake: Cover the baking dish with foil or a lid and bake for 1 hour.
How do I Cook Baked Beans in a Slow Cooker or on the Stove?
Looking for more ways to cook the world’s best baked beans? Even though baking them is the preferred method, you can definitely cook them in a slow cooker or over the stove.
- In the Slow Cooker: Follow all of the steps in the recipe card but instead of combining the ingredients in a 9×13 pan, place them in a slow cooker. Cook the beans on low for 4-6 hours.
- On the Stove: Use a large Dutch oven over the stove to cook and combine all of your ingredients. Follow all of the steps in the recipe card, but instead of baking the beans, allow them to simmer on the stove in the Dutch oven for one hour.
How to Store Leftovers
These world’s best baked beans make even better leftovers! Once the beans have cooled then make sure to save the leftovers for another day. The flavors meld together and are incredible!
- In the Refrigerator: Once cooled, place the beans in an airtight container. Store the beans in your fridge for 3-4 days.
- To Reheat: When you are ready to eat them again, you can reheat them on low-medium heat on the stove until they are warmed through.
More Ideas For a Potluck
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World’s Best Baked Beans
Ingredients
- 1 pound bacon
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 1 white onion, diced
- 4 (15 ounce) cans pork and beans
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Fry up the bacon and crumble in pieces. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and discard some of the grease.
- Returning to the same skillet, add the diced green pepper and onion to some of the bacon grease and cook until tender.
- Stir in the cooked bacon, pork and beans, ketchup, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Place the beans in a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Cover the baking dish with foil or a lid and bake for 1 hour.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made just like the recipe and used a large can of Bushes beans (117 oz). Doubled all other ingredients including the onion, garlic and bell pepper which seemed like too much. Once caramelized in the bacon grease they didn’t seem greasy at all. I added 1/2 cup molasses, 2 Tbs vinegar, 2 Tbs Sriracha and 1/4 cup dejhon mustard too. Baked in a Dutch oven for hours on 250 degrees and they turned out marvelous. This was the perfect picnic dish.
Made just like the recipe and used a large can of Bushes beans (117 oz). Doubled all other ingredients including the onion, garlic and bell pepper which seemed like too much. Once caramelized in the bacon grease they didn’t seem greasy at all. I added 1/2 cup molasses, 2 Tbs vinegar and 1/4 cup dejhon mustard too. Baked in a Dutch oven for hours on 250 degrees and they turned out marvelous. This was the perfect picnic dish.
These were delicious. I used a can of diced green chilis for the green pepper. I added molasses, yellow and Dijon mustard and liquid smoke.
Approximately how many servings does this recipe yield?
About 8 to 10 people. Enjoy!
I do something like this but use light brown sugar no pork and beans. that pork is to much of a mystery. low sodium anything else. Turkey bacon instead. I got to at least try to stay healthy.
We have made this recipe several times and love it each time. I use three cans of bush beans and two cans of bean medley and keep the rest of the recipe the same. I put them in a large cast iron pot and cook them on our Traeger smoker bbq (with the lid off and stirring every so often) for about an hour. Love the flavour. Will make again and again! Thank you for this recipe!
What temp. On your traeger do you use?
We cook them at 350. Sorry for the delay. Just seeing your response now.
By green pepper, do you mean bell pepper? Or some other pepper?
It will be a green pepper not bell pepper. Although, a bell pepper would be great too! .
Hi, I’m from the UK and im unsure of what pork and beans are? Is it like canelinni beans? If so, are they canned? already in a sauce or just in water? Sorry for the ooodles of questions but I really like the sounds of this recipe and I’m desperate to try it out.
Pork and beans are a can of literally pork and beans mixed together in a pork and beans sauce.
Hello i am also from the UK and live in San Diego ! you could use Heinz beans I am sure that would work as well as the pork and beans ,I made the beans yesterday and cut the recipe in half as there are only two of us ,The beans came out great ,probably the best beans I ever tasted ,I intend to makes the beans on a regular basis .Easy to make ,😀
Can I prep this the day before and bake it the next day? We are having guests and I’d like to get as much done the day prior so it’s just ready to pop in the oven! Thank you!
Yes, that sounds great! That is a great idea! Enjoy your guests!
using 6 cans o beans, how many are we cooking for. the liquid smoke, wonderful idear.
This is a great recipe. I added a bit of liquid smoke and it gave a nice little added flavor.
These Baked Beans are the best that I had! Even better than my mom’s baked beans!!!! Thank you for the recipe. This will be our tried and true go-to recipe any time of year! Not too sweet not to sour, they are just right. Oh and don’t question the pound of bacon. I thought it was going to be too much but it wasn’t . Thank you again Alyssa!
That is great to hear! Thank you so much for sharing! XOXO
This recipe sounds like my mom’s baked bean recipe and hers spoiled me for any other baked beans. I will try it and see if it truly measures up (which I really expect it will). I will let you know how it turns out. Thanks.
Have you ever used bush’s Baked beans? For some reason the pork and beans turns me off.
Thanks!
Me toooo….
You make mention of Bush’s Baked Beans.If you don’t like the pork then I would guess that you are making reference to Bush’s Vegan Baked Beans. However, I hope that you realize that the flavor of any meat comes from the fat it contains. Otherwise, it will be like eating paper unless you add outside flavor..
The absolute BEST canned baked beans are by B&M.Tons of flavor, great quality beans and NO “mystery pork bits”. Use this recipe, but be sure to buy B&M Baked beans for your base. I always add a tablespoon of dark molasses too. Or you could use a meaty ham hock instead of bacon. I even add a diced apple now and then. So many ways to enjoy baked beans!
I use Bush’s all the time. I always add molasses and mustard to mine
Bush’s baked beans in this recipe was amazing!!!
I use Bush’s bake beans…they have the best baked beans recipe on some of their cans!
My mom always swore it had to be Van Camps or nothing. 😋
The baked beans are almost like mine yours sound great , I like adding a little mustard all other ingredients are the same ,and yes they are the best baked beans anywhere you have a fantastic blog I got your ebook going to work on some recipes this week .Thanks so much
love baked beans recipes, especially since my diet requires regular legumes, and I’m kinda sick of my pinto bean recipe, so thank you for this!
This is very similar to what my grandmother used to do – she might not have bothered with adding onions and green peppers. The best baked beans I’ve ever gotten at a restaurant are from a Bar-B-Que place that adds diced smoked brisket rather than bacon (although they may put in bacon also – I always ate them too fast to notice). Thanks for bringing back memories!
After you put it all together can you cook it in a crock pot?