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Level up your beans by making Baked Beans from Scratch!! Soaked navy beans are combined with a simple mixture of brown sugar, vinegar and smoky bacon then simmered together until perfectly tender and oh-so-delicious!
One of the most popular blog posts here on Dance Around the Kitchen is the Best Ever Baked Beans. They are truly SO good.
However, sometimes I get asked if baked beans could be made from scratch, using dried beans instead of canned beans. And after some trial and error, the answer is a resounding YES! Though it takes a little more time to prepare, they’re worth it and make for the perfect side dish!!!!
Why I Love Baked Beans from Scratch
- They’re CHEAP! Buying dried beans is much less expensive than canned beans.
- The beans have texture. They’re not hard and crunchy, but they do have a little bit of a texture, which I love.
- The addition of the brown sugar and bacon is SO good. It brings tons of flavor to the beans.
- They’re a side dish that goes with a variety of meals – hot dogs, burgers, meatloaf, casseroles, etc.
- It’s fun to see the process of how baked beans are made! Before this little experiment, I had never seen beans go from dry to cooked so it was a really neat, fascinating process…with an absolutely delicious result!!
Ingredients Needed (Amounts in Recipe Card Below)
- Dry Beans – I use dry navy beans for this recipe. You could also use dried pinto beans – they’re a little more earthy in flavor and slightly larger than classic navy beans. You could also opt for great northern beans (another type of small white beans).
- Salt – I like to add the salt when boiling the beans to get some flavor into them.
- Baking Soda – This will actually help soften the beans as they cook so they are just the right (not crunchy, but not mushy) texture.
- Bacon – Adding a couple slices of bacon brings a nice smokey flavor and a little texture to this recipe.
- Onion – I use yellow onion though white onion would work great too.
- Brown Sugar – Light or dark brown sugar will work great. It gives the recipe a sweeter flavor and we love!
- Ketchup – You could use tomato sauce instead.
- Maple Syrup – I like the depth of flavor pure maple syrup brings to this recipe!
- Apple Cider Vinegar – You could also use white vinegar.
How to Prepare Beans
The biggest difference between using canned baked beans and making old fashioned baked beans is time it takes to prepare the dried beans. Though yes, it takes some time, but the end result is super delicious baked beans!!
To do so, you’ll soak the beans in water overnight. The beans will begin to soften, but will still have some bite to them. The next day, you’ll drain the water and add fresh water.
You’ll stir in the salt and baking soda (baking soda softens the beans – isn’t science cool?!), bring them to a boil, then let them simmer for an hour. Be careful not to let the water boil over as the beans will give off a foamy liquid. It’s totally normal, but you don’t want to make your stovetop a mess! Just give them a stir and turn the heat down a bit.
Next you’ll drain the beans. However, save the liquid!!!! The reserved cooking liquid will be used in the next step.
Now it’s time to cook the bacon and onion. Cook them in a skillet until the bacon is crisp and the onions are tender.
The rest of the recipe is really quite simple! You’ll add the remaining ingredients, including some of the extra liquid, then cover the beans and bake them.
NOTE: If you notice that the beans are beginning to look a bit dry, simply add a splash or two more of the reserved liquid.
Optional Add-Ins
Feel free to make it your own!! Add a few drops of liquid smoke, a little chili powder, some spicy barbecue sauce, cooked ground beef, diced green pepper, etc! There are so many different ways to make them – I think you’ll love it!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You’ll follow the instructions until you pour the bean mixture into a baking dish. Instead of a baking dish, pour them into a Crock Pot. Cook them on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.
They’re typically in the aisle with a variety of cans of beans, different types of rice and sometimes even pasta. They’re usually stored in clear bags.
Let them cool off a bit then store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. I do not recommend freezing them as it’ll make the beans really soft and mushy.
Other Side Dishes I Love
- Calico Beans
- Crispy Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Cornbread Pudding
- Sweet Macaroni Salad
- Tortellini Pasta Salad
- Homemade Dinner Rolls
Baked Beans from Scratch
Ingredients
- 1 pound dry navy beans
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 8 slices bacon diced
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups reserved bean liquid*
Instructions
Prepare the Beans
- Pour the dry navy beans into a large pot and cover them with cold water. Be sure to have a few inches of water covering the beans as they'll soak up quite a bit. Cover the beans and let them soak for 12 hours or overnight.1 pound dry navy beans
- Drain the beans. Cover them with fresh water, covering them with an extra 1-2 inches of water on top. Stir in the salt and the baking soda.2 teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- Bring the pot of beans to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Let them simmer, stirring occasionally, for one hour.
- Drain the beans, reserving the water for later.
Mix and Bake
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- In a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat, add the diced bacon.8 slices bacon
- Cook for a few minutes then add the diced onion.1 cup diced yellow onion
- Cook until the bacon is crisp and the onions are translucent.
- Stir in the drained beans, brown sugar, ketchup, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar and 1 1/2 cups of the reserved liquid (you may need to add more later).1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup ketchup, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 1 1/2 cups reserved bean liquid*
- Pour the bean mixture into a baking dish and cover tightly with foil. (Or simply cover the Dutch oven with a lid)
- Bake for 1 hour then give the beans a stir. If it's beginning to look dry, you can add a little more of the reserved bean water.
- Bake another 30 minutes, stir the beans and remove the foil.
- Bake for 30 more minutes (the beans will thicken).
- Stir and serve warm.
Can I prepare the baked beans as directed, but bake them the next day? Love your site!
Can you make these in a crockpot?
Hi Julie – A few people have commented saying they’ve had success with that, however, I haven’t tried it myself. ~Kelsey
good
Can this recipe be done in a slow cooker as well?
I’ll be honest, I’ve never tried it! Once the beans are prepared (soaked and boiled), you should be able to do the rest in the slow cooker. Add all the ingredients and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Let me know if you give that a try! ~Kelsey
Came out very good in slow cooker 5 hours
Are these very sweet?
They are pretty sweet! Feel free to decrease the sugar if you’d like! 🙂
Can they be froze after cooked?
Hi Stacy – I don’t recommend it as they’ll likely be mushy after the freeze-thaw process. ~Kelsey
Yes,you can freeze them. I freeze them all the time and they don’t come out mushy . They come out as fresh and tasty as if I had just cooked them.
This is a wonderful recipe! I made those, but I modified the recipe just a bit too exclude the 2 teaspoons of salt and the bacon. Per serving that is an unhealthy amount of sodium to consume in addition with other items and a meal. Consider adding alternatives to this recipe for people that want to eat more healthy. Other than that, this recipe was the bomb!
I’m going to do this but put in a slow cooker on low for few hours ! It sounds like a great recipe !
THIS is the bean recipe of all bean recipes! SOOOOOOOO freaking delicious!!
Don’t add salt to beans until they are done cooking. Salt prevents beans from softening, which is why you’re needing to add baking soda. You don’t need it!
I tried this in the crockpot on low for 6 hours and the beans were still not soft enough, could this possibly be the reason? Otherwise the flavors are amazing! I used homemade ketchup!
We used an Instapot for the beans, and had to improvise with low brown sugar in order he house, but this was a good recipe. And the description was great. Happy with results.
Made for a family picnic tomorrow. I followed the directions to the T. — I think simmering for an hour was way too long. My beans turned to total mush. I don’t even want to take them to the picnic. 🙁
Hi Dawn – did you start with dry beans or beans from a can?
I found its easy to over boil the beans. Keep an eye on theyre softness when boiling. They finish softning during baking
This is a delicious bean recipe. I put half the amount of brown sugar, ketchup, maple syrup, & apple cider vinegar. The beans were not overly sweet. I always reduced the baking time in the oven-2 hours will make the beans mushy.
Oh wow so yummy! I added a block of cream cheese 1/2 way thru baking and my family gobbled it up!
Best tasting beans I have ever made. I soaked the beans an hour more, added a little more brown sugar for sweetness, added more bacon and onion for texture and used real maple syrup from the market house. Will make this again.
Very easy to make. Specially using a instant pot. Add 2TBL of your favorite BBQ sauce for an added layer of flavor.
Can the onion be substituted with onion powder? Unfortunately my hubs is not a fan of onions. Even cooked ones…
I love the flavor the onion adds, but you can make these without the onion just fine! 🙂
Sounds good. looking forward to trying it.
If I used cans beans, how many 15 oz cans would I use? And would the recipe change much?
Made this today. The recipe is perfect. The only change I made was using a pound of my homemade bacon and baking it on my smoker.
Thanks for publishing it.
Here are my results: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/8EUQsXUC8XtpksoK/
Yeah, I put too much boil water in it. My bad. Don’t judge me too harshly.