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The next time you bring a side dish to those summer cookouts, grab the grocery store can of beans and kick them up a notch. Now you can make the best sweet, sticky, and savory Baked Beans with Bacon and Brown Sugar recipe. These lip-smacking, smoky bacon baked beans are always a hit and are just so easy to make!
In the South, you really have to be careful when sending those summer backyard party invites out. Is it a BBQ or Grill Out? Evidently, people get really serious about this. So let me clear it right up for you- BBQ is long, low, slow-cooked meats, and a grill out is when you are doing the hot dogs and hamburgers, ya, know, on the hot grill! If you want to get more information on this, check out landontalks on Instagram. He tells it like it is, and he’s a fellow Dukes Mayo lover, so you will love him too (I’m sure of it).
What I can tell you is no matter which event, you will want to serve up these delicious foolproof baked beans topped with bacon! ‘Cause this side dish will complement any of these occasions!
Since we are talking about bacon- add it to anything, and you know it’ll be absolutely delicious! Sprinkling a bland salad with crumbled bacon turns it into something irresistible, or cooking veggies with savory bacon (like my green beans with bacon) pieces makes them a bit more exciting for your kiddos- let’s blame the kids.
If you’re craving more bacon, try my Stuffed Bacon Cheddar Cheeseburger, Chicken And Bacon Pasta With Spinach And Tomatoes, and Mini BBQ Bacon Cheddar Meatloaf recipe.
Ingredient Notes
How to Make this Bacon Brown Sugar Baked Beans Recipe
✱ Be sure to see the recipe card below for exact ingredients and full recipe instructions!
Step 1 | Prep and preheat
Get ready for this goodness by preheating the oven to 350°F and lightly spraying a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Then, pour the canned baked beans into the baking dish.
Step 2 | Combine the bean mixture
Next, add all the remaining ingredients except for the bacon. Add the onion, green pepper, brown sugar, molasses, ketchup, yellow mustard, paprika, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to the dish and stir until combined. Be sure there are no clumps of brown sugar, and everything is mixed well into the beans.
Step 3 | Add bacon
Then, cut the bacon with kitchen scissors into bite-sized pieces or about 1 to 1 ½ inches. Line the bacon pieces on top of the beans in rows, covering the entire top and not overlapping the bacon too much. This will make it nice and crispy.
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Step 4 | Bake
Now, place the beans in the preheated oven and bake uncovered for 1 to 1 ½ hours, until they’re bubbly and the strips of bacon are crispy. If you want crisper bacon, broil the sweet beans for 2-3 minutes until the top is as crisp as you’d like!
Step 5 | Rest and serve!
Finally, let the easy baked beans recipe rest for 10 minutes, then enjoy!
Tips
- Recipe Prep– Have all the simple ingredients chopped and ready to go for the recipe to run smoothly. This is a great make-ahead dish. Make a day ahead, cover, and refrigerate. Remove 30 minutes before baking to come to room temperature. Then, bake per instructions.
- Thick Baked Beans– Increase the cooking time until the desired thickness is achieved. You can also bump up the temperature to 375℉ to get that thickness in a shorter cook time. Take a look at about 1 hour, and then cook until the desired thickness is acheived.
Variations and Substitutions
- Vegetarian Baked Beans: For a delicious vegetarian recipe, omit the bacon and use regular beans instead of a can of pork and beans.
- Turn Up The Heat!: Add a kick by stirring in diced jalapenos or adding more cayenne pepper.
- Smoky Baked Beans: Pick applewood or cherrywood smoked bacon! Some like a little liquid smoke in them, but I usually stay away, and just a dab goes a long way. I prefer an authentic smokiness to my beans. See FAQs for smoking instructions.
- Optional Ingredients: Other delicious baked beans recipes use Worcestershire sauce, green onions, apple cider vinegar, and tomato sauce. Feel free to adjust and add until they’re just how you like them!
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Add all the ingredients to a slow cooker sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and sprinkle the bacon on top. Cover the beans and cook on low for four hours or on high for two to three hours.
It completely depends on the recipe. Because we bake this brown sugar beans recipe for at least an hour, the bacon slices will fully cook. If you use another recipe instructing you to bake the dish for less time, you may need to partially cook the bacon before adding it.
I don’t bother rinsing the beans for my recipe because the liquid does not disrupt the texture and adds a bit more flavor. However, you can drain and rinse the beans if you want to reduce the sodium of the dish.
Fire up your favorite smoker and allow it to fully preheat to 250 degrees F. Any hardwood will do just fine for this recipe, pick your favorite! I like to place the beans in a cast iron pan or a disposable tray. Then place the pan in the smoker, close the lid, and smoke for 3 hours.
Storage and Reheating
Storage:
Refrigerate: Save your leftover baked beans in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.
Freeze for Long-term Storage: Once the beans cool completely, store them in a freezer-safe container or bag and enjoy them within three months.
Reheat: To reheat the beans, let them thaw in the fridge first, then bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes.
What to Serve with Brown Sugar Baked Beans with Bacon
Make your favorite family dinner by serving these sweet and savory beans with my quick and easy Honey Chipotle BBQ Wings, done in 30 minutes. Or take your time with Slow Cooker Beef Brisket with a rich homemade BBQ sauce. Then, don’t forget to complete your plate with cheesy Baked Macaroni And Cheese.
More Easy and Irresistible Bean Recipes
- Instant Pot & Stove Top Charro Beans
- Homemade Easy Refried Black Beans Recipe
- Hot Dog And Hamburger Cowboy Beans
- Southern Style Baby Lima Beans
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Easy Baked Beans with Bacon and Brown Sugar
Ingredients
- 4 -16 ounce cans Bush's Baked Beans – Original, (or pork and beans)
- ¼ cup diced yellow onion
- ¼ cup diced green bell pepper
- ½ lb thick-cut bacon, cut into 2-inch pieces (I use kitchen scissors)
- ¼ cup yellow mustard
- ½ cup ketchup
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup molasis, optional
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, (or to taste)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a 9 X 13 casserole dish.
- Pour baked beans into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Add onion, green pepper, brown sugar, molasses, ketchup, yellow mustard, paprika, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to the dish and stir until combined (making sure that there are no clumps of brown sugar and everything is mixed well into the beans).
- Cut bacon with kitchen scissors into bite-sized pieces (1 to 1 ½ inches). Line bacon pieces on top of the bean mixture in rows, covering the entire top (making sure to not overlap the bacon too much, so that it gets crispy).
- Place in preheated oven and bake uncovered for 1 to 1 ½ hours, until bubbly and bacon is crispy. If crisper bacon is desired, with beans on middle rack, broil for 2-3 minutes until desired crispness is reached. Note: You can cook longer until the desired thickness is achieved.
- Allow the beans to rest for 10 minutes and serve warm.
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Notes
- Recipe Prep– Have all the simple ingredients chopped and ready to go for the recipe to run smoothly. This is a great make-ahead dish. Make a day ahead, cover, and refrigerate. Remove 30 minutes before baking to come to room temperature. Then, bake per instructions.
- Thick Baked Beans– Increase the cooking time until the desired thickness is achieved. You can also bump up the temperature to 375℉ to get that thickness in a shorter cook time. Take a look at about 1 hour, and then cook until the desired thickness is acheived.
Nutrition Information
Nutritional Disclaimer
Soulfully Made is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
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