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BBQ baked beans are the side dish that shows up at every cookout and nobody complains. They sit next to the potato salad and the coleslaw and somehow always end up scraped clean before the burgers are even off the grill. I make these with bacon, a little heat from hot sauce, and a sweet smoky sauce that bakes down thick and sticky in the oven. They take about twenty minutes to get into the pan and an hour in the oven while you do other things. That is my kind of cookout food.
Why This Recipe Works
- Bacon does the heavy lifting. You cook it first, leave a little fat in the pan for the onions and peppers, and then stir it all back in. Every bean gets a hit of smoky bacon flavor.
- The sauce is homemade and balanced. Ketchup, molasses, brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire, and a dash of hot sauce. Sweet, tangy, smoky, and just enough heat to notice.
- Three kinds of beans. Pork and beans, pinto beans, and red kidney beans give you different textures in every bite. No single-bean mush here.
- Oven-baked, not stovetop. An hour under foil and ten minutes uncovered at the end gives you that thick, almost sticky sauce that clings to the beans. You cannot get that from a stovetop simmer.
If you need more cookout sides that do not hog the grill, my cold pasta salad roundup has five recipes built on the same make-ahead idea.
Ingredients
- ½ pound bacon, diced
- ½ yellow onion, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped finely
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can (15 ounces) pork and beans
- 1 can (15 ounces) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (15 ounces) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- ¾ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup molasses
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
How to Make BBQ Baked Beans
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Cook the bacon. In a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat, cook the diced bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and set it aside on a paper towel to cool. Drain off all but 2 tablespoons of fat, leaving it in the skillet.
- Cook the vegetables. Add the chopped onion to the same skillet and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until it starts to soften. Add the garlic and chopped bell pepper and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Mix everything together. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked bacon, the onion and pepper mixture, and all three cans of beans. Add the ketchup, molasses, brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, smoked paprika, and black pepper. Stir until everything is evenly mixed.
- Bake. Pour the bean mixture into a 9x13 baking pan and spread it even. Cover tightly with foil and bake for one hour. Remove the foil and bake for another ten minutes uncovered. The sauce will thicken and the edges will bubble.
- Let them sit. Pull the pan from the oven and let the beans rest for five to ten minutes before serving. They will thicken up a little more as they cool.
Quick Tips
Do not skip draining and rinsing the pinto and kidney beans. The liquid in the can is starchy and salty and it will throw off the sauce consistency.
The bacon fat left in the skillet is what gives the onions and peppers their flavor. Do not drain it all. Two tablespoons is the right amount.
Cast iron works best here because it goes from stovetop to oven if you want, but any large skillet works for the bacon and vegetables. You are transferring everything to a baking pan anyway.
These beans reheat beautifully. Make them the morning of your cookout and keep them warm in a slow cooker on low.
If you want another side that pairs with these beans, my broccoli salad with bacon has the same sweet-savory energy and sits cold next to a hot scoop of beans.
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. Reheat in the microwave or in a saucepan over low heat with a splash of water to loosen the sauce. These also freeze well - portion into freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat.
I make these beans for every summer cookout, and I have learned to double the recipe because one pan is never enough. The sauce bakes down thick and sticky, the bacon runs through every bite, and they sit next to whatever is on the grill without needing any attention. If you try them, let me know how fast the pan emptied.
📖 Recipe
BBQ Baked Beans
Ingredients
- ½ pound bacon diced
- ½ yellow onion chopped
- 1 red bell pepper chopped finely
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 15 ounces pork and beans 15 ounces pork and beans
- 15 ounces pinto beans drained and rinsed
- 15 ounces kidney beans drained and rinsed
- ¾ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup molasses
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- In a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat, cook the diced bacon until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on a paper towel. Drain off half the fat, leaving 2 tablespoons of fat in the skillet.
- Add the chopped onion to the skillet and cook for 5 to 7 minutes until soft and the onions begin to carmelize. Add the garlic and chopped bell pepper and cook for 30 seconds more, stirring so the garlic does not burn.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked bacon, the onion and pepper mixture, pork and beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, ketchup, molasses, brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, smoked paprika, and black pepper. Stir until evenly mixed.
- Pour the bean mixture into a 9x13 baking pan and spread it even. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour.
- Remove the foil and bake uncovered for an additional 10 minutes until the sauce is thick and bubbling at the edges.
- Let the beans rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. The sauce will continue to thicken as they cool.
Notes
- Drain and rinse the pinto and kidney beans.
- Leave at least 2 tablespoons of bacon fat in the skillet for flavor.
- These reheat well, warm in a slow cooker on low for parties. Freeze leftovers up to three months.
