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Can you smell that? It's barbecue season! That means grilled meats and baked beans all-around. To ditch the canned stuff, we've created our own baked beans in a crockpot. These pack a lot more flavor, plus they'll make your house smell absolutely incredible while they're cooking! This also works as a good dairy-free, gluten-free and nut-free side allergy sensitive guests can enjoy, too.
There was a time when I thought baked beans only came out of a can. And, since we did away with most pre-made, canned foods back when we started our real food pledge, that means I didn't have baked beans for a LONG time!
Cooking Baked Beans in a Crockpot
As it turns out...I really like and missed baked beans. So needless to say, I am glad to have them back in my life and am also glad to be able to introduce them to my kids (they both gave this recipe two thumbs up - whew!). With a little easy prep, you're well on your way to making a baked beans side that everyone will gobble up this summer.
How to Soak Dried Navy Beans
Making baked beans in a slow cooker from scratch means using whole-food ingredients to get the most out of this recipe. For that reason, we recommend using dried Navy beans! Don't worry though, all it takes is a simple soak in the fridge overnight to make them perfect for absorbing the spices and sauces that go into this set-and-forget side.
To soak dried Navy beans: Place them in a mixing bowl or container with water that just about covers them. Leave them in the fridge for about 6-8 hours, (or overnight), and drain them in the morning before putting them in the slow cooker!
We are officially ready for summer—bring it on!
Slow Cooker Baked Beans
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups dried navy beans ((optional, but recommended: soak beans in water in the fridge for 6 to 8 hours and then drain))
- 8 oz bacon (cooked and diced (organic and/or local recommended))
- 1 green bell pepper (diced)
- 1 onion (quartered)
- 15 oz tomato sauce (plain)
- ¾ cup pure maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- pepper (black or red, to taste)
- 3 ½ cups water
Instructions
- Place the beans, bacon, bell pepper, and onion in the bottom of a slow cooker. Set aside.
- In a small bowl whisk together the tomato sauce, syrup, mustard, vinegar, chili powder, salt and pepper. Pour over top of bean mixture and then add 3 ½ cups of water. Turn the slow cooker onto high and cook for 10 to 12 hours. Discard onion pieces and serve warm.
Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Melissa says
Made this last night so we can have tonight with our ribs. YUMMY!!!!!I will never buy canned beans again! I hope my family likes them tonight as much as I do!!!!
Sharon says
I LOVE this recipe! I modified it a bit as peppers bug my stomach on occasion. Was huge hit in the house, who beans could be so amazing. I think i will try this, garlic, cumin & hot sauce for a mexican style variation (sorry if someone already suggested I didn't read through all the wonderful comments)
I have found so much personal inspiration from your journey & food ideas from your site, looking forward to your book!
Best wishes & continued success on your mission
Jessica says
What perfect timing! Having a birthday party on Sunday, and am struggling with the menu because we are trying to eat less processed foods. Thanks!
Christy says
I'm confused, can you please explain the point of making homemade baked beans in order to avoid processed canned foods when your recipe suggests canned tomato sauce as an ingredient?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Christy. Lisa doesn't use a a lot of canned items but does feel comfortable sometimes using minimally processed items such as organic tomatoes, beans, etc. These are available in BPA free cans and jars. ~Amy
Pat Prohl says
Check out some old Maine recipes for baked beans if you want to avoid the canned sauce. Traditional New England style baked beans usually do not contain any tomato product. There are variations with both molasses and maple syrup, and some with less sweetening as well. I made some just recently, yum!
Candee Backus says
This is great that you just happened to post this recipe when I was going to look for one on your site. We love baked beans & use them a lot with BBQ'd meats in the summer. Do you think they could be "canned" for future use in mason jars or do you think freezing would be better? Thanks.
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Candee. Lisa freezes most items. Canning is a great option if you lack freezer space and have everything you need to safe canning. :) ~Amy
Ruth Brown says
Is "yellow mustard" in the recipe for prepared mustard or dry mustard?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Ruth. It is prepared mustard. :)
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Jessica. It makes about 6 cups. ~Amy
Jessica says
How many people will this recipe feed? I am taking them camping and there are 10 people in our group.
Erica says
Has anyone ever subbed molasses for maple syrup? I'm nearly out of syrup but have some molasses on hand….
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Erica. Molasses should work, too. ~Amy
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Alisia. I think you could use either. ~Amy
Alisia says
Could pinto beans be used instead of navy beans? Or maybe black beans? I have both of those on hand and wanted to try this?
Shawna says
Can i use canned beans instead of dried and if so- how long should i let it cook?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Shawna. We have not tried this with canned beans but I think it would work fine cooked for about half the time. ~Amy
Kristen says
Hi! I love all your recipes!! I'm hoping to make this for a Superbowl party this weekend and I'm wondering if I substitute dried pinto beans for the dried navy beans do you think it will still turn out as delicious? Thanks!
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Kristen. Getting to this the day after the bowl. Did you try it? ~Amy
Amie says
Hi! A nutritionist friend has recommended several of your recipes, and so far so good! My son LOVED these beans!!! Question-- I followed the recipe exactly (including soaking the beans for 8 hours) and they came out a bit crunchy... Well. Not really crunchy, but not the super soft texture I was expecting. Thoughts?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Aimee. Sometimes beans have sat around on shelves or in bins a very long time before being used. Their shelf age can effect the soaking time required and, in turn, the final texture of the bean. They should be very soft once cooking is finished. ~Amy
Dana says
This recipe looks great but just wondering how you work the timing if I want these for dinner?? If they take 10-12 hrs and I want them for 5pm could I start them the night before and leave them warm in slowcooker all day???
Jen says
Mine burned after 11 hours. Should have trusted my gut and turned the to low after a couple hours. I use my crock pot weekly and never knew it might run hot. This is not a recipe to put on while you sleep. Keep an eye on it!
Amy says
What would you suggest as a replacement for the maple syrup? I have an allergy to pure maple syrup but would love to try these. Thanks!
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hello. You can substitute honey. :) ~Amy
Steven says
How is this cutting out processed foods? Every ingredient listed other than the onion and the bell pepper are processed foods. A processed food is any food that has been altered from its natural state. Frozen and canned foods are processed, as is pasta, bread, cheese, yogurt, juice and milk. Olive oil, soy sauce, mustard and vinegar are considered processed foods. So is bacon. Even flour and sugar are processed foods. Table salt is highly processed, and stripped of minerals, then iodine is often put back in along with an anti-caking agent. Table salt is actually poisonous and that is the reason the body retains water from over consumption. I think what you want to say you are trying to do here is eliminate convenience foods, not processed food. A little food for thought.
Steven says
So, it is not a healthy choice to eat canned beans, but you can make your own baked beans and dump a can of tomato sauce in the recipe. Did I get that right? And what is local organic bacon? Organic means of or relating to an organism, a living entity. Pretty much describes all bacon, and pretty much most every ingredient in any recipe. And local bacon means what? There are no promises from the local butcher that he is kind to his pigs, kills them humanely or does not use chemicals on the animal, or in it's feed. If you want this to be a healthy meal, leave the poor pig in the woods and cook down some real tomatoes. Grow your own vegetables, or barter with people you trust. That is the only way you know what you are eating. If you do go to the market and buy things in cans and plastic packages, you are still an okay person, and you will likely live a healthy long life if you make good food choices all along the way. Just keep it real.
V O says
sounds idyllic and all - both of your posts.
if you judge people for doing the best they can with what they know, you are still an okay person.
and even if you make good food choices, it doesn't give any promises of a long and healthy - or happy - life.
Just keepin' it real.
Lisa says
I love this website and all of the recipes I have made so far!! Thank you Lisa for making them easy to follow and tasty! For anyone trying to measure servings or count calories there were about 10 cups after cooking this recipe.
Terry says
Hi! I adore this recipe! My kids are huge bean fans and since we stared eating healthier it has bugged me that they eat the canned beans but they just love them so much! This is my third time making them and thought I'd share the changes I made in case anyone else has my problem with picky kids! Its finally kid approved and pretty much exactly like the canned version (only healthy!) I follow the recipe exactly only I add more tomato sauce, no bacon and no green pepper, although next time I think I will chop it really fine and add it since I enjoyed the flavour a little more last time, but the kids were picking them out. I also only cook it for 8 hrs on high and I freeze it in small portions! So happy to have found this! Thank you!
Jamie Dunson says
Delicious!!!!
Brandi says
Wow...this recipe is delicious!!! I made half the recipe and it's so full of flavor. It has the same baked bean taste I love, but the texture of the beans is 10 times better than the canned ones!! I did soak them overnight as recommended. Thank you!!!!
Brandi says
What kind of containers do you use to freeze things?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Brandi. Lisa uses freezer safe mason jars, as well as airtight plastic containers and freezer zipper bags. ~Amy
Monica says
Can't stop eating these. So good.
Bianca says
Was wondering why after 4 hours all my juices were gone. Re-read the recipe and realized I missed the water in the instructions. I just added the water after 4 hrs of cooking. Hopefully, they still turn out ok. Maybe that is why several people had scorched beans. Is it possible to edit and add the water to the ingredients list?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Thanks for the suggestion, Bianca! ~Amy
Dina says
Terrific recipe. My whole family enjoyed these!
Holly Dumnt says
“Cooking beans in crock pots or slow cookers may not heat them enough to destroy the toxin and may actually potentiate it. Heating to a temperature of 176 degrees Fahrenheit may increase the toxin levels by as much as five times. Crock pots often don’t reach temperatures greater than 167. Using dry heat to cook the beans does not appear to inactivate the toxin. In reported cases, 100 percent of people who ate the beans developed symptoms; age and sex don’t appear to affect the symptoms, which vary in intensity according to how many beans were ingested, according to the FDA.â€
So are beans cooked in a crockpot or slow cooker safe to eat? Yes… if the beans are properly soaked and cooked. The university extension services recommend the following steps to destroy these toxins and make the slow cooking process safe.
Soak the dried beans in water for at least five hours (some recommend soaking the beans for at least twelve hours)
Discard the soaking water which will contain leached out toxins
Rinse the beans and cover them with fresh water
Boil the beans (rapid boil) for at least ten minutes
It is then safe to add the beans to the slow cooker and proceed with the recipe.
Kidney beans are of course the most toxic when cooked in a slow cooker.
Robyn W says
These were great! I made them for a family dinner and everyone really enjoyed them. I decided to use a combo of navy, pinto & kidney beans. I also decided that the sauce needed to be a bit thicker so I ended up scooping out 1/2 of it, mixing in arrowroot powder over low heat on the stove and then added it back into the beans in the slow cooker. I found my cooker ran a bit hotter so I only needed 6 hours on high and then left the on low another 4 hours until dinner.
Catherine O says
Whoops, never mind! I should have read through all the comments first. They do freeze well. Wish me luck, I'm making these tomorrow !
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Good luck! :)
Catherine O says
Silly question (I think) but does this recipe freeze well?
Jude says
Well it seems my slow cooker is one of the hot ones....10 hrs overnight....burnt charred mess....will have to try again on low...just be careful people.
Erin says
I made these the other day, and they are delicious!! Thank you!
Adrianna says
Am I reading the directions correctly, cook on HIGH for 10-12 hours? I am looking at similar recipes elsewhere online, and it looks like low for 10-12 hours would be right. Can anyone confirm HIGH or low? Thanks!
Adrianna says
Nevermind! Found a response from Lisa to the same question way back in the comments section. I guess it is on high...
Emily says
I am planning on making these this upcoming weekend to bring with my lunch to work next week. I know the recipe says if I am serving with another dish it will feed a small crowd but I was wondering if anyone could be more specific on the amount. I am debating if I should cut the recipe in half since I am only cooking for one. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi there. You could cut the recipe in half but these freeze well which might make lunch packing a bit easier. :) ~Amy
Sarah says
It would probably be helpful to state in the recipe that PREPARED yellow mustard should be used. Not being a big mustard user (and not paying attention, I guess), I just dumped in 3 tablespoons of dry yellow mustard. I'm hoping I have something edible to eat in the morning.
Sarah says
Good news, the beans taste fine, in spite of all the dry mustard. But I would still argue for being extra clear about this in the recipe! I didn't realize my mistake until after everything was in the crockpot and I started reading some of the comments. :)
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Catherine. We don't recommend a particular brand but there should be no questionable ingredients or added sugar. Classic French's yellow mustard only has mustard seed, tumeric, water, and vinegar. I have Annie's yellow mustard in my fridge right now which in addition to the French's ingredients has salt, paprika, and cloves. Either are fine. :) ~Amy
Catherine says
Hey there, is there a brand of yellow mustard you prefer. The one in my fridge (new to this whole scene) has more than 5 ingredients on the label. :(
Erin says
Tonight is my third time making these. I brought them to 4th of July and a potluck over the summer. We are headed camping and I was inspired by your recent travels and thought "why not". This is a big change as in past years I would have gone straight for a can of the shelf. Thankful to have you inspiring me each day to incorporate a little more.
Deb says
just wondering why do you discard the onion pieces?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Deb. You don't have to but they are very large onion pieces. :) ~Amy