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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.
Keziah says
I presoaked (overnight 12 hours) and cooked these beans for almost 24 hours over two days and they are still crunchy. should I just keep cooking them or start over with different beans? I live in Pennsylvania so I don't think the altitude has anything to do with it. I also use great northern beans instead of navy. I really don't want to throw out 3/4 of a cup of maple syrup.
Amy Taylor (comment moderator) says
Hi Keziah. It usually means that your beans were old. Try buying beans from a store that turns them over often and can guarantee their freshness.
Jean says
I have never heard of refrigerating beans while they soak. I always just leave them on the counter. Is there a reason for the refrigeration?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator) says
Hi Jean. There are different schools of thought on it. If you prefer not to refrigerate and are not concerned about fermentation, then you can soak them on your counter. I typically do but I also purposefully ferment foods. :)
Jenna Marie says
I made this yesterday, very good! Used 3 cans of Whole Foods Brand pinto beans, drained and rinsed. Cooked on low for about 6-7 hours. Perfect with our grilled burgers. Thanks for an awesome recipe!
Laura says
Hi, I also want to try this with canned beans as every time I make slow cooker baked beans with dried beans they are still hard after 10 hrs and an overnight soak. Can you tell me if you still used all the water called for in the recipe? Thanks!!
Michelle Stewart says
I am loving your recipes but it is really bothering both my husband and I to discard so much onion! Is there an alternative? I plan to make and take these to a family get together this week for Christmas.
Amy Taylor (comment moderator) says
You can always choose to leave the onion in. :)
willowsprite says
Just chop the onion finely and mix it in before cooking, rather than just quartering it.
Care says
I was really excited to try this recipe. I quickly assembled it last night before bed so that the kids could take it for their lunches today and I got up to it very burned! So disappointed.
For my slow cooker 10 hours on high is waaaaaaaayyyyy too much :(
Jennifer says
Personally I find that most of Lisa recipes have the slow cooker on high for too long. I think her slow cooker has a lower temp on high than mine. I cooked this for 12 hours on low.... and was perfect!
Jenny says
How many people would you say this recipe feeds?? I have a crowd of about 20, this one batch is good? I've seen some comments where doubling it didn't go so well.
Thanks.
Amy Taylor (comment moderator) says
Hi there. It won't stretch quite that far. As a side, I've used it for 12. :)
Alice says
I doubled the recipe and found them very hard after 10 hours. I kept them slow cooking for another 10 hours and they are both soft and thick. Taste great!
Heidy says
Yum! I have been making your recipes for several months now. These beans are a huge hit! I am making them today for the 2nd time in 2 weeks. Planning to stash some in the freezer this time!
Christy says
I made these. Not bad. My husband requests them to be "less tomatoey" and a thicker sauce.
Michaela Diercks says
Do you leave it on high the entire time?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator) says
Hello Michaela. Yes, you do. ~Amy
Meegan says
Delicious! Served this on Irish Soda Bread toast for dinner, with a side salad of tomatoes from the CSA. Perfect early fall dinner. Thank you!
Leslie says
What if you do not have a slow cooker??
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Leslie. You could try it stove top or in a dutch oven. You would obviously need to adjust cooking times. ~Amy
Lori says
I thought this recipe was supper yummy. Has anyone frozen beans for a later meal? I just wondered how they would be.
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Lori. They freeze very well. ~Amy
Tom Cochran says
Just made this today. My wife and I agreed it was about the tastiest food we'd eaten in recent memory. I pretty much used the recipe as written. Some changes: I left the onion in, as others have done. I used 1/2 tsp of ancho chili powder rather than a full tsp, and I used 1/2 tsp of Lite Salt instead of 1 tsp of regular salt (I'm a cardiac patient). Used 2 Anaheim peppers cut in large chunks instead of bell pepper, and used 2 pork shoulder blade steaks instead of the bacon. I seared the pork steaks in a hot fry pan before I paced them in the slow cooker. Also, I added one dried Ancho chili per Mike Vrabel's suggestion on "Dad Cooks Dinner".
In the future, I plan to use 1/2 cup of maple syrup instead of the 3/4 cup in the recipe. I think the sauce will still be plenty sweet with a lower sugar content.
Thank you for posting this wonderful recipe.
Julie says
Hi - my husband is allergic to Navy Beans, what's a good substitute? Thanks
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Julie. Maybe great northern beans? :)
Tom Cochran says
You might also try Anasazi beans. They are often (but not always) available in bulk food sections of stores. They are a traditional variety from the American southwest. Of all the bean varieties, they have the least potential for flatulence. They cook up to approximately the same size, shape and texture as Navy beans, and are very tasty. I used them to make this Slow Cooker Baked Beans recipe.
Linda says
Just made these overnight! They were tasty this morning, but have gotten better while "resting" all day. Made a nice sized casserole, but I would probably make double for a large event. Set my alarm to check them at 10 hours, and it was good I did--they were starting to stick (burn) on one side of my crock. I might use just a tiny bit less maple syrup next time. GREAT RECIPE! I probably won't buy canned ever again.
Ashlie says
I'm wanting to save a little bit of time. What would happen if I threw the bacon into the crockpot raw? How do you think the recipe would turn out?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Ashlie. Raw bacon works fine in this recipe. ~Amy
Silvia says
Another idea, cook several packages of your favorite bacon ( we used uncured) in the oven and freeze them in little bags or containers so you always have cooked bacon when needed for a recipe. I do this so my husband always have bacon for his Sunday breakfast without the mess in the kitchen.
Carrie says
I made these this past 4th of July, and they were a huge hit at my friend's party! I did add a little brown sugar and more maple syrup than called for. I diced up the onion and peppers, and left the onions in.
Sue says
Can these be frozen after they are cooked? Can they be frozen ahead of time so you just have to dump everything in the crockpot?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Sue. Yes to both though we've not cooked these from frozen. You might have to prolong the cooking time somewhat. :)
Terri says
Thank you so much for this recipe! I have missed baked beans and am eager to try these! Yummers!
Cynthia says
I was hoping for a recipe that didn't include processed food. Canned tomato sauce doesn't work for me. I'll make my own but it would have been nice if the recipe had included fresh tomatoes.
Jennifer says
tomato sauce isn't really processed, it's just pureed, especially a brand like Muir Glen organics which doesn't use BPA in their can linings. There are also brands that come in glass bottles. I would avoid regular store brands, yes, but there are tomato sauces that are just fine and not processed. This whole blog is dedicated to non-processed foods, so anything you find here is non-processed (with the exception of normal processing, like wheat being made into flour and tomatoes being pureed into sauce, etc). The only way to have truly 100% unprocessed food is to grow it yourself, and eat it raw.
Gretchen says
That's exactly what I thought! I printed this recipe out, then saw that it included canned tomato sauce. What I'm really trying to avoid is using anything from a can, as the very process of canning and recent warnings about the lining of cans worries me. Rats.
Tom Cochran says
While I generally agree with Jennifer's post of July 3, 2014, I got to thinking about the folks who stated that they were turned off by the recipe because of the sauce coming out of a can.
Here is what I came up with: I cut up about 6 or 7 salad-sized tomatoes from my garden. They were 3 cups, packed, and weighed 18 oz. I then blended the tomatoes thoroughly using my immersion blender, yielding 2 1/4 cups of puree. The immersion blender did a nice job--just a few small pieces of peel and a small amount of seeds remained in the puree. This could also be done using a standard blender. I use no-salt tomato sauce, so I did not add salt. Since the puree is a little more watery than regular tomato sauce, I think I would reduce the water added to the beans in this recipe from 3 1/2 cups to 3 cups.
JK says
I am in the UK so our products are not always the same. Please could you explain what you mean by 'plain tomato sauce'. It is a tin of chopped tomatos or are the pureed or sieved?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Jk. A tomato sauce has been cooked and usually pureed. ~Amy
Poornima says
I was planning on buying a crockpot, since it seems like such a handy tool to have. I'm unable to get over the guilt of the power usage however. On one hand, we are trying to go green and on the other, I cannot seem to justify the power used in cooking something for over 5 hours. Did you ever think about this? Could you please correct me if I am wrong?!
Thanks in advance.
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi there. I am fairly certain that Crock Pots and slow cookers are far more efficient that most ovens and stoves which can be real energy hogs. :) ~Amy
Theresa says
For those of you who are energy conscious and want to help those combat hunger in the Third World, check out Wonderbags. You start your food on the stove, and then cover and put in the Wonderbag. I have one, but haven't used it yet....I'll probably use it more as we head into the super hot weather of summer. Amazon sells the bags:
http://www.amazon.com/Wonderbag-Portable-Cooker-Recipe-Cookbook/dp/B00ESI97YU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403813874&sr=8-1&keywords=wonderbag
CC says
Just wanted to let you know that these are amazing!!! Made them for the second time - left out bacon initially so that when they were done I could take some out for me, then I mixed in the bacon for the rest of the family... SO GOOD, either way :)
Tip - I left the crockpot on high with the lid off for about an hour to thicken the sauce.
Thank you for your site and recipes!
Monique says
Can I use honey instead of maple syrup?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Monique. Sure! :)
EJ says
We made these according to the recipe. Soaked the beans over night and cooked for 10+ hours. The beans are still hard. I'm in CO is there a chance we needed extra water because of altitude? There seems to be almost no water after the 10hrs. Others are saying there's were done in 7. Anyone else have this issue?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hello EJ. Did you soak them first? This might help: http://prairiecottagerose.blogspot.com/2012/01/cooking-and-freezing-dried-beans-at.html. ~Amy
Candee Backus says
I have a question about this recipe. I was wondering if the 10-12 hrs on high is correct. I followed the directions exactly & mine were done in about 7 hrs. Fortunately I didn't do them overnight or they would have been ruined! I could smell a bit of a burnt smell so I checked them & they were starting to burn around the edges & turned out very dry, but good tasting.I am reheating them now & made another batch of the sauce. I have stirred in at least 1/2 of the sauce & will likely need more before we eat them again. And yes, I did add the 3 1/2 cup water like the recipe said. My slow cooker is only about 1 1/2 years old & hasn't had heavy use.
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Candee. Lisa does cook hers for 10-12 hours. Crock pots vary, so yours may cook at a higher temp. ~Amy
Seth says
Hi, sounds like a good recipe. I just want to make sure that you're actually supposed to cook the beans on HIGH for 10 - 12 hours? Or do you just bring it to a simmer and then turn it down for the next 10 hours? Don't want it to cook away to nothing while I sleep.
Thanks!
Candee Backus says
Seth I just posted the same question only I cooked mine already. I found 7 hours to be more than enough cooked on high.
Seth says
Thanks, Candee. I will definitely adjust the time. Since yours were starting to brown at the edges, do you think even less time would be appropriate? Were the beans pretty soft at 7 hours?
Candee Backus says
Yes they were very soft, but I did pre soak them over night before cooking them. I would probably check them around 6 hrs just to be safe. Hope this helps! :)
Theresa says
These are absolutely delicious. I made them thinking we'd be eating them this week, but end of year activities at the school where my husband teaches have forced me to freeze them for later. However, I did taste a small bowl, and they are delicious. I had a little bit left over that wouldn't fit in my freezer containers, so I was able to share some with my neighbors. I didn't find these beans to be overly sweet. The sweetness and the tomato make them taste a bit like BBQ beans, which my husband really likes. These may be going with us on our annual fishing trip to Canada later this month.
Oh, and I highly suggest soaking the beans for the 6-8+ hours.
Kathryn says
Can you replace the navy beans with pinto beans?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Yep. :)
Ashley says
Could this recipe be done with canned beans and cooked in the oven instead of the crock pot? I know it's not ideal but I don't have the full 10 hours needed for the dried beans.
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Ashley. We've not made this recipe that way. Certainly, many people do make baked beans in the oven. ~Amy
Kirsty says
Someone may have asked this but I can't see it, can you freeze them?
Kirsty says
Sorry, I found the answer and you can freeze them for anyone else wondering :) Thanks.
Cristee says
A conventional can of baked beans has about 15 ingredients, many of which aren't whole, one of which is often caramel coloring. Organic tomato sauce usually contains 3 whole ingredients. Big difference. Thanks Lisa and team for helping us eat clean. I will be making these this weekend!
Christy says
Thank you Pat, for your information regarding New England style baked beans, which doesn't use tomato sauce.
Sandy says
I'm vegetarian. Can I just omit the bacon or would you recommend an augmentation to the recipe?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Sandy. Just omit. ~Amy
Chelle says
What a great time of year to 'find' this recipe. For those that use smoked paprika in liu of bacon approximately how much do you use? I know we all have our personal taste preferences, but I'm looking for a starting point. Thanks for any help! I can't wait to try this for my crew! :-)
Mary says
I am off sugar almost entirely but maple syrup is probably okay. Has anyone tried this with less than 3/4 c. of maple syrup (which is A LOT!)?
Lisa Candee says
Lisa Candee Lisa Candee
LisaCandeeBayArea says
Thank you LisaCandeeBayArea
Colleen Kemmesat says
I really wanted to make this recipe for my kids bc they love baked beans from the can. My youngest son has a bunch of allergies...one being soy. I went to buy navy beans and they said may contain soybeans. Are navy beans and soybeans the same? Is there another bean I can use to substitute? Thanks in advance!
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy) says
Hi Colleen. It likely meant that they were processed in a facility that also processes soy beans. You could use pinto but with any bean you will need to check labels. ~Amy