Crock Pot Baked Beans

You'll never want canned baked beans again once you eat crock pot baked beans made from scratch! Made with canned navy beans, onion, molasses, brown sugar, and a kick of spicy mustard, these easy and delicious baked beans are covered in a thick, smoky-sweet sauce. 

Dust off your slow cooker and make these beans for your next BBQ, cookout, or as a potluck side dish.

this …

Why This Recipe Works 

• Using a crock pot or slow cooker means you don’t have to run the oven for hours or heat up the house in the summer.
• This recipe doubles easily and is a perfect side dish when you’re feeding a crowd.
• It's easy to make ahead (set it and forget it) and freeze for later.
• You can control the amount of sweetener and easily make these beans vegetarian.
• Beans are healthy! They’re high in fiber and protein, and research suggests they have prebiotic compounds that can improve gut health. Baked beans are a delicious way to eat more beans. 

Recipe Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make these baked beans. I’ve listed a few substitutions and variations in the section below.

Beans. I recommend canned navy beans. These small, white beans are traditionally used in Boston-style baked beans because they’re soft and creamy and maintain their shape during cooking. Navy beans are also known as small white beans.

Bacon. This is optional, but it adds a nice, smoky flavor. Plus, you only need two or three slices. You’ll precook the bacon to remove most of the fat, and then remove the bacon slices before serving the beans. Buy center cut (it has less fat) and uncured bacon.

Molasses. It adds a nice, rich flavor and makes the sauce extra thick.

Mustard. Use brown Dijon or whole-grain mustard, which has more heat and flavor than yellow mustard.

Apple cider vinegar. This helps balance the sweetness of the sauce.

Substitutions and Variations

• For vegetarian baked beans, skip the bacon.
• Add jalapeños, garlic, and chili powder for a Southwest flavor or a pinch of cayenne pepper for some heat.
• Swap barbecue sauce for the brown sugar and molasses.
• For less sugar, swap a zero-calorie brown sugar and use less molasses.
• Use turkey bacon or crumbled chicken sausage if you don't eat pork.
• Instead of navy beans, substitute Great Northern, pinto, or cannellini beans. Note that cannellini beans are often very soft and may not hold their shape as well as the others.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Saute the bacon. Trim as much fat as possible from your bacon slices. Cook the bacon over medium-high heat in a skillet until most of the remaining fat is rendered. Remove the bacon and discard the fat.

2. Saute the onion. Dice the onion and add it to the skillet. Saute it on medium-high heat for three to five minutes or until it is wilted and golden. 

3. Combine the ingredients in a slow cooker. Set the cooker to low, cover, and cook for four to five hours.

4. Stir the beans occasionally. They'll be finished with they are deep brown in color and the sauce is thick. Remove the bacon strips before serving.

Expert Tips

Because there's a little bit of bacon fat in the pan, I don’t add extra oil to the skillet when sauteeing the onions. However, I add about two tablespoons of water to help them wilt and start browning faster. Browning your onions brings out more of their natural sweetness.

The bean liquid will be very thin initially, but it will thicken up after about four hours. If your beans seem too dry, add about ¼ cup of water to thin the sauce as they cook. 

I use canned beans because they save about eight hours of cooking time, and they’re just as healthy as dry beans. If you prefer to use dry navy beans, you’ll need to make this recipe in two steps: 

• First, cover the dry beans with about 6 cups of cold water and cook them in the slow cooker on low for at least eight hours or until tender. 
• Second, drain the cooking liquid and proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Don’t oversalt your beans! I only add ¼ teaspoon of salt to the crock pot before they cook because the bacon is already very high in salt. You can add more salt if needed after the beans are completely cooked.

What to Eat With Crock Pot Baked Beans

Serve these beans with other cookout favorites like:

• Burgers or any BBQ chicken or meat
• 5 Bean salad
• Sweet potato cornbread
• Old fashioned potato salad
• Zucchini pickles or pickled Hatch chiles and sweet onions
• A pitcher of fruited sun tea

Recipe FAQs

Related Side Dish Recipes

Planning a barbecue or summer cookout? Try these recipes too!

Recipe