Summer is officially here! Bring on brat burgers, pasta salad, potato salad, fruit salad (ALL THE SALADS!) corn on the cob, Dirt Cake, and Crock Pot Baked Beans. No summer get together is complete without baked beans and cooking them in the crock pot has been a total revelation for me!
There is no way I’m turning the oven on to bake my standard baked bean recipe for 2 hours in this weather – not when I can contain the heat in a crock pot and let it do the cooking for me.
This baked bean recipe is basically the crock pot version of my Mom famous Baked Beans, aka Judy’s Baked Beans. (Although her name is Shirley. Right.) It’s extra meaty, calling for both Polish Kielbasa (one of my love languages,) and bacon, and lightly sweetened with brown sugar. The mix of savory and sweet is SO good!
This recipe is also great for a crowd because it makes a ton of baked beans and is portable. Slow cook then take to a friend’s house for a BBQ, or transfer straight from the base to the table at your own get-together. No matter what, you’ll love the rich and sassy, perfectly sweet and tangy taste of these delicious and summery baked beans!
How to Make This Recipe
Start by adding 14oz gluten-free Polish Kielbasa (I like Johnsonville brand which is GF,) and 4 slices bacon that have been chopped to a large skillet with 1 large shallot or 1 small onion that’s been chopped. Turn the heat to medium then saute until the bacon is cooked through but not super crisp, 10-12 minutes.
Pour everything (bacon fat and all – hello, flavor!) into the bottom of a 6-quart crock pot then add two 28oz cans baked beans, 1/4 cup ketchup, 2 Tablespoons brown sugar (or more if you like your baked beans super sweet,) and 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce then stir everything to combine. You can do this a day ahead of time so all you have to do is place the crock into the base and turn it on the day you’re going to eat. Great time saver!
I’ve liked Bush’s Best Vegetarian Baked Beans for years and years. Obviously, I’m not vegetarian, but this particular brand/variety is gluten-free and not tooth-achingly sweet. That said, you can use whatever you like.
Place a lid on top of the crock pot then cook on low for six hours. Remove the lid to let the liquid thicken up for 10 minutes or so then scoop and serve with all your cookout favorites. Hope you enjoy this easy summer side dish!
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Crock Pot Baked Beans
Description
Crock Pot Baked Beans is a rich, sassy, and super simple crock pot recipe that's sure to become a summertime side dish staple at your house!
Ingredients
- 14oz Polish Kielbasa, quartered then chopped
- 4 slices bacon, chopped
- 1 large shallot or 1 small onion, chopped
- 2, 28oz cans Bush’s Best Vegetarian Baked Beans (or your favorite brand/variety)
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar (or more if you like your baked beans super sweet)
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Directions
- Add kielbasa, bacon, and shallot (or onion) to an unheated, large skillet then place over medium heat. Saute until bacon is cooked through but not too crispy, 10-12 minutes, then transfer mixture to a 6 quart crock pot. Add remaining ingredients then stir to combine.
- Cook on low for 6 hours then remove crock pot lid to allow liquid to thicken up for 10 minutes, and then serve.
Notes
- I recommend this 6-quart crock pot >
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
I don’t have a working crockpot at the moment and would like to make these for the upcoming holiday weekend. What would you think about making them on the stovetop, and what instructions would you suggest? Thanks :)
I actually have a baked version of this recipe – it’s incredible! https://iowagirleats.com/the-best-baked-beans-ever/
Thank you! I’ll give those a try!
Could you cook it on high for half the time or is it better on low for six hours?
I’m sure cooking on high is fine!
[…] good baked bean recipe for summer BBQs and finally found it. Since Fourth of July, I’ve made this recipe three times and it’s been a hit every […]
[…] Crock Pot Baked Beans from Iowa Girl Eats kicks up canned baked beans with the addition of Kielbasa, bacon, shallots, and other tasty additions including Worcestershire sauce! […]
do you think a double batch would fit in a 6 quart crock pot ?
It would be full, but I think it could fit!
[…] Crock Pot Baked Beans from Iowa Girl Eats kicks up canned baked beans with the addition of Kielbasa, bacon, shallots, and other tasty additions including Worcestershire sauce! […]
Love this great side dish recipe! I am with you, I didn’t like baked beans much when I was a kid but now it is a whole different story. These look delicious and I love that you can make them early in the day and let them cook in the crock pot. Pinning!
Thank you very much for sharing this recipe! I compared the original to this slow cooker version and decided to give this one a go. A definite hit with my family! I used an Oscar Meyer Select uncured beef sausage instead of kielbasa because I had it on hand. And I really liked the vegetarian Bush’s for the base — will be using those again for sure. Delicious all around!
So glad to hear it, Valerie! Thanks so much for the feedback!
I put the same ingredients in my baked beans, even the same Bush’s! My secret ingredient? Black strap molasses!
oh my gosh! I am so excited about these!!! We made Judys baked beans a holiday staple since….well since the original post haha! and I know these will be a hit as well :D woohoo! just in time <3
I LOVE this recipe. I’ve never added Worcestershire Sauce before, but the other thing I do differently is that I add Brown Sugar (Dark or Light) and Light Maple Syrup. I am going to use this one as my base….. I’m all about the base ha!
I’ve been making your recipe for Judy’s Baked Beans for a couple of years now. I noticed this version omits the crushed pineapple. Is that just to make them less sweet?
I omitted them because the oven caramelizes the pineapple and I didn’t think the crock pot would give the same effect. If you really love the pinneapple though, definitely throw some in. You can’t really mess up baked beans! :)
Kielbasa is a great ingredient for baked beans! Nice!!
Do you think you could freeze the extras? This looks amazing but it’s only 2 of us so I would love to freeze in smaller portions for later!
Definitely! This recipe would also be extremely easy to halve then cook for 2-3 hours.
Yum! Looks delicious. I would love to try a veggie version of this! So fun for summer :)
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Sounds like a great weekend! That would’ve been me, getting soaked… Haha! My weekend was pretty productive too: got some cleaning done and on Sunday we went out for Brunch. Love this recipe btw! We eat baked beans so often, so this one we’d definitely love too.
Yeah! I need a deep cleaning session too. Sounds like a great weekend – have an even better week, Vivian!
Thank you so much!!!! Having 50 -75 people over for a party on the 2nd. I wanted to make Judy’s Baked Beans but really didn’t want to have to commit to all of that oven time. This is the perfect solution! You’re the best!
Totally!! Get two or three crock pots going and you should be set!