The Best Baked Beans Ever are the perfect mix of sweet and savory. This old fashioned baked beans recipe with bacon will liven up any BBQ or cookout!
If you attend a cookout at my house in the spring or summertime, there’s one dish you can always count on being served no matter what. Rain or shine, bring your appetite for a scoop (or seven) of The Best Baked Beans recipe EVER.
I’ve been eating these beans since I was a kid — we used to call them “Judy’s Baked Beans” (don’t ask me who Judy was/is?!) — and decades later we still make them all spring and summer long.
That said, no summer holiday, potluck, birthday, nor BBQ is complete without a pan of these luscious baked beans that have the perfect balance of sweet and savory flavors. Quick and easy to assemble, then baked low and slow for several hours, they emerge from the oven bubbling and with a lacquered, caramelized top.
Trust me when I tell you that baked beans do NOT get better than this!
Watch How to Make Them
Why You’ll Love this Baked Beans Recipe
Take one bite and you’ll understand why these baked beans deserve the title of “Best Ever”. They’re the perfect side dish for any warm-weather get together!
- Savory + sweet: this summery side dish features savory bacon and smoked sausage plus sweet ingredients including crushed pineapple and brown sugar — aka, they’re irresistible.
- Canned beans: no need to soak and cook dried beans from scratch to make this easy baked bean recipe, as canned beans form the base. I guess you could call them kicked up canned baked beans!
- Pour and bake: all you need to do is pour a handful of everyday ingredients into a casserole dish then send her into the oven — no extra cooking required. Prep the entire dish up to several days ahead of time, if you like.
Pin this now to find it later
Pin ItIngredients Needed
Most of the ingredients needed for this easy baked beans recipe are fridge and pantry staples. I usually buy a case of Bush’s Baked Beans from Costco a couple times each year so we always have a can of beans ready and waiting to be doctored up for this recipe. Here’s what else you’ll need:
- Canned baked beans: are the base of these oven baked beans. I love Bush’s Vegetarian Baked Beans because they’re a little lower in sugar than other varieties, though your favorite flavor will work too. The Costco ones I mentioned are “original” flavor.
- Kielbasa: is added to the baked bean mixture as a nod to “franks and beans” — they’re my favorite part of the recipe. I like Johnsonville brand pork kielbasa.
- Crushed pineapple: melts into the baked beans and adds natural sweetness. That said, be sure to purchase pineapple packed in its own juices, vs heavy syrup.
- Onion: adds savory, cozy flavor to the baked beans.
- Brown sugar: adds sweetness and depth of flavor thanks to the molasses inside.
- Steak sauce and yellow mustard: add a savory, tangy balance to the brown sugar and crushed pineapple. Several splashes of worcestershire sauce is a good sub for steak sauce in a pinch.
- Bacon: sliced bacon covers the top of the beans and permeates each bite with flavor as they bake. Surprisingly, the baked beans don’t taste extremely bacon-y — it just adds to the overall flavor of the dish. Use center cut, vs regular or thick-cut bacon for the best results.
- Ketchup: slathered over the top of the bacon caramelizes in the oven as the beans bake low and slow. The caramelized ketchup not only creates a gorgeous, lacquered top, but a savory, tangy taste, too.
How to Prep Ahead + Store + Freeze
I love how low-fuss this baked beans recipe is — its able to be prepped ahead, reheated, and/or frozen, too!
- How to prep-ahead: assemble the beans up to the point of baking up to 3 days ahead of time. Cover with aluminum foil then refrigerate. Let the baking dish sit on the counter for 30 minutes before baking as normal.
- How to store: cool leftovers to room temperature then cover the baking dish with foil or transfer to an airtight container with a lid and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Reheat individual portions in the microwave.
- How to freeze: assemble the beans up to the point of baking then cover with saran wrap, and then foil, and then place in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw completely in the refrigerator then let the beans sit on the counter for 30 minutes before baking as normal. I like to assemble/freeze the baked beans in disposable aluminum pans.
Alright — let’s get you a scoop of these best ever baked beans!
How to Make the Best Baked Beans Recipe
Step 1: Drain the canned beans.
Start with canned baked beans — again, I highly recommend Bush’s Vegetarian Baked Beans as they’re a little lower in sugar than other varieties.
Open the cans then drain off the liquid that sits on top of each can. This will ensure your baked beans don’t turn out runny.
Step 2: Combine with other ingredients.
Add the beans to a large mixing bowl (or directly into the baking pan) then add diced kielbasa, crushed pineapple that’s been drained, minced onion, brown sugar, steak sauce, and mustard then stir well to combine.
Step 3: Top with sliced bacon and ketchup.
Scoop the mixture into a nonstick sprayed 9×13″ baking dish, or two smaller baking dishes, then line the top with bacon slices. You’ll want center-cut bacon for the best results. Thick-cut bacon won’t cook all the way through. A 9×13″ pan will generally need 3/4 to an entire pack of center-cut bacon.
Finally, slather ketchup over the top of the bacon with the back of a spoon.
Step 4: Bake then rest.
Bake the beans uncovered for 2 — 2-1/2 hours at 250 degrees or until the bacon is deeply caramelized and the beans are bubbling. Feel free to broil near the end to really crisp up the bacon.
Let the beans sit and thicken for 15-30 minutes before scooping and devouring. If you try to dig into the beans before they have a chance to cool and thicken, they’ll be runny.
Seriously, just looking at this photo makes me so very happy. These baked beans scream “summer!” to me, and I hope you, like my family, enjoy them as often as possible during the warm spring and summer months!
More Summer Side Dish Ideas
- Fruit Salad Recipe for a Crowd
- Gluten Free Potato Salad
- The BEST Pasta Salad
- Green Beans with Bacon
- Cucumber and Tomato Salad
- Mediterranean Orzo Salad
- Napa Sweet Corn Salad
- Marinated Vegetable Salad
Ingredients
- 2, 28 oz cans Bush’s Vegetarian Baked Beans, drained well, see notes
- 13.5 oz package kielbasa, chopped into bite-sized pieces, Johnsonville recommended
- 8 oz can crushed pineapple in natural juices, drained well
- 1 small yellow onion, minced
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoons gluten free steak sauce
- 1 Tablespoon mustard
- 1 lb center cut bacon, not thick-cut
- 3/4 cup ketchup
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees then spray a 9×13” baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.
- Pour the drained beans into a large mixing bowl (or directly into the baking dish) with the chopped kielbasa, drained pineapple, onions, brown sugar, steak sauce, and mustard then stir until combined.
- Scoop the mixture into the prepared baking dish then lay the bacon slices across the top of the beans — be sure to not overlap the bacon — they may touch, but don't overlap. Spread the ketchup on top of the bacon with the back of a spoon then bake for 2 — 2-1/2 hours or until the top of the bacon is deeply caramelized. Feel free to broil the bacon to further crisp it up. Allow the beans to cool for at least 15-30 minutes before serving otherwise they can be runny.
Notes
- I like using Bush’s Vegetarian Baked Beans because the sugar content is a little lower than other varieties. You can use your favorite type of canned baked beans, just be mindful of the sugar quantity and how sweet you like your final baked beans to be.
- I like to bake these beans using the convection setting on my oven so the bacon cooks all the way through at the cook temperature and time indicated in the recipe. If your oven doesn’t have a convection setting, or runs a little cool, feel free to bake at 300 or 325 degrees instead of 250 degrees.
- Recipe and photos updated in 2022. Original recipe called for 3lbs VanCamp’s pork & beans instead of the Bush’s Baked Beans.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
Photos by Ashley McLaughlin
Kristin!!! My family loved these beans, and my son in law declared them the best he’s ever eaten :) Even my husband liked them and that’s saying something! It made a big pan, but everyone was happy to take home leftovers. Thanks for another recipe staple!
I’m thrilled to hear that, Jane!! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating – I’m so glad everyone loved them!
Hi! I would like to make these for a camping trip but am unsure of the best way to reheat? Our camping situation is fairly primitive. Thank so much and I have made these before and they are the BEST!
Hi Liz!! I might pre-bake the whole thing then snip up the baked bacon and mix it in. Then, reheat in a pot on the campfire. If you won’t have refrigeration, I’d swap the bacon for pre-cooked bacon bits then stir that into the other ingredients with a few squirts of ketchup and then heat over the campfire. I’m SO glad you love these beans!!!
I have used this recipe for years & always take it to BBQ’s. Everyone loves my beans (your recipe) and asks for it! I add a few things to make it my own. For the people commenting on it being too liquid-y, drain the whole can before adding beans.
This truly thrills me to hear, Lori!! Thank you so much for making and sharing my recipe!
Your site is a go-to for GF recipes for me, so I came here for side dish inspiration and these looked amazing. I just had to join the feedback that something is off here :( After reading other comments about being soupy and bacon not caramelizing, I drained ALL the liquid from beans and pineapple. I used normal, thin sliced bacon. I baked at 300* for almost 3 hours. The ketchup managed a somewhat caramelized look, but the bacon underneath was floppy and not caramelized at all. The bean/kielbasa mixture underneath was soupy. The flavor is very good! I think I’ll play with the recipe a bit and try again because I do like that flavor. Maybe like another comment mentioned, cooking the bacon and crumbling into the mixture, then cooking at 350 ish. I really don’t understand how you’re able to pull this glorious dish off at 250 for 2-2.5 hours. Maybe you just have a really great oven?!
I will do my due diligence to try and figure out what the issue is here because I’m still making them according to the recipe I haven’t changed since it was first posted here in 2012, and they come out the same every time! I’m so sorry you had this experience, Crystal! Can you tell me what brand of beans you were using?
Hi again Crystal! We made the beans again this weekend and they turned out as they always do, but here are a couple of more tips (I updated the post copy too!)
1. A 15-30 minute resting time after baking takes the beans from soupy to thick and creamy. There are several ingredients in the dish that are liquid at high heat (sugar, bacon fat, etc) that they really do need this time to rest and thicken up as the dish cools.
2. I don’t know how much of a difference this makes, but we do bake using the convection setting on our oven.
3. If you are experiencing soggy bacon, try using center cut. I do believe in the US that the quality of bacon has changed drastically in that bacon has so much more fat than meat these days, which would explain why the bacon is soggy. Center cut bacon would help with that.
4. Feel free to broil the beans at the end for as long as necessary to crisp up the top of the bacon.
5. If cooking at a higher heat works best for you, that’s totally fine. Really all we’re doing is heating up the bean mixture, and making sure the bacon is cooked through, so if the bacon does best at a higher temperature in your particular oven, that is totally fine. This is a dish that you can’t really mess up because again, you’re really just heating everything through and cooking the bacon.
Let me know if that helps!!!
Thank you for your replies! I used Bush’s beans, though not vegetarian.
I completely agree that bacon has changed significantly in the last few years, and it drives me mad! I keep noting how some bacon cooks up yellow, and other bacon is extremely fatty. It’s just not the bacon that I remember from my younger days.
I wondered if you were using convection, because I really preferred using the nice convection oven in our prior home. Our current oven sadly does not have that option and I miss it.
Thanks again for helping with brainstorming! I really love your recipes. I’m off to make your ham and bean soup for dinner tonight :)
My pleasure, Crystal! I run into these types of challenges from time to time as companies change not only their product quality, but package sizes (for example, in an older recipe I may have called for a 12oz package of whatever the product is, but they currently sell it in a 10oz package, and so that can cause inconsistent results as you can imagine!) I appreciate your patience and willing to talk this out with me!! :D
Help! I so wanted to love this but as others said it was very soupy and the bacon wasn’t done after 2.5 hours at 250, then 10 minutes broiled on high which just left some black spots. They caramelized a little bit but nowhere near crispy. I did not use any sausage which maybe accounted for soupiness but what do you do about the bacon? Cook it separately 1st?
Hi Aimee, I’m sorry to hear that! Can you tell me what brand of beans you were using? Did you drain off the liquid on top first? Did you also drain the liquid from the pineapple? What kind of bacon was used? Happy to help troubleshoot!