In my quest to eat healthy 80% of the time, I rarely cook or keep certain foods around the house for fear – nay, knowing – that my lack of self control around them will no doubt tip the scales in the exact opposite direction, sending me straight into I need dis mode. Such foods include:
Chips. Any and all kinds, but especially kettle cooked BBQ and Cheddar & Sour Cream Ruffles. They have this crazy schnauzer effect on me, aka I could eat them until I explode.
Dried apricots. Sure, a small handful qualifies as a healthy snack – but half the bag? Not so much.
Summer sausage. Yep.
Pasta. Preferably white and copious.
Graham crackers. Especially when there’s white frosting involved.
Judy’s Baked Beans. Ahhhh, sweet, salty, luscious Judy’s Baked Beans! Another one of my Mom’s recipes that I grew up eating…and eating…and eating… My appetite knows no bounds when it comes to this 4th of July-friendly side dish, but they are well worth the occasional splurge.
What’s makes Judy’s Baked Beans so special is the addition of contrasting flavors like sweet brown sugar and crushed pineapple, and savory steak sauce and kielbasa in the mix. They are seriously the best baked beans to ever cross my lips.
The recipe comes from my Mom’s aunt’s friend’s cousin’s uncle’s dentist. You know – one of those recipes. We still have no idea who Judy is but, dangit, we sure do love her beans! ;)
They’re really easy to make, too. Start with 3lbs VanCamp’s Pork & Beans. The name is weird because there’s actually less than 2% pork in the beans, but whatevs!
Drain off some of the liquid in the can, then pour the beans into a large bowl.
Next add 1 large chopped onion, and 1 can crushed pineapple that’s been drained.
Then add more sweet and savory ingredients like 1/2 cup brown sugar, 3 Tablespoons steak sauce, and 1 Tablespoon regular mustard.
 
 
I know, me too!
Stir everything together to combine.
Next chop 1 package kielbasa and stir it into the mix. I halve then quarter the kilebasa to get nice, bite-sized pieces. (PS this is my favorite part of the beans!)
 
Pour the beans into a non-stick sprayed 9×13 baking dish (I made a half recipe when I was taking photos so what you see below is an 8×8.)
Layer 1/2 package bacon on top, then slather the bacon with 3/4 cup ketchup. Gee, no wonder I like these beans so much – they’re covered in bacon!
 
Bake for 2 hours at 250 degrees until the bacon is deeply caramelized. I didn’t let mine get that deep because, well, I was hungry and you seriously have no idea how intoxicatingly delicious these smell while cooking! But for reals, wait ’til it’s deeply caramelized. You’ll be glad ya’ did. ;)
Let the beans sit at room temperature for 10 minutes after baking, then ladle ’em up.
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Judy’s Baked Beans
Description
Judy's Baked Beans is an old family recipe for baked beans. They truly are the best ever!
Ingredients
- 3lbs VanCamp's pork & beans
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 small can crushed pineapple, slightly drained
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoons steak sauce
- 1 Tablespoon mustard
- 1 package kielbasa, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 package bacon
- 3/4 cup ketchup
Directions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Drain some of the liquid off the top of the can of beans then mix with onion, crushed pineapple, brown sugar, steak sauce, mustard, and kielbasa in a large bowl. Pour mixture into a non-stick sprayed 9x13 baking dish then lay bacon strips across the top. Spread ketchup on top of the bacon and bake for 2 hours, or until the top is deeply caramelized. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
Creamy, sweet – not too sweet! – and so rich and satisfying. Like I said – no self control around these babies!
I usually enjoy an occasional bowl of ’em at my parent’s house in the summertime, when my Mom makes a big batch for my birthday or a special BBQ, but sometimes you have to throw caution to the wind and bake a big, self-control defying batch yourself. Holla!
I hear this recipe freezes well, but if my licked plate is any indication, I doubt we’ll ever know for sure.
Help! These were a family FAVORITE for years, and I’ve always come straight to your website to get the the recipe each time – but the last two times they’re soupy and not caramelizing at all. It seems like the temp on the recipe used to be higher. Am I crazy??
Oh no! I haven’t touched the recipe, but it’s possible that the beans and/or the pineapple products have changed to include more liquid than they used to. Next time I’d drain the beans more, and the pineapple all the way. Let me know if that helps!
Wow, this was so easy to go back and find! Longtime(2010!)reader who doesn’t eat red meat or pork, nor does my now-spouse–all that to say, do you think these beans will taste good with turkey substitutes? Won’t be mad if the answer is no. ??
Hi Heather! Thank you so much for being a long time, loyal reader! I think if you guys like the flavor of turkey substitutes then they could definitely work in here. If you have liquid smoke on hand, I might add a dash of that (start with a little – you can always add more) to mimic the flavor of the pork bacon and smoked pork sausage.
Can these be made in a crockpot
You bet – here’s the recipe: https://iowagirleats.com/2016/06/20/crock-pot-baked-beans/
Can you turn this recipe into a party tray size? If so, how?
Thanks!
I would double it for a 15+ person party!
I made this for my family tonight for our Fourth of July dinner and it was a huge hit! Thanks so much for sharing!
these are in the oven right now and they smell amazing…and just like the beans my gramma makes! i’m also making some bbq chicken but by the smell of them i kind of just want to eat the beans, haha.
i know this is an old post, but as for foods i can’t leave alone – storebought potato salad, especially if i’m drunk or hungover (weird, i know). rolls & soft real butter (if we end up with leftover rolls or bread from a bakery i will literally throw it away so i don’t eat it all at night, haha!) and i saw someone else mention pastries – i am not a sweets person really, but if i ever bought cheese danish (which i haven’t yet) that wouldn’t last the day i’m sure.
i also tend to eat too many doritos – not even because they’re so good, but because you’ll get one really good chip (you know, the one totally coated in cheese flavoring) and you spend the rest of the bag eating away searching for another mysterious “good chip”! (and yes, i do sometimes take one out, look at it, and put it back in the bag!)
by the way, these were as delicious as they smelled! boyperson said he could smell them all the way downstairs (we live on the third floor) and whatever it was, it smelled awesome. i halved the recipe for us, and the only other “changes” i made were that i used bold & spicy A1 (just what i had on hand) and used the full amount of mustard and a little salt so it wouldn’t be too sweet. definitely added to my bookmarks!
oh, for the half recipe i used two 14oz cans of campbells pork & beans. (my store doesn’t carry van camp’s.)
To up your recipe another level add Frenchs Fried onions to your mixture. Crush some to mix in then add additional as a topper toward the end of the cooking time. You’ll love it.
I made your baked beans for our race party and they were a hit! So delicious. I wish there were leftovers.