The Best Baked Beans Ever

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!

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 2 30

Total Time 2 45

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword dairy free, gluten free

Method Baking

Servings

Calories 455kcal

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

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees then spray a 9x13” 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.

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.