easy baked beans

Barbecue Pinto Beans

Barbecue Pinto Beans

We made this recipe in class the other night. Everyone liked it. With the Labor Day weekend fast approaching, it would make a great side dish for your holiday meal. It really is simple. Once the pinto beans are cooked and tender, you add the rest of the ingredients and let them simmer together until the flavors blend. You could use a slow cooker, if you like.

This recipe doesn’t call for any meat. You could certainly add some bacon, if you like. So here is the recipe. Enjoy!!

Barbecued Pinto Beans

1 lb. dried pinto beans

1 onion, chopped

5 cloves minced garlic

1 bay leaf

3/4 c. ketchup

1/3 c. packed brown sugar

1/4 c. spicy mustard

2 T. chili powder

2 T. Worcestershire sauce

1 T. paprika

2 t. hot pepper sauce

1 1/2 t. dried thyme

Rinse beans and place in a large pot. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Boil 5 minutes and remove from heat. Allow to stand 1 hour. Drain and return beans to pot. Cover with fresh cold salted water and bring to a simmer. Cook, covered, until beans are tender, about 1 hour. Drain and return to pot with remaining ingredients adding a cup of water. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook over low heat, covered 30 minutes or longer or until mixture is thickened and flavors have blended. Add more water if needed. Season with salt to taste. Serves 6-8.

Note: After the beans are tender you can throw the whole dish into a slow cooker and let it simmer for 1- 2 hours.

Amy’s Baked Beans

Amy’s Baked Beans

This is a wonderful recipe for baked beans. I got the recipe from my friend Amy. She used to make them for almost every summer barbecue. Unlike traditional “baked” beans, this recipe starts with canned beans.

I love traditional baked beans. The ones baked all day, until the beans get tender and the flavors are perfectly blended. But I don’t always have time to make them.  By starting with canned beans, it saves a whole lot of time, without compromising flavor. When I serve these beans, everyone comes back for seconds.

It’s a simple recipe, with relatively few ingredients.  It can be baked in the oven, or done in a crock pot.

Super easy and very tasty.

Amy’s Baked Beans*

6 c. chopped onion

1 lb. ground meat

1 lb. bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 c. brown sugar

2 cans tomato soup

3 can butter beans, rinsed and drained

Mix onion, meat and bacon in skillet and cook until onions are translucent. Drain off excess fat. Place in Dutch oven with remaining ingredients and cook, covered, in a 350 degree oven for 90 minutes.

Note: You can also cook in a crock pot on high for 4 hours or longer. Uncover, for awhile, if you like, for thicker sauce.

*This recipe has been in the McWilliam family for several generations. They are also called Grandma McWilliam’s Beans and before that Aunt Elizabeth’s Beans.

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