Southern Baked Beans have a touch of sweetness from brown sugar and lots of flavor from onion, peppers, and seasonings. These are easy and your folks will love them!
There’s one dish you can take to almost any potluck and it will be in fashion, and that’s these Southern Baked Beans. Whether the main dish is Pulled Pork, Roast Chicken, Alabama White Sauce Chicken, Smoked Chicken Legs, or even a conglomeration of vegetable dishes, baked beans work with almost everything.
They’re filling and, for the most part, fairly nutritious—although the bacon and brown sugar probably detract from that a bit!
I like my baked beans to have a little bit of heat and a little sweetness, pretty much the same way I like barbecue sauce and almost any savory dish, even roasted vegetables. Doesn’t everything taste better with a little cayenne and brown sugar?
How to Make Southern Baked Beans
You can make these Southern Baked Beans in the slow cooker if you prefer, or you can bake them in the oven. I like things to be easy, so I don’t even saute the onions and peppers. I just toss everything into the pot and bake them. By the time the beans are done, the vegetables are tender.
I don’t cook the bacon first either because I want all the bacon grease to get down into the beans. If you want to crisp the bacon a little bit, you can stick the pot under the broiler for a few minutes once the beans are done, but I usually don’t even bother doing that. Simple is best!
Southern Baked Beans can be made ahead of time, even a couple of days before you need them. Baked beans keep for several days in the refrigerator and can be frozen for longer storage. I often make a big batch and freeze quart-sized bags to use for simple suppers at home.
Southern Baked Beans
Ingredients
- 4 28- ounce cans pork n beans, drained
- 1 small white onion, finely chopped
- ½ green bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- ½ cup molasses
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 ½ cups ketchup
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 8 slices bacon, chopped into 1-inch pieces
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°.
- Combine all ingredients except bacon in a large bowl and stir gently until well mixed. Place in a lightly greased large Dutch oven or a lightly greased large baking dish, top with bacon pieces, and bake for 2 hours. At this point, you can broil for a few minutes to crisp the bacon edges or just stir the bacon into the beans.
