A favorite in both the US and the UK, baked beans are a great side dish for many meals.
They are sweet, tangy, and loaded with plenty of protein. They work great as a side to a burger, or a topping for other dishes like sweet potatoes. Today, most of us are probably familiar with canned baked beans, but traditionally they were slow cooked in a ceramic or cast-iron beanpot. Since most of us probably don’t have a beanpot laying around, we were wondering if there was a way to make this great side using a slow cooker.
Tried these yesterday for the 4th of July. Excellent recipe. I like how you can control the sugar and fat content without losing the flavor. I thought the canned beans would get mushy with the cook time, seeing they are already cooked, but they stayed firm. I will make these as a regular side dish.
These are great and I’m not even a baked bean fan! The only tweak I made was to use “Dave’s BBQ Sauce” from here (super easy to make from pantry staples) and I do think that probably imparted a bit more flavor than a bottled sauce, so keep that in mind. I may have used a bit more ham, too, simply because it’s what I had left to use. These received rave reviews from guests and multiple recipe requests. This will become a rib dinner side staple at the LTH house. THANKS for the recipe, wannabe chefette!
This was a hit with my family (including an 8 year old) and our friends! I substituted bacon for the ham and substituted 1 can of Northern beans for light kidney beans. We are making it again today for a family get together! Easy recipe to double for bigger crowds.
SLOW COOKER BAKED BEANS
(makes about 4 servings)
Ingredients
1lb dry white beans
1/2 cup molasses
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 cup hot water
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2lb salt pork cut into 1/2″ pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Directions
Place the beans in a large pot and cover with 2″ of water. Soak overnight and drain.
Mix the molasses, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and cloves with the tomato paste, chicken broth, and hot water.
Line the bottom of the slow cooker with half the salt pork (choose the fattiest pieces). Layer over it with half of the dried beans. Add all of the onions and garlic in a layer, then top with the remaining beans and remaining salt pork. Pour the water/tomato sauce mixture over the beans.
Cover and cook in the slow cooker on low for 8-12 hours, or until the beans are tender. Check the water level a few hours in. If the beans need more water, add some. Add salt to taste if needed.
Enjoy!
From: Allrecipes.com