This simple Homemade Baked Beans Recipe transforms canned navy beans into a sweet and savory side dish that rivals any store-bought version — it's a great copycat version of Bush's Baked Beans! Ready in less than 30 minutes with bacon, molasses, and a perfect blend of spices, this is your new go-to baked beans recipe.
WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?
Enter your email below and we'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus you’ll get great new recipes from us every week!
🫘 I keep both dried beans and canned beans in the pantry so I can make any number of recipes with beans like bean soup and bean side dishes!
My 2 Best Tips For This Homemade Baked Beans Recipe
Don't Skip the Bacon: The rendered fat and browned bits from cooking the bacon create a flavorful base that's essential to the recipe. It doesn't take much bacon, and in a pinch you could even use just bacon grease if you have some saved in the fridge!
Try Different Sweeteners: While this recipe calls for a combination of brown sugar and molasses, you can experiment with maple syrup, honey, or even a bit of barbecue sauce to create different flavors. This helps mix it up so you're not having the exact same dish every time. My personal faves are maple syrup for maple-flavored baked beans and BBQ flavored by adding BBQ sauce!
Baked beans are one of those classic sides that remind me of backyard barbecues, potlucks, and family gatherings. But the store-bought canned version just doesn't compare to homemade.
You can easily adjust the sweetness to your liking (something you can't do with canned beans!) and add in any extra ingredients you want.
It's also super quick to make! From start to finish, it takes just 25 minutes.
Use this recipe for a BBQ side dish, or serve it as a main dish with some crusty bread and cheese! There's no wrong way to enjoy these delicious and easy beans.
If you're looking for some inspiration, these are some of my favorite dishes to pair with baked beans:
- Buttermilk cornbread — Cornbread is always a super star served with beans.
- Grilled corn on the cob — A perfect combo for summer gatherings.
- Oven baked pork chops — So good together!
- Crockpot short ribs — Ribs and baked beans show up often on our summer menu.
🩷 Melissa
Recipe Ingredients
- Bacon
- Canned Navy Beans — or use cooked dried beans
- Ketchup
- Mustard
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Brown Sugar
- Molasses
- Paprika
- Tumeric
- Onion Powder
- Garlic Powder
For the exact amounts needed, please see the recipe card below.
Bush's Baked Bean Recipe Variations
This recipe is the perfect base to add your own twist and create different flavor variations. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- BBQ Baked Beans: Add some of your favorite BBQ sauce for extra smoky flavor! If the brand you use is fairly sweet, reduce the brown sugar used in the recipe.
- Sweet Maple Bacon Beans: Completely remove the brown sugar and add ¼ cup of maple syrup instead! Smoked bacon would work amazingly with this flavor combination.
- Herb and Garlic Baked Beans: Add some chopped fresh herbs and add a little more garlic powder. I would use thyme, rosemary, and parsley for this variation, but feel free to use whatever herbs you like!
- Hawaiian Baked Beans: Hear me out on this one — add chopped pineapple to the mix! The sweetness and acidity of the pineapple just works with the flavors in this recipe.
- Spicy Baked Beans: Add some chopped jalapeños, green chiles, or your favorite hot sauce for a spicy kick!
How to Make Homemade Baked Beans Using Canned Beans
Step 1: Cook the bacon and drain the fat out of the pan. Leave any other bits in the pan. Drain and rinse the navy beans.
Step 2: Combine the navy beans and all the remaining ingredients in the pan. Bring to a low simmer.
Step 3: Simmer for 15 minutes until thickened, and the flavors have developed.
WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?
Enter your email below and we will send it straight to your inbox. Plus you will get great new recipes from us every week!
Homemade Baked Beans Recipe (Bush's Baked Beans Copycat)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup bacon (chopped and cooked)
- 2 cans navy beans (about 15 oz each)
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 4 tablespoons brown sugar
- ¼ cup molasses
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon tumeric
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Cook the bacon and drain the fat out of the pan but leave any other bits.
- Drain and rinse the navy beans.
- Combine the navy beans and all the remaining ingredients in the pan.
- Bring to a low simmer.
- Simmer for 15 minutes, until thickened and the flavors have melded.
Notes
- Once they're cooled, place them in an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
- They freeze beautifully! Allow them to cool completely, then transfer to freezer-safe containers, leaving some headspace for expansion. They can be frozen for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating on the stove or in the microwave.
Nutrition
Recipe FAQs
Yes! These homemade baked beans actually taste even better the next day as the flavors have more time to meld together. Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Yes! You will need to cook the dried beans ahead of time until they are cooked through and soft but still hold their shape.
Navy beans are the traditional beans used for baked beans because they hold their shape so well but are tender. Great northern beans, cannellini beans, and butter beans are all good substitutions for navy beans.
More Favorites From Longbourn Farm
Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ review and share it on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!
charlene
Delicious! I didn't have molasses so substituted date syrup, worked great! I try to stay away from processed stuff preferring to control my own ingredients and this is a perfect bean recipe. Thanks Melissa!
Melissa Griffiths
Ohhh a maple baked bean sounds amazing! I'm going to try that!
Shai
Thank you for this recipe! I hope you are well.
I live in Europe but I've heard people online rave about Bush's baked beans, which aren't available here. I wanted to know what they were like so I followed your recipe, but I replaced the bacon with vegan bacon since I don't eat pork. I also left out the sugar because I know a lot of US foods are a bit too sweet for my tastes, and I figured the molasses by itself would be plenty. They taste amazing! I will definitely make them again.
Jp
Made these today after several failed attempts at other recipes. I made this using dried beans i cooked ahead in my instant pot, and I used thick cut bacon cut finely, along with diced white onion. Finally, Success! Great recipe! Flavor holds up well and they are pretty darn tasty!
Melissa G
So glad you had a great turnout with this recipe!
Stephie
Dear Melissa,
Someone else had asked but didn't have a response yet. Could I use pinto beans and would it come out the same? I am asking because I have two 12 lb bags of pinto beans I need to use up. I have been looking for a copycat or similar recipe to Bush's baked beans for a while. Bush's baked beans are my favorite and it's the only I will buy. I hope you will answer the question about the pinto beans. I would also like to know if you have an opinion about using specific beans for recipes as I feel like they all taste pretty much the same to me. I also have two 12 lb bags of black beans I need to use up. I haven't seen any black bean recipes I'm too keen on. You did say you have other bean recipes for soups and side dishes. I will definitely be looking at them as well. Your recipe for these baked beans looks delicious and I have a feeling these beans are going to be incredible. I am very much looking forward to trying your recipe and for this and your others. I am especially looking for bean recipes for soups. When I look for soup recipes using black beans, only receive are black bean soup recipes and they are all pretty much the same. There was one that was remotely good but I had to tweak it a bit. I am not specifically looking for a black bean soup recipe. I just want to use black beans and pinto beans for that matter. So if you have any other ideas or can tell me where to look that would be so helpful and I would appreciate it. I am also hoping that you will let me know about pinto beans with this Bush's baked bean recipe or using either of my types of beans with any baked bean recipe. 😊
Melissa Griffiths
Yes! They will work great, you'll be happy with them in this recipe. And sorry for the slow reply, I moved cross country and it's been a busy summer!
Naomi Olofsson
OK, I'm American, but I've lived in Sweden for 25 years. I took my Swedish husband and family to the US to visit a few times, and they love baked beans! Problem is that we can't get Bush's here in Sweden, so we looked for and found your recipe! We've been making it a while now, and it is our number one most requested dish to make or bring to barbeques here, and we've shared the recipe a number of times! For Swedes, Norwegians, and Danes, here's the recipe translated!
2 paket tärnat bacon
2 förpackningar "små vita bönor"
2 matskedar ketchup
1 tesked senap
1 matsked äppelcidervinägar
4 matskedar muskavado (mörk helst)
½ dl mörk sirap
¾ tesked salt
¼ tesked peppar
¼ tesked paprikapulver
¼ tesked gurkmeja
½ tesked lökpulver
½ tesked vitlökspulver
½ dl vatten
Stek bacaonet. Beroende på hur mycket fett som blir kvar så kan man sila bort lite.
Skölj av bönorna
Ha ned samtliga ingredienser i en kastrull
Koka upp och låt det puttra i ca 15 minuter. Det får inte koka för hårt för då blir bönorna för mosiga.
Caroline
Why couldn't use Pinto beans as a substitute?