When I’m invited to a potluck or backyard barbecue, I always offer to make the beans. It doesn’t really matter what else is on the menu because homemade baked beans seem to go well with everything. Creamy beans swimming in a sweet and savory sauce with a smoky bacon flavor—who can resist? Baked beans are rich enough to hold their own against meaty main dishes like crispy fried chicken or slow-cooker pulled pork sandwiches. Yet they’re also simple and humble enough to serve with roasted vegetables, salads or eggs and toast.

Over the years, I’ve made a lot of bean dishes and learned that the best baked beans start with dried beans. Canned beans are convenient, but dried beans are 100% worth the effort. They taste better and offer more bang for your buck.

Of course, there’s no denying that dried beans take longer to prepare. Most of the cook time is hands-off, but not everyone has time for dried beans (especially on a busy weeknight). Don’t worry; we’ll offer some suggestions for how to use a pressure cooker as a shortcut and how to adapt this recipe for canned beans. Once you learn how to make baked beans from scratch, you’ll never look back!

Ingredients for Homemade Baked Beans

• Dried navy beans: Navy beans are the traditional choice for homemade baked beans. These beans have a nutty, buttery flavor and a creamy texture. They hold their shape and won’t break down over long cook times, which is why they’re typically used in canned baked beans and canned pork-and-beans.
• Salt: This is the secret ingredient for making the most flavorful baked beans from scratch. When beans soak in salted water, the calcium and magnesium in their cell walls breaks apart, softening the once-tough skins and ensuring the beans will cook more evenly.
• Bacon: Everything is better with bacon! Bacon adds smoky, salty, savory vibes to homemade baked beans. Just make sure to start with cooked bacon. If you use uncooked bacon, the fat will render out into the sauce, and the beans can turn out a little greasy. (Psst: Here are our Test Kitchen’s suggestions for how to cook bacon.)
• Molasses: This thick syrup has a deep, rich flavor. It’s a little sweet, but not nearly as sweet as maple syrup or sugar. There are several types of molasses, each with a slightly different flavor profile. Light molasses is the sweetest, and blackstrap molasses has a strong, bitter character.
• Brown sugar and ground mustard: Brown sugar adds a caramelized sweetness to the baked beans, while ground mustard adds an earthy, slightly spicy balance.

Taste of Home