Southern Baked Beans

Southern Baked beans are thick and delicious with flavors of sweet, savory, with a touch of spice. This baked beans recipe takes minutes to throw the ingredients together, slow cooks in the oven and can be prepped ahead of time. Bring a pan of these baked beans to the picnic and everyone will love you!

Every barbecue, outdoor cookout or summer meal needs a loaded paper plate with a big scoop of baked beans with bacon and potato salad in order make it complete. They are the perfect side dish for brown sugar glazed ham, sausage and peppers, cheeseburgers, hotdogs and barbecue chicken.

Easy homemade baked beans are made with brown sugar, ketchup, molasses, mustard, spices, and topped with crispy bacon. This is our favorite baked beans recipe for holiday dinners, barbecues and backyard picnics.

This is the perfect way to improve canned beans. My mom used to say, “doctoring up canned baked beans.” Everyone will think you made them from scratch!

Why this recipe works

• Ease and budget friendly – Simple to make with canned pork & beans along with other easy to find ingredients. A budget friendly side dish for all occasions.
• Simple ingredients – Uses ingredients readily available at your local grocery store.
• Make ahead – Can be prepped ahead of time and slow cooked in the oven.
• Perfect side dish (crowd pleaser) – Great dish for a BBQ, potluck, backyard cookout or family holiday gathering.

What you’ll need

• Canned Pork & Beans – Choose whatever brand you prefer. We love the store-brand of our local grocery store.
• Ketchup – Adds some great tomato flavor to this dish.
• Brown Sugar – Adds some sweetness to these baked beans.
• Molasses – An old-fashioned sweetener that adds a great depth of flavor. We also love molasses in Molasses cookies and homemade BBQ Sauce.
• Bacon – Be sure to cook it partially, as it will never crisp up properly if you just put raw bacon on top of the baked beans. We sprinkle bacon slices with maple sugar before baking it in the oven.

We love easy summer recipes like Homemade Barbecue Sauce, Bacon Cheeseburgers, BBQ Pulled Pork, Homemade Coleslaw, Tuna Pasta Salad, and BBQ Pork Ribs. This baked beans recipe is the classic side dish for any potluck gathering!

Unlike my Grandfather’s Boston Baked Beans Recipe, these baked beans take little time to make! So they are perfect if you are in a hurry and want simple to make baked beans.

How to make Baked Beans

Making these baked beans takes no time at all! Prepared within minutes and they slow cook in the oven for 2 hours.

• Cook the bacon – Place the sheet pan with bacon into the preheated oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until crispy. Drain on paper towels.
• Preheat the oven – Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Prepare ingredients in baking pan – In a 9 x 13-inch baking dish, add the brown sugar, ketchup, molasses, mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Use a large spoon or rubber spatula to stir everything together.
• Pour in canned beans – Pour in the pork and beans into the baking dish and combine with a spoon.
• Top with bacon and bake – Bake for about 2 hours or until bubbly up around edges.

I topped these beans with maple coated bacon. It’s super simple to make. You want to be sure and top baked beans with cooked bacon! Because raw bacon will never crisp up on the beans.

How to cook bacon in the oven

Step 1: Just line a half sheet pan with parchment paper (makes for easier cleanup!)

Step 2: Overlap bacon slices slightly on a sheet pan. Sprinkle evenly with 1 tablespoon of granulated maple sugar.

Step 3: Cook in a preheated 425 degree F oven for 20-25 minutes, or until crispy. Remove from sheet pan with tongs and let drain fat on a plate lined with paper towels.

More side dishes for BBQ, picnics, or potlucks

• Potato Salad
• Strawberry Lemonade
• Raspberry Iced Tea
• Summer Sangria
• Watermelon Sangria
• White Wine Sangria

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