Easy Baked Beans with Bacon
Easy semi-homemade baked beans that are great for feeding a crowd, or for just having extra leftovers.
These baked beans are easy to make and a crowd-pleaser side dish for any occasion.
They’re hearty which is great for serving a crowd.
And the house smells so good while the baked beans are cooking.
Feeding a Crowd
The baked beans are great for informal gatherings too because guests can serve themselves right out of the pan.
About Leftovers
These baked beans are ideal for leftovers as a snack, or as a side dish with lunch or dinner.
They warm up nicely in the microwave too.
About the Ingredients
The “semi” homemade part of this recipe are the canned beans.
In this recipe, I use canned Van Camp’s pork and beans.
The “homemade” part of this recipe are all of the other ingredients.
A co-worker of mine gave me this recipe a long time ago.
I’ve changed the recipe up over the years by adding more bell pepper and onion, and less brown sugar.
About Cooking the Beans
These baked beans are cooked in a small oval roaster pan (15-inch size) and normally take about an hour to bake.
The beans have a layer of bacon on top and are baked uncovered.
It tastes wonderful and no one has to know that it’s semi-homemade…it’s the chef’s secret.
These baked beans are moderately sweet so feel free to decrease the amount of brown sugar if preferred.
Let’s check out the ingredients.
Baked Beans – VanCamp’s Pork and Beans, ketchup, onion (white or yellow), green bell pepper, brown sugar, uncooked bacon, and ground black pepper
Pan – A 15-inch size oval roaster pan
HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
A printable recipe with the measurements and instructions is located at the bottom of this post.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Beans:
In a small oval roasting pan (15-inches)…
…add…
…canned VanCamp’s pork and beans (if there are any pieces of pork fat in the can of beans, remove and discard it).
Ketchup:
To the pan, add ketchup.
Vegetables and Brown Sugar:
To the pan, add chopped green bell pepper…
…chopped onion…
…and…
…brown sugar (loosely packed in a measuring cup).
If less sweet baked beans are preferred, reduce the amount of brown sugar.
Stir:
Using a large sturdy spoon,
…stir together.
Bacon:
…on top of the beans…
…lay strips of uncooked bacon.
Cover as much of the beans as possible with the strips of bacon.
Try to layer the bacon on top of the beans rather than laying the strips of bacon on top of one another.
Sprinkle ground black pepper on top of the bacon.
Bake Uncovered:
Bake uncovered in a preheated oven (at 350 degrees F.) until…
…the bacon is cooked through and the liquid in the beans has thickened (about 1 hour).
The bacon should have some darkness around the edges when it’s done.
If after an hour, the bacon edges haven’t darkened, continue to bake the beans until the edges of the bacon start to darken.
Cooked Bacon:
After the baked beans and bacon are cooked, transfer the pieces of bacon from the roaster pan onto a plate.
Remove the fat from the bacon and discard it (the fat).
Add the lean pieces of bacon back into the roaster pan with the beans…
…and…
…stir together.
TIP – If the beans are too thick, stir in a little water.
TIP – If the beans are too thin, put them back in the oven (uncovered) until some of the liquid reduces
Serve:
Next…
…serve these beans warm.
Thank you so much for stopping by CCC!
SUBSCRIBE TO CCC
Don’t Miss a CCC Recipe! Subscribe now to Coupon Clipping Cook and get an email each time we have a new post. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO COUPON CLIPPING COOK.
Easy Baked Beans with Bacon
Ingredients
- 1 large (tall) can (53 ounces) Van Camp’s Pork and Beans discard the cubes of fat that are on top of the beans in the can
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 1 cup chopped onion (white or yellow) equals about 1 small to medium-size onion
- 1 cup (heaping) chopped green bell pepper equals about 1 medium size green bell pepper, stem and seeds removed
- 1/2 cup (loosely packed) brown sugar (light or dark) if less sweet baked beans are preferred, decrease the amount of brown sugar
- 8 slices uncooked bacon (as lean as possible)
- 6 dashes ground black pepper
Equipment
- 15-Inch Oval Roaster Pan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a small oval roasting pan add the baked beans (including the liquid in the can), ketchup, green bell pepper, onion, and brown sugar. Stir until incorporated.
- On top of the beans, lay strips of uncooked bacon. Cover the beans as much as possible with the strips of bacon without "doubling up" on the bacon strips (try to layer the bacon on top of the beans rather than laying the strips of bacon on top of one another).
- Sprinkle ground black pepper on top of the bacon.
- Bake uncovered in a preheated oven (at 350 degrees F.) until the bacon is cooked through and the liquid in the beans has thickened up to the desired consistency (about 1 hour).The bacon should have some darkness around the edges when it's done.If after an hour, the bacon edges haven't darkened, continue to bake the beans a little longer until the edges of the bacon start to darken.
- After the baked beans and bacon are cooked, transfer the pieces of bacon from the roaster pan onto a plate.
- Remove the fat from the bacon and discard it (the fat). Add the lean pieces of bacon back into the roaster pan with the beans and stir together.
- If a thinner consistency is preferred, stir in a little bit of water.If a thicker consistency is preferred, put the beans back in the oven (uncovered) just long enough for the liquid in the beans to reduce further.
- Serve warm.
Notes
TIPS:
- If less sweet baked beans are preferred, decrease the amount of brown sugar used in the recipe.
- If a thinner consistency is preferred, stir in a little bit of water.
- If a thicker consistency is preferred, put the beans back in the oven (uncovered) just long enough for the liquid in the beans to reduce further.
This recipe was originally posted on May 9, 2011.
Crowd-Pleaser Side Dishes
Here are more of my go-to crowd-pleaser side dish recipes you may like “Easy Potato Salad with Egg“, “Homemade Elbow Macaroni Salad” and “Cherry, Pineapple and Mandarin Orange Ambrosia Salad“.
Recipes Made in an Oval Roaster
Here are more recipes made in an oval roaster pan that you may like “Roaster Pan Pork Chop Dinner with Potatoes and Vegetables“, “Marsala Pot Roast Dinner” and “Beef Stew with Vegetables and Red Wine“.
More Side Dish Recipes
More Side Dish Recipes You May Like:
Make-Ahead Buttery Corn Off the Cob
Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes with Sage and Ham
Comfort Food Recipes
Here are some comfort food recipes you may like:
Candied Yams (Sweet Potatoes) with Pecans and Marshmallows
Biscoff Cookie Butter Blondie Brownies
Baked Herb and Parmesan Potato Slices
