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Baked Beans with Bacon in Bowl

Easy Baked Beans with Bacon

These easy semi-homemade baked beans make a delicious side dish that's great for feeding a crowd any time of the year.
5 from 3 votes
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Yield: 8 Servings
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 1 hour
Total: 1 hour 15 minutes

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:

  1. If less sweet baked beans are preferred, decrease the amount of brown sugar used in the recipe.
  2. If a thinner consistency is preferred, stir in a little bit of water.
  3. 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.
Author: Nancy@CouponClippingCook
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Bacon, Baked Beans