One of my favorite dishes to cook in a Dutch oven is baked beans. They’re easy to cook in a Dutch oven and make a great side dish for almost any type of outdoor cooking. There are a large number different Dutch oven baked beans recipes. If you don't have a Dutch oven, you can cook these baked bean recipes on the stove, or on a side burner on the grill.
Here are a couple recipes to get you started:
BBQ Baked Beans with Pork and Apples
Ingredients:
2 -16 oz cans Bush’s original baked beans 1 cup of chopped apples ½ cup dark brown sugar, packed 1 cup chopped onions 1 teaspoon garlic powder 3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce 1 tablespoon mustard 1 cup pulled pork barbecue cut into small bites ½ cup BBQ sauceIn a mixing bowl, add everything except the BBQ and BBQ sauce. Mix and add to the Dutch oven. Place he BBQ pork on top and brush lightly with the BBQ sauce. Bake until bubbly, about 45 minutes.
Easy Baked Beans
1 pound baconFour cans pork and beans
1 tablespoon mustard
¼ cup catsup
1 onion, chopped
½ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
Cook the bacon into small pieces, about 1 inch and cook in the Dutch oven. When done remove and drain the oil. Add all remaining ingredients and cook in the coals for about 30 minutes.
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Sounds good Scott, the only suggestion/change I’d make is… pour a small amount of oil in DO, cook the pork slightly crispy (think mexican carnitas) add chopped garlic CLOVES, onions, and brown sugar to form a roux THEN add the rest of the ingredients with an added chopped red or yellow bell pepper. Supercharged flavor!! Love your recipes so far!
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Phil, great ideas. I will try your suggestions the next time I make these (just made these beans a couple of weeks ago).
These aren’t recipes for baked beans; they’re recipes for vamped up canned beans. Real baked beans call for nothing that comes from a can and requires 6 to 7 hours of cooking time. Anything less isn’t worth it.
Lyn L.,
I agree with you. Real baked beans are from scratch but reheated canned beans with additives.
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Lyn,
I suppose one could think that. But not everyone has 6-7 hours to cook baked beans from scratch. I’m sure they taste great that way. I’ve had good success with this and people really like them.
If you have a recipe you’d like to share with us, I’m sure everyone would love to hear it!
Scott,
If someone has 6 hr. to do ribs, they diffidently have time to do “Real” baked beans. Just saying.
Point well taken!
I’m with Lyn 100 percent…..if I’m going to make baked beans, I’m gonna make baked beans. Living so close to Sutter’s fort here in Sacramento, I’ve gleaned some great period ideas on how to make period beans. I say period ideas cuz folks in those days used what they had and not a receipt.
I consider my food that I prepare as a gift of love from my soul, family, etc. Therefore I love buying bulk beans, picking out the pebbles, washing them, soaking them overnight, and then working up the flavors through the onions, peppers, sage, garlic, bacon, pork, left over meat bits, red wine, peppers. The beans are a mixture of black, white, or whatever they had grown or imported…..if I want baked beans, I’m not adding to a can……I cook’um slow all day long in the DO so when guests arrive they can dig right in…..
I totally agree with Lyn and Gerry. But thanks for the ideas.
Even plain canned beans would work just as well.
Boy, I’ve touched a nerve! Well, it’s obviously going to be on my list to work on doing baked beans from scratch. I’ve never tried that, so I’m interested to see how it goes. If anyone has some recipes or tips to share, I’d love to hear them!
Try these they are great
ADIRONDACK BEANS
Ingredients: (6 servings)
½ pound hamburger
¼ pound bacon, cut into small piece
½ cup onion, chopped
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup catsup
½ cup molasses
1 teaspoon mustard
1 can pork and beans
1 can chili beans, drained
1 can kidney beans, drained
Preparation:
Fry hamburger, onion and bacon together in bottom of Dutch oven. When meat is brown, drain off excess grease. Add all remaining ingredients, cover, and place hot coals under and on top of the oven. Bake for 1 to 1½ hours, stirring occasionally.
Hi Scott. I must admit that I agree with most of the other posters that backed beans from scrath at absoultrly fabulous. However, I will also admit that I have used the canned method as well, with fairly good results. I will search through my recipes and add some soon as sharing these gems are the best part of cooking. As a past Assistant Scout Master, we have never had any leftovers from the Dutch Oven recipes that we made.
Cooking beans from dry state may be awesome but time consuming. Try this and of course I never measure anything. For 20 years people been asking me to bring this to every function imaginable
5-7 cans pork n beans (plain)
onion diced(1 or so)
bacon diced(1 lb or so)
garlic powder
cookies allpurpose seasoning
molasses
brown sugar(never enough)
lil liquid smoke
bake untill thick and sticky
When I was in Girl Scouts we take cans of beans add some ketchup & brown sugar and put them over the fire.
When you are short on time there is nothing wrong with using short cuts IMHO
I suppose there is a time and place for everything. I’m going to try beans from scratch soon, but, like you said, sometimes you need to take some shortcuts.
I also prefer to start my beans from scratch.
1/2 lb. great northern beans cooked with ham bone. After beans have slow cooked 3-4 hrs. I remove ham bone leaving ham. After beans have cooked down (not so much liquid left I add the following ingredients.
1/2 (18oz) bottle KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup finly chopped onion 2 Tbs. honey
2 Tbs. Worcestershire Sauce 1/2 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. ground pepper
After mixing with well with beans I bake at 350 (using 9 briquettes under and 15 on lid) for 45-60 minutes. Everyone who has had these ask for the recipe.