Quick Barbecue Beans Recipe

Updated August 29, 2018

Sweet, tangy, smoky, and meaty, these barbecue beans provide a lot of flavor without a lot of time. . Joshua Bousel

Great barbecue beans don't need to take half a day to make—using canned beans with a sauce built from scratch delivers a lot of the depth associated with more time-intensive recipes.

Why this recipe works:

Bacon gives the beans that must-have smoky flavor.
Canned pork and beans increases the meatiness even more.
Using a variety of beans adds a pleasing mixture of textures.
Cooking the beans using low heat in the oven not only gently warms the beans through, but also reduces the sauce, resulting in a deeper, more concentrated flavor.

Note: You can substitute any two 15.5oz cans of your favorite beans—great northern and butter beans are just two that I think work nicely together.

Recipe Details

Quick Barbecue Beans Recipe

Active 20 mins

Total 80 mins

Serves 4 to 6 servings

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Ingredients

4 ounces sliced bacon, cut into 1/2-inch strips
1 cup finely diced yellow onion (about 1 medium onion)
2 tablespoons finely diced green bell pepper
1 tablespoon finely diced seeded jalapeño (about 1 small pepper)
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
1 cup ketchup
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup apple juice
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon barbecue rub
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1 (19-ounce) can pork and beans
1 (15.5-ounce) can butter beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15.5-ounce) can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
Kosher salt, to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 300°F. Place a 12-inch skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add bacon and cook until fat has rendered and bacon has crisped, 7-10 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving as much fat in the pan as possible.
Add onion to pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion softens and begins to brown around the edges, about 7 minutes. Stir in green pepper, jalapeño, and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in ketchup, brown sugar, apple juice, honey, molasses, vinegar, barbecue rub, mustard, hot sauce, and reserved bacon; bring to a simmer. Gently fold in pork and beans, butter beans, and great northern beans.
Transfer beans to oven and cook, uncovered, until beans are heated through and sauce has thickened, about 50 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Season with salt. Serve immediately; alternatively, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or freeze. Reheat before serving.

This Recipe Appears In

The Best Barbecue Beans, Whether You Have 1 Hour or 16

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
541	Calories
9g	Fat
99g	Carbs
22g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories	541
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 9g	11%
Saturated Fat 3g	15%
Cholesterol 26mg	9%
Sodium 1765mg	77%
Total Carbohydrate 99g	36%
Dietary Fiber 14g	50%
Total Sugars 53g
Protein 22g
Vitamin C 20mg	102%
Calcium 161mg	12%
Iron 5mg	29%
Potassium 1240mg	26%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.