Homemade maple baked beans with bacon is a classic recipe that you can enjoy throughout the year. Sweet and smoky, these baked beans are so tender, easy to make, and can be easily adapted for your meatless Monday lineup. Learn how to cook this flavorful dish in 3 different ways – Dutch oven, slow cooker, Instant Pot.
Now that fall weather is here, I’m always looking for a comforting recipe. Something that I can look forward to after a long busy day. A little bit of sweet and savory blends in together. Maple baked beans with bacon. It’s cozy weather essential!
Raise your hand if you like baked beans.
And raise your hand higher if you like bacon!
Latest Recipes
Here’s the thing. I like baked beans, but not all beans recipes are cooked equally. So, this baked beans version is a favorite because:
- Extremely flavorful. The combination is just right and delicious
- Chunky. I mean beans in every bite!
- Bacon meets maple always make a perfect duet
- You can make this in three different ways: Dutch-oven, slow cooker, or Instant Pot
- Bonus: you can save some time by using canned beans so you don’t need to worry about soaking them overnight
So, with that, say hello to maple baked beans with bacon.
What’s in every scoop?
- Beans. This recipe uses dry white beans; however, you can also use navy, pinto or great northern beans
- Bacon. Any bacon works for this recipe
- Onion, garlic to add some flavorful flair
- Stock such as low-sodium chicken stock or vegetable stock
- Ketchup, mustard, pepper
- Maple syrup, molasses to add some sweetness. You can replace this with brown sugar
- Apple cider vinegar
- Soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce for savory flavor
How to cook baked beans
- Rinsing and soaking the beans: rinse and sort the beans; remove any pebbles or debris. Place the beans in a large bowl filled with water. Soak overnight for 8-12 hours.
- Pre-cooking the beans: transfer the drained and rinsed beans again to a large pot. Re-fill with water and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes. Remove from heat and rinse again.
Dutch-oven method
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Heat an oven-safe 5-quart pot over medium-high heat; add chopped bacon and cook until crispy, about 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Turn the heat down to medium, add the onion and cook until softened, but not browned, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Add the stock, ketchup, maple syrup, vinegar, molasses, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon, and black pepper. Bring up to a boil, and then turn off the heat and stir in the beans.
- Cover the pot and bake for 30 minutes. Give the beans a stir, and then bake (uncovered) for 15 minutes more. Serve warm.
Slow cooker method
- Cook chopped bacon in a slow cooker until crispy. You can also do this separately on a stove top.
- Add the rest of the ingredients, stir together. Cover and cook for 6-8 hours on low, or until the beans are tender. Add more water if it’s too dry.
Instant Pot method (skip the instruction above for soaking and pre-cooking the beans)
- Pre-cooking the beans: rinse the beans, then put in a 6 or 8 quart instant pot insert. Fill to the 2/3 full mark with water.
- Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes and let pressure release naturally for 15 minutes, then quick release. Drain beans in strainer and set aside.
- Turn Instant Pot to saute mode and add chopped bacon to the pot. Cook until it starts getting crispy, stirring frequently.
- Drain most of the grease, leaving about 1 tablespoon of oil. Add beans and the rest of the ingredients, and stir to combine. Turn Instant Pot to slow cook and cook for 1 hour or until the beans are tender.
The secret ingredient
Bacon. Oh wait, did I say bacon? Bacon adds just the right amount of surprise and crispiness. And bacon grease adds a nice flavor to these beans.
Using canned beans
You can use canned beans to make this recipe and it still tastes delicious! Canned beans are generally safe to consume and prove to be convenient, although dried beans are more nutritionally dense. When using canned beans, it’s best to drain and rinse canned beans to reduce the amount of sodium.
Variations
Add chopped jalapeno if you like spicy or jazz it up by adding chickpeas.
Storing
This baked beans recipe can be made ahead and it can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days. It actually tastes even better than they were on the first day. To reheat, place the pan covered with foil in a 350F oven for 40-45 minutes or until heated through.
What goes well with maple baked beans with bacon
I’ve been enjoying these beans with meatloaf wellington. And this also tastes good with Vietnamese grilled pork chops, potato croquettes, crispy chicken wings, or minced meat satay.
Baked beans are a classic side dish that you can enjoy throughout the year. They are the perfect side dish for BBQ, fried fish, burgers, and more.
Maple Baked Beans with Bacon
Ingredients
- 3 slices bacon diced
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 cloved garlic minced
- 1½ cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 cup ketchup
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup
- 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1½ cups dry beans (navy, pinto or great northern beans)
- Water for soaking and precooking
Instructions
Rinsing and soaking the beans
- Rinse and sort the beans; remove any pebbles or debris. Place the beans in a large bowl filled with water. Soak overnight for 8-12 hours
Pre-cooking the beans
- Transfer the drained and rinsed beans again to a large pot. Re-fill with water and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes. Remove from heat and rinse again.
Dutch-oven method
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.Heat an oven-safe 5-quart pot over medium-high heat; add chopped bacon and cook until crispy, about 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Turn the heat down to medium, add the onion and cook until softened, but not browned, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Add the stock, ketchup, maple syrup, vinegar, molasses, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon, and black pepper. Bring up to a boil, and then turn off the heat and stir in the beans.
- Cover the pot and bake for 30 minutes. Give the beans a stir, and then bake (uncovered) for 15 minutes more. Serve warm.
Slow-cooker method
- Cook chopped bacon in a slow cooker until crispy. You can also do this separately on a stovetop.
- Add the rest of the ingredients, stir together. Cover and cook for 6-8 hours on low, or until the beans are tender. Add more water if it's too dry.
Instant Pot method (skip the soaking and pre-cooking beans instruction above)
- Pre-cooking the beans: rinse the beans, then put in a 6 or 8 quart instant pot insert. Fill to the ⅔ full mark with water. Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes and let pressure release naturally for 15 minutes, then quick release. Drain beans in strainer and set aside.
- Turn Instant Pot to saute mode and add chopped bacon to the pot. Cook until it starts getting crispy, stirring frequently. Drain most of the grease, leaving about 1 tablespoon of oil.
- Add beans and the rest of the ingredients, and stir to combine. Turn Instant Pot to slow cook and cook for 1 hour or until the beans are tender.
Anne says
Looks delicious, I love baked beans!
Lynn Polito says
A perfect, comforting easy recipe! I’m so happy I found this!
Sachi says
This is a great baked beans recipe. I love the maple, it adds a nice mellow flavor.
Allyssa says
This is really easy to make and tasted super delicious! Thank you so much for sharing this amazing maple baked beans with bacon recipe! Will surely have this again, highly recommended!
Mandy Applegate says
These beans turned out great!
Michele says
Maple and Bacon for beans is the perfect flavor combination. It made these beans so good. Also, thank you for including instructions for all the different cooking methods.
Jennifer says
LOVE this recipe! I love all the humble and hearty flavors in it. We gobbled it all up!
Kayla DiMaggio says
These maple baked beans were so delicious! I loved all the flavors!
veenaazmanov says
Thanks for such a lovely recipe. I love the combination and all the yummy flavors it has. Looks tempting.
Mikayla says
Not only is the flavor great, but I have decided these beans can be a main dish as well as a side.
Loreto and Nicoletta says
I have never done baked beans, however love them especially as a side dish with a grilling feast. The addition of bacon, well what can I say it’s bacon. I can just taste that sweet smoky starchy flavor in my mouth. Definately a melt in your mouth for sure!😋🥰❤️👍👌🙏
Ramona says
This sounds super delicious and I am dying to try this out! I can’t wait to make this for breakfast tomorrow morning. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Matt says
Such a classic comforting dish. Goes amazing with ribs!
Amy Casey says
This baked bean recipe sounds amazing! I love that they are made with dried beans as they have so much more flavor than the canned versions. This will be a great side dish for our next football tailgate party.
Natalie says
These baked beans look so tasty. I love how you added molasses to deepen the flavors. Oh, I can’t wait to give this recipe a try. Perfect colder days dinner.
Moop Brown says
I love the balance of sweet and savory flavors for this recipe and this looks like something I can’t wait to try.
Sherry Ronning says
I have always wanted to try my own baked beans recipe and yours was so easy and tasted awesome!!