Sweet and smoky baked beans
Canned beans baked low and slow with onion, brown sugar, mustard and smoked paprika until thick and glossy, the cookout side that tastes like it took all day.
- 85 min total
- 10 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 12
- About $0.67 a serving
- 190 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. Whatever’s left keeps for tomorrow.
Ingredients
For 12 servings.
- 3 cans vegetarian baked beans, 16 oz cans
- 1 can pinto beans
- 1 yellow onion
- ½ cup ketchup
- 2 tbsp yellow mustard
From your pantry
- ⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 190 calories, 8 g protein, 39 g carbs and 1 g fat, and costs about $0.67 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No pinto beans? Black beans or kidney beans work.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No yellow mustard? Dijon mustard works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 350°F.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
the onion so it melts into the sauce as it bakes.
Finely chop. Finely chopping means cutting food into small pieces, a little bigger than minced, about the size of a lentil. Small pieces spread their flavor through the dish and cook quickly.
How you’ll know: Nothing is bigger than a lentil, and the pile looks like confetti rather than paste.
and the pinto beans.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
the baked beans and their sauce, the pinto beans, onion, ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, vinegar, paprika, garlic powder and pepper together in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
uncovered 60 to 75 minutes, once halfway, until the sauce is thick and bubbling and the top is dark at the edges.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Timer: 65 min
Dolly’s tip: It thickens more as it cools, so take it out while it still looks a little loose.Food safety: Keep a make-ahead dish in the fridge until it goes in the oven, then reheat it until it’s steaming hot in the middle, 165°F. Check the center, not the edges; it’s the last part to heat.
Let it sit 10 minutes before serving. To make ahead, chill up to 2 days and reheat, covered, at 350°F for 30 minutes.
Timer: 10 min
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
When you host a dinner, Dollop builds the menu around your guests’ allergies, works out a cooking timeline back from when everyone sits down, and puts it all on one grocery list.
