For the 4th of July we usually end up just having a small picnic with my immediate family, since we celebrate my birthday at the same time. There have been a couple of years, though, that I’ve invited family over and we’ve had a BBQ. Other than the normal hot dogs and hamburgers, there are 2 dishes that scream summer to me: Coleslaw and Baked Beans! I love them both!
Recently, my wheels started turning and I decided to try something new. I’ve always just bought cheap pork and beans from Aldi and doctored them up to suit my family’s taste..but then it hit me. Dried beans are uber frugal and surely pork and beans (or baked beans) in a can are nothing more than cooked dried beans. Right? Correct0 Mundo!
Baked Beans
16 oz bag of dried Great Northern Beans
1/3-1/2 cup molasses
¼ – ½ cup brown sugar
½ cup BBQ sauce
1 cup chopped onion
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
Diced/Cooked Bacon
Enough water to cover beans
Soak beans overnight and pick out any nasty pieces. Drain off water and place beans in a crockpot and cover with fresh water. Add in remaining ingredients. Cook on low for about 8 hours, or high for 5. While it is cooking, I will periodically give it a taste test just to make sure that it is tasting okay, which is why there is a varied amount of ingredients. Word of caution–It’s hot, and it will burn the ever loving life out of your tongue. Not that I know or anything. *ahem*
Using dried beans in my baked beans, works for me!
Total Cost: Right under $2-and boy does it make a lot!
This post is linking up to 4 Moms 35 Kids Cooking For a Crowd over at Raising Olives, Smockity Frocks, Common Room , and In a Shoe.
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i love baked beans with molasses! make sure to check the dates on the dried beans. if you get a hold of an old bag of beans (due to poorly rotated supermarket shelving issues) they will take FOREVER to soak. i had to soak some for almost 2 days! ridiculous. they turned out ok though.
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I make refried beans all the time…super cheap and so much more tasty than then canned stuff…but I had never thought of using the crockpot versus slaving in the kitchen for 2 hours while they boil.
Thanks for the tip!
P.S. I'd be happy to share my refried bean recipe with you if you like.
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YUM! I'm definitely going to make these for the 4th!!
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You're right beans are so frugal. I love baked beans!
I have no idea what we'll be making this year!
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I love baked beans!!
This recipe sounds scrumptious, too!
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This recipe is a lot like the one Jason's grandmother uses for her beans but she uses 3 different types of beans and adds a LOT of bacon, cooked german sausage, and diced pepper. So yummy!
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HI,
First this sounds really good. I buy so many cans of Baked beans through yr. I am going to have to try this.
Can you freeze them? If you can – what is the best way? Thanks
Thanks
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GettingFreedom Reply:
March 14th, 2010 at 6:21 pm
@Nancy–Honestly, I’ve never frozen my baked beans before, but I am going to attempt it this week. I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work, I freeze all other sorts of beans all the time. Once they are fully cooled, put them in a freezer safe container, Ziploc bags actually work perfect (atleast for my other beans; refried included). When you need them, just pull them out, thaw and warm.
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I made these yesterday in my crockpot while I was at work. Definite keeper recipe! They were delicious. I think I will use less molasses and brown sugar next time (probably 1/4 of each instead of the 1/2 of each that I used yesterday), but they were excellent! I think they would also be great if I had some browned hamburger in the freezer that I could add to the crock (or sausage or even pieces of pork).
I had never had baked beans made with dried beans before and I coudn’t imagine that great northern beans would actually taste like baked beans (because I just grew up eating baked beans made with canned pork -n’ beans) but these are just FABULOUS! Definitely cheap and especially if you are needing to make lots of baked beans – say for a fish fry or BBQ, these are the way to go!
Thanks Phoebe for posting this recipe! I love it!
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JeannaMO Reply:
April 20th, 2010 at 9:18 am
@JeannaMO, I forgot to mention that these beans needed salt! I would probably salt the beans as if I usually salt dried beans and proceed on with the recipe. I was able to salt them when I got home, but I think that would be something I’m going to do next time.
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GettingFreedom Reply:
April 20th, 2010 at 4:15 pm
@JeannaMo–Thanks for including your tips! I’m really trying to cut down our salt, so we don’t use a whole lot of it anymore. Personally, though, I think salt makes everything better!
Oh, and thanks for posting on the TOH Message Boards!
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Thanks Phoebe! I’ve also always done the inexpensive can of baked beans. This sounds so easy and I love crock pot cooking, maybe this will be the summer we get rid of those cans!
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Thanks for this recipe. I love my slow cooker and we love baked beans. I usually buy the HUGE can at Sam’s and freeze leftovers. However, I have noticed that baked bean prices have gone up so much in the last few years that I knew I needed to find a recipe. Yours looks like it will work well for us. Thanks again!
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Sounds great! Anxious to try.
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Thanks for the linkback, and thanks for the recipe!
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We do dried beans a LOT! So cheap and versatile!
Thanks for participating in our link up!
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Good tip on using the Great Northern Beans. I tried making baked beans but for some reason in my mind I always thought they were made with pintos, and my family didn’t like them. Once I got a clue and started using Great Northern or Navy beans, they turned out GREAT!
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