Looking for the best easy Southern baked beans? These from scratch Southern style baked beans with bacon are savory, sweet, and all around a family favorite side dish.
Southern Baked Beans
We have a few baked beans recipes on this site, and it’s because I truly do love them, but these really might just be my favorite baked beans recipe yet!
They’re sweet, tangy, and lightly smoky – it’s just the perfect balance of flavors. The crispy thick-cut bacon adds the most delicious smoky, salty flavor and adds a delicious chew to the tender beans.
These old fashioned from scratch baked beans are truly so much better than canned baked beans, and I love that they’re pretty easy to pull together!
This recipe is a little different because the homemade BBQ sauce is packed with so much flavor, and this dish is made to have a thicker sauce than usual. That means I can even put it on a sandwich without it being too messy.
Ingredients
Navy Beans: Navy beans are the most popular bean to use in baked beans recipes because this small white bean has a mild flavor that takes on the flavors of the sauce so well. It also has a creamy texture, which gives baked beans a melt-in-your-mouth quality. You can definitely substitute it for another white bean, like cannellini beans or Great Northern beans.
Bacon: Part of the quintessential baked beans flavor is the smoky element, and that comes from bacon. We’re infusing these beans with the flavor in two ways, first by cooking up crispy bacon pieces to add to the beans, and second by cooking the onions in the rendered bacon fat.
Onion and Garlic: These aromatics add so much flavor to this dish. Onion adds a delicious sweetness and garlic adds a savory depth of flavor that enhances all the other flavors.
Brown Sugar: There are a lot of tangy elements in this recipe, so you need the sweetness from the brown sugar to balance those flavors out.
Yellow Mustard: Since there are a couple of sweet elements in this dish, we need to add mustard because it has a sharp, strong taste. It balances out the sweetness so that the flavor is well-rounded and doesn’t taste overly sweet.
Molasses: Molasses gives these baked beans their characteristic deep color, their sticky texture, and their caramelized flavor.
Apple Cider Vinegar: Adding this acid is essential to balancing out the flavors in this dish. It both cuts the richness and creates the savory-sweet flavor profile we want.
Salt and Pepper: Salt enhances all of the other flavors in this dish, while pepper adds a bit of subtle heat to balance out the rich and sweet flavors.
Ketchup: Ketchup is an easy way to create a thick, tomato-flavored sauce base for this recipe. It also adds some additional sweetness, and is a classic flavor in baked beans that most people expect when they take a bite.
Water: Without adding water, the sauce would thicken too much while the beans baked, causing them to burn. Adding water gives us a chance to have excess liquid that will bake off in the oven, so that all of the other ingredients can have a chance to let their flavors develop while baking.
Alternative Ingredients
- Meat: If you don’t want to use bacon, or don’t have it on hand, try using ham hock, ground beef, crumbled sausage, or turkey bacon instead. For a vegetarian version, you could always sprinkle coconut bacon on top before serving.
- Unsulphured Molasses: If you don’t have unsulphered molasses, you can use blackstrap molasses. It is more bitter though, so I’d recommend using less. You could also use maple syrup instead.
- Beans: If you don’t have navy beans, you can swap them for Great Northern beans (which will have a pretty similar texture), or Cannellini beans (which will be creamier). Red kidney beans, black beans, or pinto beans will also work, but they will change the color and texture and have a heartier, earthier flavor.
How To Make Southern Baked Beans
Cook the Bacon: Preheat your oven, then heat a large Dutch oven on the stove. Cook the bacon pieces until they’re crispy, then use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving some of the rendered bacon fat behind. (See the recipe card below for the full printable instructions.)
Saute the Onions and Garlic: Add the onion and cook until softened and translucent. Stir in the minced garlic, and saute until aromatic.
Make the BBQ Sauce: Stir in the dark brown sugar, yellow mustard, molasses, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper. Cook just until the sugar dissolves. Add the ketchup and water to the skillet, and stir to combine.
Add the Beans and Bacon: Fold in the navy beans and cooked bacon. Make sure everything is well mixed and coated with the sauce.
Bake the Beans: Transfer to the preheated oven, and bake uncovered until the beans are bubbly and the sauce has thickened. After removing the beans from the oven, let them rest for a bit to allow the sauce to thicken a bit more. See the recipe card below for the full written instructions, including ingredient amounts, cooking times, and helpful tips, etc.
Pro Tips
- Bake Until the Beans are Thick: This recipe makes a thicker baked beans dish, so keep an eye on it while they’re baking. They’re ready when they don’t seem watery anymore. Since we’re baking these until they’re thick and there’s a good amount of sugar in this recipe, there’s the possibility of the sugar caramelizing or burning, so I wouldn’t recommend baking these for much longer than the recipe card suggests.
- Double or Triple for a Crowd: This recipe is a great one to multiply if you’re planning on serving a large crowd. Feel free to double, triple, or quadruple it. Just make sure you’re using a Dutch oven big enough to accommodate it.
What Is The Difference Between Southern And Boston Baked Beans?
Southern baked beans are sweeter than Boston baked beans. The main difference is that Boston baked beans are typically sweetened with molasses, while Southern baked beans are commonly sweetened with a combination of molasses, brown sugar, and ketchup. Southern baked beans also have a tangy element, thanks to the mustard included in the dish.
What Can I Add To Baked Beans To Make Them Taste Better?
The best baked beans balance the flavors of sweet, savory, smoky, and tangy perfectly. So, you need to add elements from each of those flavor profiles.
- Sweet: Molasses, brown sugar, maple syrup, and ketchup are all popular ways to add sweetness.
- Savory: Aromatics, like onion and garlic, are an easy way to build up your savory base. Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce are also great ways to add umami and build up the flavor profile.
- Smoky: Bacon is my favorite way to add the classic smoky flavor to baked beans, but you could also add liquid smoke or smoked paprika to get a smoky taste.
- Tangy: Acid is the best way to add some tang. Apple cider vinegar is my favorite because it has a natural sweetness to it, but you could also use white vinegar or white wine vinegar. Just be sure to only add a little at a time, because you may need less if you use one of those.
Why Do You Put Mustard In Baked Beans?
Mustard is used to round out the flavor profile by adding a tangy and sharp element to the taste. This balances out both the sweetness from the molasses and sugar, and the richness from the bacon. I prefer the flavor of yellow mustard in baked beans, but if you want to amp up the spice, you could use Dijon mustard or spicy brown mustard.
What To Serve With Baked Beans
Baked beans make a great side dish for grilled meats and slow cooker carnitas. I love serving it alongside some coleslaw (especially this coleslaw for pulled pork or this pineapple coleslaw) and some honey butter cornbread or some air fryer garlic bread.
Can You Freeze Baked Beans
Absolutely! Baked beans freeze very well. Once you thaw and reheat them, there’s really no difference in taste and texture. If they’re a bit too thick when you’re reheating them, mix in a splash of water.
Storing And Reheating Leftovers
Let the baked beans cool, then transfer them to an airtight container and store them in the fridge (this should be done within an hour of them coming out of the oven). These can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
I prefer to reheat baked beans on the stovetop in a saucepan. I just mix in a splash of water, and warm it between medium and medium-low heat until it’s heated through. You can also reheat them in a 325F oven for about 25-30 minutes. You’ll know they’re ready once they’re bubbly.
Keep In Touch
I’d love to hear what you thought of this recipe in the comments or on Instagram! @KeyToMyLime #KeyToMyLime
Side Dish Recipes
If you like this recipe, be sure to check out all of our other side dishes. Some reader favorites are:
- Loaded Baked Potato Salad
- Crockpot Baked Beans
- Southern Green Beans
- Baked Beans with Ground Beef
- Jiffy Mexican Cornbread
- Crockpot Green Beans
- Great Northern Beans
- Southern Pinto Beans and Ham
BEST Southern Baked Beans Recipe
The best easy Southern baked beans! From scratch Southern style baked beans with bacon are savory, sweet, and a family favorite side dish.
Ingredients
- 5 slices thick-cut bacon (cut into 1/2-inch pieces, about 3/4 pound)
- 1 large yellow onion (finely chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup yellow mustard
- 1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup ketchup
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 (15.5-ounce) cans navy beans (drained and rinsed)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F.
- In a large ovenproof skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat, cook the bacon pieces until they are crispy, about 7-10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon and set it aside on a paper towel-lined plate. Leave about 2 Tablespoons of bacon fat in the skillet, and discard the rest.
- To the same skillet with the bacon fat, add the chopped onion. Cook until the onions are softened and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the minced garlic to the skillet and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Stir in the dark brown sugar, yellow mustard, molasses, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper. Cook for another 2 minutes, allowing the sugar to dissolve and the flavors to combine.
- Add the ketchup and water to the skillet, and stir to combine.
- Fold in the navy beans and cooked bacon. Make sure everything is well mixed and coated with the sauce.
- Transfer the skillet or Dutch oven to the preheated oven, and bake uncovered for 50-55 minutes, or until the beans are bubbly and the sauce has thickened.
- After removing the beans from the oven, let them rest for 10 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken a bit more.
- Before serving, taste and adjust the salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- To reheat, place the beans in a saucepan over medium-low heat and cook until heated through, stirring occasionally. If the sauce seems too thick, you can add a little water to thin it out.
- You can also make this dish in a slow cooker. Instead of transferring it to the oven after sauteing the bacon, onion, and garlic, place everything in a slow cooker and cook on LOW for 6-7 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1/8Amount Per Serving: Calories: 482Total Fat: 16gCarbohydrates: 61.7gFiber: 12.4gSugar: 27.3gProtein: 24.5g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
The next time you’re looking for the perfect barbecue or summer picnic side dish, you’ve got to try these Southern baked beans! They’re truly the best and everyone loves them.
