Bacon and Brown Sugar Baked Beans

The best bacon and brown sugar baked beans recipe is an amazing meal in and of itself or filling side to dress up any meal. Ideal for a BBQ grill out, or a sit down dinner, or even a lunch, it is perfect for so many occasions. 

These bacon and brown sugar baked beans come out tasting sweet, savory and a touch salty. This is the perfect combination in a meal that your whole family is going to love. One would not normally consider baked Beans to be a complete meal. However, these are loaded with bacon and green bell pepper with onion.

This dish is the perfect combination of salty and sweet, with a kick, and is a delight to eat. The kids are going to think you have lost your mind letting them eat so much sweetness for a meal. Little do they understand that there really is not that much sugar in the dish. Add to this the fact that you can make a healthy bacon and brown sugar baked beans version, and you can really get one over on them.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe 

This quick bacon and brown sugar baked beans recipe is easy to make and full of flavor. It is utterly delicious and even the pickiest of eaters are going to love dinner when you serve this meal (or side). The following are some additional reasons to add this to your regular meal plan: 

• Its Versatile: If you are wondering if this recipe is versatile, it is! You can add cubed ham to increase the protein. You can cut back on the sugar for fewer calories or add a variety of beans to increase the fiber count.
• Meal or Side: Baked beans can be eaten alone, but I also love them paired with burgers or even mashed potatoes. Don’t ask me why! Heck, with the sweetness of the dish, you can even consider it a sweet, so it’s everything all in one. 
• Perfect Comfort Food: This dish is sweet, hearty and warm, making it the ideal comfort food. 
• High in Protein: Unlike many sweet, savory, comfort foods, baked beans are actually high in protein, fiber, and other nutrients.  

Ingredients:

• Thick-cut maple bacon
• Seasoning salt
• Molasses
• Sweet onion
• Green bell pepper
• Maple baked beans
• Ketchup
• Dried mustard
• Apple cider vinegar
• Brown sugar

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

There are many ways to alter these family friendly bacon and brown sugar baked beans dish. You can alter it to be a bit healthier, or sub out for taste in other areas. The following is a look at some way to substitute if need be when making the easy bacon and brown sugar baked beans for beginners dish:

Green Bell Pepper: When it comes to directly swapping out green bell peppers, you can go with anaheim or poblano peppers. If you want a milder option, you can instead go with yellow squash, celery, or zucchini. Yellow bell peppers offer a sweeter taste when compared with green. 

Apple Cider Vinegar: If you don’t have this on hand, you can opt for white wine, red wine vinegar, lime juice, or rice wine. 

Maple Baked Beans: You can add other types of beans to this dish, like pinto beans, cannellini or great northern beans. 

How to Make it, Bacon and Brown Sugar Baked Beans

Cook the bacon halfway through in any way you prefer to prepare it.

Once cooked halfway, remove and place onto a paper towel to help remove any excess grease. My husband and I frequently disagree on the ideal texture of bacon, he is a less done person, while I am a crispy. When it comes to this dish, though, I will most certainly yield to the less done version! 

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Heat bacon grease in a deep skillet or a dutch oven on the stove over medium to high heat.

Add in the sweet onion and green bell pepper. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes.

Once you saute the onion and pepper add in the remaining ingredients excluding the maple bacon.

Mix everything together thoroughly and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes.

Place bacon slices on top and put the entire dish into the oven.

Cook for approximately 2-3 hours depending on your desired consistency.

Once baked, remove from the oven to cool. I cannot wait for you to experience this dish that is an amazing side or meal in and of itself! Enjoy!

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Tips for Success

When making this simple bacon and brown sugar baked beans meal, there are some tips that will increase your level of success with this dish. For example, when possible, bake this dish ahead of time. This will mean that all the flavors become richer. So, if you can arrange it before an event, make it and then reheat. This will actually taste even more flavorful!

Storage & Reheating

When it comes to getting the most out of your baked beans and enjoying more homemade bacon and brown sugar baked beans ideas, storage and then reheating is of paramount importance. When answering the question: can this dish be reheated, the answer is yes. The beans can be reheated. To do so, simply place them in a saucepan and heat until heated through. You can also use the microwave to reheat beans to the desired temperature. 

As far as storing goes, once the bacon and brown sugar baked beans have cooled to room temperature, they can then be placed in an airtight container. They can be safely refrigerated for up to 4 days. You can also freeze leftover baked beans after they have cooled completely first. Then, place them into a freezer-safe container. You can store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

Serving Suggestions

This baked bean dish is able to stand alone as a meal or pairs great with other meals. It is the perfect side dish to a backyard BBQ but is also equally grand as a side to compliment the Thanksgiving turkey. There really isn’t any situation where this dish doesn’t fit well. 

Kids might at first balk at the onions and such within the dish, but if you can get them to taste it, they will instantly appreciate the overall sweetness. So, hopefully, you can get them to try it! I will warn you though, once you make these once, they will be requested again and again!

Notes:

These family friendly bacon and brown sugar baked beans are my favorite way to make baked beans. I love bringing this along when invited to a BBQ. It never fails that when I do, I get asked about it several times. This is why I took the time to share this recipe with you, so I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think!