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Slow Cooker Baked Beans

Published: Mar 14, 2022 · Modified: Mar 14, 2022 by Ginny · This post may contain affiliate links.

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Slow Cooker Baked Beans have the perfect combination of bacon, onions, beans, ketchup, brown sugar, molasses, bourbon and more! This is great for potlucks, parties, and all your summertime barbecues!

wooden spoon lifting baked beans from the slow cooker.
Easy Slow Cooker Baked Beans
Contents hide
1 🍽️ Why This Works
2 Ingredients
3 ⏲️ Equipment and Tools
4 🔥 Instructions
5 ❗ Expert Tips
6 Storage
7 Meal Prep
8 Substitutions
9 Serving Suggestions
10 Recipe FAQ
11 Slow Cooker Baked Beans

This homemade baked beans recipes been a family favorite for a while now! It’s sweet, tangy, and has the right amount of zestiness.

Enjoy this recipe for parties, barbecues, potlucks, and with dinner. Seriously, you won’t regret it.

🍽️ Why This Works

Large Batch – You will get eight hefty servings out of each batch. Whether you are feeding a large group or simply want leftovers, this is a great recipe!

Easy – It truly doesn’t get much easier than these brown sugar baked beans. Literally, adding ingredients to the slow cooker, stirring and cooking! That’s it!

Comforting – If you grew up eating baked beans at all your family events, you will appreciate the flavors and textures even more. They will take you back to being a kid.

Ingredients

ingredient photo showing all of the items with labels.
Easy Ingredients

Bacon | The key ingredient to the best slow cooker baked beans you’ll ever taste! It adds saltiness and tastes oh so good. Be sure to cook the bacon so it’s crispy because it will soften as it absorbs all the juices and bourbon.

Beans | For best results, use northern beans that have been soaking overnight. The texture will be fantastic and it’s not a lot of effort to soak them. Just use cool water and place them in a large bowl. Fill the bowl until it covers the beans by a couple of inches.

Sauce | Using a combination of ketchup, molasses, mustard, bourbon and Worcestershire is the way to go. They all complement each other well and while you can leave some of them out, you won’t get that same robust flavor if you do.

Seasonings | Salt, pepper, garlic powder and brown sugar are the rest of the ingredients you will be needing.

⏲️ Equipment and Tools

Slow Cooker | Yep, that’s right! It’s the only piece of equipment that is required to make these crockpot baked beans. We used our 7 qt oval one this time as we knew it was going to need to hold a lot.

🔥 Instructions

instruction photos showing rehydrating beans, adding all ingredients, stirring, and cooking.
Super Simple Dump and Go Instructions

Step One: Add the bacon, onion, beans, sauces, brown sugar, and seasonings in a slow cooker. Stir well.

Step Two: Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Be sure to stir every hour until they are done so they don’t stick to the bottom.

❗ Expert Tips

Add a liner – To save time on clean up add a slow cooker liner. They save time cleaning and work like a charm.

In a hurry? Cook on high for 3-4 hours to speed up the process. While you will get a stronger flavor the longer they cook, it will still be delicious.

Canned beans work – If you completely forget about soaking dried beans, it’s fine to used canned instead. Just drain them off before you begin and you’ll be all set.

Storage

Fridge: Place the cooled baked beans in a sealed food container. They will last for up to five days in the fridge and the flavor develops as they rest.

Freezer: Put the beans in a freezer bag and squeeze out extra air. Label and keep frozen for up to three months. Defrost in the fridge before reheating and serving.

Meal Prep

Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl and keep them in the fridge for up to 24 hours in advance. Then cook when you are ready and serve.

Substitutions

Barbecue sauce – You can use barbecue sauce in place of ketchup. Use a flavor that you love already. You may need to back off on the brown sugar and molasses if you opt for a sweet variety.

Meats – Feel free to play around with the meats that you add. We love doctoring up baked beans with all sorts of meat. Ground beef, pulled pork, pulled chicken, and ground turkey are a few suggestions.

Maple Syrup – You can use maple syrup in place of the brown sugar. White sugar can also be used as well.

three small freezer safe containers with individual servings of baked beans in them.
Perfect to Freeze!

Serving Suggestions

Serve with barbecue sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburgers, steak, ribs, and any of your favorite BBQ dishes. Really, these slow cooker baked beans are filling enough to be a meal themselves.

Making a big ol’ picnic out of these means salads, desserts and sliders.

Recipe FAQ

What beans should I make sure to not use in the slow cooker?

Never cook red kidney beans if they are dry. Canned red kidney beans are fine, but if they are dry you will need to boil them for 10 minutes first. They develop a type of protein called lectin that may be toxic to humans.

What is the difference between baked beans and Boston baked beans?

Basically, the difference is molasses! Typically, traditional baked beans call for brown sugar and a lot of recipes call for corn syrup. But Boston baked beans use molasses. For this baked beans recipe, we use both so it doesn’t matter to us what you call them. 😉

Why are my pinto beans still hard?

If the pinto beans are still hard, odds are you didn’t soak them long enough. Another possibility is that they weren’t cooked long enough. If they are still hard, I recommend cooking for another hour and re-checking. Repeat as many times as needed until they reach the desired doneness.

If they aren’t getting soft, it could also be that your beans were old, to begin with. It’s best to use fresher dried beans.

Can you overcook the beans?

Yes, and they will be incredibly mushy if you cook them too long. As the beans get closer to done, check them to see if they are the correct texture. You don’t want them to be too firm, but you also don’t want them to be slimy or broken either.

How do you know baked beans are done?

When they are finished, you will see that the edges of the crockpot are bubbling and hot. It may even be a little sticky. You should be able to pierce them with a fork without too much resistance.

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Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also stay in touch with me through social media by following me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!

wooden spoon lifting baked beans from the slow cooker.

Slow Cooker Baked Beans

These incredibly easy baked beans are perfect for summertime sides or indoor additions when it's cold outside. Hearty and simple all in one crockpot!
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Print Pin Rate
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 569kcal
Author: Ginny

Equipment

  • Slow Cooker

Ingredients

  • 12 oz Bacon cooked and cut into chunks
  • 1 cup Onion chopped
  • 16 oz Great Northern Beans dried, soaked overnight to soften
  • ¾ cup Ketchup
  • ⅓ cup Brown Sugar
  • ¼ cup Molasses
  • ¼ cup Bourbon
  • 2 tbsp Yellow Mustard
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • ½ tsp Garlic Powder
  • ¼ tsp Salt and Pepper each

Instructions

  • Place all the ingredients into the slow cooker and stir. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
  • Stir every hour or so to make sure it is not sticking to the bottom.

Notes

Freezer Friendly: You can freeze these by putting them in a freezer zip loc bag and lay flat or in solid freezer safe containers for up to 3 months. 
Serve Second Day: These beans are best the second day. 
Kidney Bean Caution: Never cook red kidney beans if they are dry. Canned red kidney beans are fine, but if they are dry you will need to boil them for 10 minutes first. They develop a type of protein called lectin that is toxic to humans.
Hard Pinto Beans: If the pinto beans are still hard, odds are you didn’t soak them long enough. Another possibility is that they weren’t cooked long enough. If they are still hard, I recommend cooking for another hour and re-checking. Repeat as many times as needed until they reach the desired doneness.
If they aren’t getting soft, it could also be that your beans were old, to begin with. It’s best to use fresher dried beans.
Overcooking Beans: They will be incredibly mushy if you cook them too long. As the beans get closer to done, check them to see if they are the correct texture. You don’t want them to be too firm, but you also don’t want them to be slimy or broken either. 
When Are Beans Done: When they are finished, you will see that the edges of the crockpot are bubbling and hot. It may even be a little sticky. You should be able to pierce them with a fork without too much resistance. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 569kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 413mg | Potassium: 510mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 115IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @savorandsavvy or tag #savorandsavvy!
Slow Cooker Baked Beans
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About Ginny

Hi! My name is Ginny and I know how busy life can be! I am a mom working hard to prepare healthy meals for my family that is always on the go!

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Family Photo Hi! My name is Ginny and I know how busy life can be! I am a mom working hard to prepare healthy meals for families on the go! Read More...

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