Kicked-Up Canned Baked Beans (2024)

With just a few ingredients you may already have on hand, you can turnordinary canned baked beans into extraordinary! Kicked-Up Canned Baked Beans is an easy and delicious way to make canned beans taste like you made them from scratch! Perfect with my BBQ Chicken Thighs!

“The first baked beans I’ve made in 50 years of marriage that my husband has really loved!”

Why This Recipe is a Keeper!

Short on time or just don’t want to go to the trouble of making baked beans from scratch?

Here’s a recipe you’ll want to file away for all your special occasions like graduations, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, summer barbecuing, potlucks and even the holidays!

If you love the convenience of canned baked beans but find them lacking in homemade flavor, my Kicked-Up Canned Baked Beans are an easy way to dress them up and taste as though you made them from scratch! This is the best baked beans recipe from canned beans with hundreds of four and five-star reviews!

The flavor base in canned baked beans is already there, but with a bit of help with simple ingredients you may already have on hand, no one will ever know you started with a store-bought convenience item!

This baked beans recipe with canned beans is:

• Easy!
• Budget-friendly because not a lot of extra ingredients are needed–just good, flavorful mostly pantry ingredients.
• Completely make-ahead.
• A sure crowd-pleaser!

How to make Canned Baked Beans Taste Homemade:

Recipe Ingredients:

Here’s everything you’ll need to make this baked beans recipe, along with how to prep. See the recipe card below for the exact quantities.

Ingredient Notes:

• Canned Baked Beans: Use an “original” or simply-flavored style of canned baked beans. Avoid any that have hickory smoke flavor, maple, or other flavorings; they won’t work with these other ingredients and may compete.
• Bacon: Use your favorite brand but here, too, avoid flavored bacon.
• Mustard: I like spicy brown mustard for this baked beans recipe, but Dijon mustard or yellow mustard will also work.

Step-By-Step Instructions:

• Start with four 16.5-ounce or two 28-ounce cans of original recipe canned baked beans such as Bush’s.
• Cook the bacon until crispy, then transfer it to a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve the bacon drippings.

• Cook the onion in the reserved drippings until it’s softened.
• Combine everything in a 4-quart baking dish. Save a little bacon to sprinkle over the top.
• MAKE AHEAD: The beans can be assembled up to two days ahead of time. Refrigerate covered until needed.

• Bake uncovered for one hour or until hot, bubbling, and the top of the beans are caramelized. Yessssss…….like this!

• Garnish with the reserved bacon…

• And let everyone dig in!
• So easy and they’ll be the hit of your get-together!

Slow Cooker Instructions:

• If you prefer doing this baked bean recipe in a slow cooker, it will work. However, the top won’t get caramelized. As a reader suggests, place a tea towel over the top of the slow cooker to absorb the steam produced in a slow cooker so it doesn’t water down the beans. Cook for 5 to 6 hours on LOW or 3 to 3.5 hours on HIGH.

Storing Leftovers:

First, ensure the beans didn’t sit out too long at your gathering. Two hours at room temperature is the max. Longer than that and you’re flirting with a foodborne illness.

Store any leftovers in the refrigerator or freeze them for later use in an airtight container for 2-3 months.

FREEZER-FRIENDLY:Freeze them for later use in an airtight container for two to three months. Thaw in the refrigerator or microwave and bake as directed.

More great summery side dishes for your next get-together!

• Mediterranean Farro Salad
• Creamy Cucumber Salad with Yogurt
• Easy Fresh Tomato Salad
• Cool and Creamy Potato Salad
• Greek Orzo Pasta Salad
• Quinoa Tabbouleh with Grilled Vegetables
• Tuscan Cherry Tomato and White Bean Salad

Get more great summery side dish ideas at: 30 Best Sides to Take to a Cookout!