Old Fashioned Baked Beans

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4.92 from 24 votes

The humble bean is transformed into a savory and saucy pot of delicious Baked Beans. This is a true comfort food

Prep Time10

Cook Time5

Additional Time6

Total Time11 10

Course: Side Dishes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: baked beans

Servings: servings

Author: Pat Nyswonger

Ingredients

1 pound dried white beans such as Cannellini Navy or Great Northern
½ yellow onion
3 garlic cloves
Fresh herb bouquet garni of rosemary thyme, oregano
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
1-½ large yellow onion diced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
½ cup unsulphured molasses
½ cup light brown sugar divided
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1-½ teaspoons sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4-5 slices bacon * See Notes

Instructions

Sort through the beans discarding any pebbles or dirt clumps, rinse the beans and add them to a large pot. Add enough cold water to cover the beans by 3 or 4 inches.
Set the beans aside on the counter top and allow to soak for at least 6 hours, overnight is good. Check occasionally and add additional water if necessary as the beans will absorb up to about 3 times their size.
Drain the beans and add fresh water, covering the beans by several inches. Add the onion, garlic and fresh herb bundle.
Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the beans are tender, about 45-60 minutes, depending on the type of bean used.
Preheat the oven to 250°F
Remove the pot of beans from the heat and discard the onion, garlic and herb bundle. Drain the beans, reserving the bean broth. Transfer the drained beans to a Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pan with a lid.
Set a small skillet over medium heat and add the oil and when it is hot add the diced onion and cook, stirring frequently until soft. Transfer the onion and the chopped herbs to the Dutch oven containing the beans.
In a bowl or pitcher, combine the molasses, brown sugar, mustards, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Whisk in 2 cups of the reserved bean broth, stirring to combine. Pour over the beans and stir to combine.
Transfer the beans to the middle rack of the oven, and bake with the lid on for 4 hours until tender. Check the beans every 30 minutes, adding a little more of the water so they do not dry out.
After the beans have baked for 4 hours and are almost tender, arrange the bacon slices on the top and continue to bake, uncovered, for an additional hour. Taste for doneness and if tender, transfer from the oven and serve.

Notes

If you will be using canned beans for this recipe, skip to #4 in the directions
The bacon will release it's fat into the beans as it cooks. To reduce the amount of fat par-boil the slices in a pan of boiling water for 1-minute, drain and blot with a paper towel before arranging on top of the beans.

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