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When days turn cool, my hearty and satisfying Slow Cooker Baked Beans from Scratch hit the spot – whether for dinner, a potluck, or party. Tender beans cooked for hours with smokey bacon, onions, and peppers in a savory sauce of tomato, molasses, and mustard. SO good! And so easy!
Slow Cooker Baked Beans From Scratch – Recreating A Family Recipe
One of the highlights of my childhood was my godparent’s annual greens gathering party.
Every November, a dozen families would arrive at my godparent’s Oregon home in pickups and Jeeps. They’d drive into the mountains to cut Christmas trees and holiday greenery, then reconvene at the house for the mother of all potlucks.
The party lasted all day. People brought so much great food you could barely see the table. I remember mountains of meatballs, whole baked hams, and endless salads and sides. For dessert, there were cakes, pies, cookies, and Murphy McFarland’s justifiably famous tarts.
But the dish I looked forward to most was my godmother’s baked beans. They were fantastic!
Smokey, rich, and just slightly sweet. Those tender, cooked-for-house beans tasted like home, family, and love.
My godmother passed away before I was old enough to be really interested in cooking, so I never asked for the recipe. But when the holidays approach, I always start thinking about that party and Gale’s phenomenal baked beans.
This year was just the same. So I went into the kitchen to see if I could replicate the recipe.
I’m not sure that my Slow Cooker Baked Beans from Scratch taste exactly the same as my godmother’s, but they’re pretty darned close.
Which means they’re really, really good.
Slow Cooker Baked Beans From Scratch – Easier Than In My Godmother’s Day
When I was a kid, slow cookers were more about convenience than taste. Fix it and forget it recipes made life easier for working women. But those 70’s era crock pot meals tasted like food from a middle school cafeteria and left under warmers for way too long.
My godmother’s baked beans were made from scratch, with dry beans that had been soaked, then simmered for hours and hours on the stove. I’m sure that was part of why they tasted so great.
I just don’t have that kind of time. Fortunately, home chefs have learned a lot about slow cooking since I was a kid.
Pre-cooking some ingredients before putting them in the crock and kicking the flavors up a few notches makes slow cooker baked beans from scratch that are just as delicious as my godmother’s. And much easier to make.
Baked beans from scratch are great to serve at big gatherings, pot lucks, or holiday parties. The recipe makes enough to feed a crowd! But if don’t worry if you’re not feeding a crowd. After cooking and cooling, you can store them in the freezer in a plastic freezer bag for three to six months.
Slow Cooker Baked Beans From Scratch – Let’s Talk Beans
Once the ingredients go into the crock, you can walk away and let the slow cooker do its magic. But preparing the ingredients, starting with the beans, does take some time. So be sure to plan accordingly.
My recipe for Slow Cooker Baked Beans from scratch calls for dried navy beans. If you’ve used dried beans before, you probably know all about how to soak them before cooking and have your own favorite method for doing so.
If you’ve never used dried beans before, you might be wondering why you should bother.
To start with, dried beans are much more affordable than canned. I also think the taste and texture are better than canned. Those are the two biggies in my book, but there are other reasons too. This article from Huff Post goes into more detail.
Using dried beans in your recipes isn’t difficult, but you do have to soak them before cooking.
Some people simply rinse and sort the beans, cover them with about three inches of water, and leave them to sit for 10-12 hours or overnight.
Others use the quick boil and soak method. Again, you’ll cover the beans with three inches of water in a pot, bring them to a full boil for a minute, and then let them soak for an hour.
My preferred method is to cover the beans in brine with water, three tablespoons of kosher salt, and two teaspoons of baking soda, and let them then soak overnight. Even older beans will cook up tender with this method. Also, the baking soda makes the beans less gassy. (Be sure to drain and rinse the beans to remove the salt before cooking.)
But, hey! You do you! Soak your beans in any way that works for you.
How To Make Slow Cooker Baked Beans From Scratch
Once the beans are ready, the rest of this recipe is easy. However, you will need to do a little precooking before you can toss everything in the slow cooker.
Bacon is part of what gives these baked beans such a rich, delicious, slightly smokey flavor. But the bacon does need to be cooked beforehand.
Slice the bacon crossways into ½-inch wide lardons, and cook them over medium-high heat. You’re not going to cook it for long, just until the bacon starts to look translucent and release some grease.
Then you’ll add the chopped onion and green pepper to the pan. Cook the veggies in the bacon grease for three to five minutes, until the onion is softened and translucent.
After that, all you’ll do is put the beans, bacon, vegetables, and other ingredients in the slow cooker, give them a stir, and the slow cooker do the rest.
The smell is going to be amazing! And in a few hours, you’ll have a huge pot of delicious, made-from-scratch baked beans that taste like home, family, and – most importantly – love.
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Slow Cooker Baked Beans from Scratch: A Potluck Recipe
- Yield: 12-18 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 lb dry navy beans, pre-soaked (see post for methods)
- 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 1 green pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
- 8 oz thick cut bacon, sliced lengthwise into half-inch piece
- 3 T molasses
- 3 T brown sugar
- 2 T yellow mustard
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 1 T tomato paste
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- ½ tsp ground pepper
Instructions
- Pre-soak the beans according to your preferred method (see post for suggestions). Some methods require overnight soaking, so plan accordingly.
- Cook the bacon in a heavy bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until it begins to soften and let off some grease. Add the onions and peppers to the skillet. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3-5 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent.
- Place the drained beans, bacon, cooked vegetables, and remaining ingredients in the slow cooker. Stir to combine. Cook on low setting for 6-8 hours.
- Extra baked beans can be cooled completely and stored in a plastic zipper container in the freezer for three to six months.
