From scratch Boston Baked Beans are a thing of beauty. Perfect for potlucks, picnics, and anytime you need to bring a hot side dish. White beans cooked from scratch in a sweet molasses and tomato sauce with plenty of bacon. You will love these homemade baked beans!
While I am not from Boston, I can assure you that my love of beans is so authentic, I have been granted permission from a Bostonian to share this recipe for Boston Baked Beans.
What are Boston Baked Beans?
True, authentic Boston baked beans are hard to come by lately. They have been replaced with soupy canned varieties of beans with minuscule pieces of bacon floating in the overly sweet sauce that sometimes doesn't even contain molasses or tomatoes! I love a good canned bean product, like I use in my Black Bean Dip, but today, we must start with dried white beans and make an entirely from-scratch baked bean dish.
Making Boston Beans starts the night before
It is a process to make this recipe, I will not pretend like this is a quick and easy recipe. We're soaking one pound of dry white navy beans overnight before even beginning this recipe.
The beans are cooked until tender, and then cooked again in a tangy, spiced tomato sauce peppered with plenty of bacon pieces. The acidity of the tomato (in the form of ketchup) and the acidity of molasses keeps the beans from over-cooking and turning into mush, even though they're technically cooked twice.
We do not like mushy, over-cooked beans are here, trust us!
Ingredients for Molasses Baked Beans
- Navy Beans. One pound of dry white navy beans (sometimes called small white beans), that have been picked over and checked for stones or broken beans. Rinse and drain the beans just before soaking.
- Onion. One large yellow onion diced is about 1 ½ cups of diced onion.
- Bacon. Reach for thick-cut bacon, and especially one that has pepper on the edges. We need 4 slices, or about ¼ of a pound, and then cut it into ½-inch pieces.
- Molasses. Please use regular molasses that you would use for baking molasses cookies. Don't use anything labeled 'black strap,' as it is too bitter and has an unsavory 'ham' flavor in this dish.
- Dark Brown Sugar. You can use light or dark, but my preference is dark for its rich molasses flavor.
- Ketchup.
- Mustard. Regular prepared yellow mustard, like you use on a sandwich. You can use Dijon, if you prefer.
- Worcestershire Sauce. Don't skip this--it brings incredible umami flavor to this dish.
- Apple Cider Vinegar. Just one tablespoon brings balance to the sweet and tangy flavors in the whole dish.
How to make Baked Beans from Scratch
- Gather all ingredients needed for the dish. Then, pick through the beans to ensure no small stones or broken beans remain, rinse, drain, and soak the beans in cool water for 8 hours.
2. Drain the beans after 8 hours, and place them in a stock pot. Cover them with fresh cold water that comes two inches above the beans.
3. Bring the beans to a boil, and then lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 60 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste 5 beans from the pot to ensure they're all tender throughout. If not, continue simmering about 20 minutes, and taste again. Make sure the beans are done in the middle, but not mushy because we will be baking them again. Remove the beans from the liquid, but SAVE THE LIQUID that they were cooked in!
4. Preheat the oven to 325-degrees Fahrenheit, and have ready a 2-quart casserole baking dish with a lid. If it doesn't have a lid, you can use foil. Give the dish a quick spray with cooking spray, just to help with clean-up later on. Place one-third of the cooked beans in the casserole dish, and spread them out into an even layer. Top with half of the diced onion and half of the chopped bacon. Pour another one-third of the beans on top, followed by the rest of the diced onion and chopped bacon. Finally, add the last one-third of beans on top.
5. In a small sauce pan, combine the molasses, brown sugar, salt, pepper, ketchup, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Bring this mixture to a boil. Remove from the heat, and finally, stir in the vinegar.
6. Pour this molasses sauce mixture evenly over the beans in the dish.
7. Then, gently pour over 2 cups of the reserved bean cooking water.
8. Place the lid on the beans, or cover with aluminum foil. Slide the dish into the oven, and bake for one hour. After one hour, stir the beans gently, and add another one cup of the reserved bean cooking water, and stir again to combine. Place the lid back on, and cook for another hour. Stir, and cook for another hour, adding more liquid, if they seem dry.
9. After 3 hours of cooking, the beans should be dark brown, the onions should be tender, and the bacon should be cooked. You can stop here, or you can add another hour for additional depth of flavor, for a total of 4 hours. Give the beans a taste and decide.
Serving this Boston Baked Beans Recipe
My favorite thing to serve with baked beans is burgers! Try my Black Bean Burgers with these beans on the side for a classic summer dinner.
Boston Baked Bean Recipe storage
- This recipe makes quite a lot of Boston baked beans, so you can store leftovers in the freezer. Portion out servings into freezer-safe containers, and freeze for up to 6 months. Defrost overnight and then microwave to warm back up.
- Leftover beans can be stored for up to 5 days in the fridge, tightly sealed. Just warm them up and use them as a side dish all week long.
Molasses Baked Beans FAQs
If a baked beans recipe contains molasses, it can be called Boston baked beans. A recipe using the same beans with just tomato sauce, brown sugar and spices is just called 'baked beans.' And similarly, it's called 'pork and beans' when it has a higher ratio of meat in it. Boston baked beans only have a small amount of meat, plus molasses to give them their authentic flavor.
Yes, there is also a candy called Boston baked beans! They're individual peanuts coated in crunchy sugar that is dyed to look like a baked bean. They're delicious!
Yes, Boston baked beans are naturally gluten-free, even though the sauce is nice and thick. However, check all of your ingredient labels on the sauces and spices just to be safe. It's definitely not vegan, because it contains bacon. As for health, check the nutritional facts in the recipe card below.
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Boston Beans
Boston baked beans from scratch. Easy, but so delicious and classic.
Ingredients
- 1 pound navy beans, soaked for 8 hours
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 4 slices of thick-cut bacon, about ¼ pound, cut into ½” pieces
- ⅓ cup molasses (not black strap)
- ⅓ cup dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard (or Dijon, your choice)
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Gather all ingredients. Rinse the beans, and soak the beans for 8 hours in cold water.
- Then, drain the beans and place them in a stockpot. Cover them with cold water that comes two inches above the beans. Bring the beans to a boil, and then lower to a simmer and cook for 60 minutes. Taste 5 beans from the pot to ensure they’re tender throughout. If not, continue simmering for another 20-30 minutes. Make sure the beans are done in the middle, but not overly soft or mushy, because we will be baking them again. Remove the beans from the liquid, but reserve the liquid. We will use the bean cooking liquid later!
- Preheat the oven to 325, and have ready a 2 quart casserole dish. Give it a quick spray with nonstick spray. Place one-third of the beans in the dish, and spread them out evenly. Top the beans with half of the diced onion and half of the chopped bacon evenly. Place another one-third of the beans on top. Top with the remaining diced onion and chopped bacon. Finally, layer the last of the beans on top.
- Next, in a small saucepan, combine the molasses, brown sugar, salt, pepper, ketchup, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Bring this mixture to a boil.
Remove from the heat, and stir in the vinegar. - Pour this mixture evenly over the beans.
- Add 2 cups of the reserved bean cooking water. Cover the beans with a lid or a layer of aluminum foil that doesn’t touch the beans. Bake for 1 hour, and then check the beans. Add another cup of the reserved bean water and give things a gentle stir. Cover again and then cook for another hour. Check after another hour, adding more bean cooking water if necessary. After 3 hours, the liquid around the beans should be dark brown, the onions should be tender, and the bacon should be cooked. If you’d like the sauce a little darker, you can cook it for one more hour, a total of 4 hours. Keep the beans covered while they cook.
Notes
Navy Beans: One pound of dry white navy beans (sometimes called small white beans).
Onion: Aabout 1 ½ cups of diced onion.
Bacon: Reach for thick-cut bacon with pepper on the edges is best.
Molasses: Please use regular molasses, not anything labeled 'black strap,' as it is too bitter.
Dark Brown Sugar: You can use light or dark.
Mustard. Regular prepared yellow mustard, like you use on a sandwich, or Dijon works, too.
Worcestershire Sauce: Don't skip this.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 162Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 669mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 5gSugar: 18gProtein: 6g
MaryAnn Coy
A 3rd name for these small white beans is Great Northern Beans. All are interchangeable in a Boston Baked Beans Recipe. Worcestershire is an interesting ingredient. Traditionally ketchup is added, although I substitute no salt added Tomato Paste with the West Indian spice mix used in proprietary recipes for ketchup. The Worcestershire would provide a less sweet flavor than ketchup. The brown sugar can be substituted with Maple Syrup for those wanting to avoid overly processed sugar. Traditional Boston Baked Beans are made with a chunk of salt brined smoked pork lard (lardons) but that is nearly impossible to find, unless you make your own these days. Very lean, smoked thick-cut, bacon is the best option now. There are 3 types of molasses available, 1). Blackstrap is healthy but a very acquired taste, 2). dark molasses, (for savory dishes including beans) and 3). light molasses (for baking desserts and pies. Boston Baked Beans originally weren’t as sticky sweet, when dark molasses and ketchup were used, and ketchup is a relatively modern add-in. Before that it was tomato sauces. I use tomato paste to thicken the sauce. more. I’m curious to try your recipe with Low sodium Worcestershire to see how it tastes. One little extra I add is 1-2 tsp Liquid Smoke. It’s makes up for the wood stove baking I grew up with. I am a born and bred New England Cook of near 70 years, so forgive my sensitivity to what are called Boston Baked Beans. I’m just as fussy about our NE Chowders, Clam, Fish, and Corn.
Nicole
I made this for the first time not too long ago and it came out amazing! I even froze the left overs and as I’ve eaten them since they, it tastes just as good as when I first made them. This is for sure a recipe I’ll make again!
Kathleen
I made this recipe today to serve for the 4th of July BBQ we are hosting. I followed the recipe exactly (baked for 4 hours) and I love it. I’ve never made Boston Baked Beans before but this recipe is now a proven winner and will be saved in my recipe book. Thank you very much for sharing!