Easy Baked Beans (5 Ingredients + 5 Minutes!)
Easy Baked Beans dress up canned white beans in a quick, 5-ingredient, stovetop recipe for a versatile dinnertime side dish!
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If you enjoy bean dishes, you'll also love Slow Cooker Charro Beans, Instant Pot Refried Beans, Ranch-Style Beans, and AMAZING Bean Dip!
Sometimes you need an effortless side dish to round out a meal, and bonus points if the entire family loves it. And so it goes with these Easy Baked Beans!
After all, baked beans need not take all day...so today I'm letting y'all in on a simple, 5-ingredient, stovetop, shortcut recipe!
Southern Baked Beans
One of my favorite dishes to whip up for a summertime picnic, potluck, or BBQ is Southern Baked Beans, which are sweet and savory like traditional baked beans, but jazzed up with barbecue sauce and bacon for a southern twist.
They're as easy as stirring a handful of ingredients into canned white beans, topping with bacon, and baking until the beans are bubbly and the bacon is crispy.
When I make that recipe, I typically assemble a dish big enough to feed a dozen or so people.
But sometimes I crave those same baked beans in a smaller batch -- just enough for my family -- to enjoy alongside chicken or burgers or hot dogs. And that was the inspiration behind these Easy Baked Beans!
Ingredients
Aside from its ease, flavor, and popularity with my family, one of the things I love about this Easy Baked Beans recipe is that it requires just FIVE basic ingredients that I already always have on hand.
- Canned white beans. You can use any white beans you like...navy beans, great northern beans, or white cannellini beans will all work. But you'll need to drain your beans first, because the other ingredients added to this recipe will create their own sauce.
- BBQ sauce. Use your favorite (homemade or store-bought), but remember that the flavor of your BBQ sauce will dictate the flavor of your Easy Baked Beans. If your BBQ sauce is smoky or spicy or sweet...your baked beans will be as well!
- Maple syrup. Be sure to use pure maple syrup. But feel free to tweak the amount depending on how sweet your BBQ sauce is and how sweet you like your baked beans.
- Prepared yellow mustard. Just a squeeze!
- Lemon juice. Either fresh or store-bought will work. If you use bottled lemon juice, just try to make sure that "lemon juice" is the only ingredient listed.
How to Make Easy Baked Beans
(The below photos are intended to be helpful, but please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for FULL DIRECTIONS.)
Easy Baked Beans are effortless and super quick! I basically just reduced the recipe for my beloved Southern Baked Beans, transferred it from the oven to the stove, and eliminated the bacon.
- Add the drained white beans to a small saucepan along with the other ingredients and stir to combine.
- Set pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stir well, and reduce to a low simmer. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Serve hot with a slotted spoon. ENJOY!
See? Quick and couldn't be any easier!
Easy Baked Beans make a delicious, family-pleasing side dish that nicely complements all sorts of dinnertime fare and is ready in a matter of minutes.
The resulting dish is a little bit sweet, a little bit savory, a little bit tangy...and a whole lotta yummy!
I recommend pairing your Easy Baked Beans with a fresh grilled burger, zippy potato salad, and fresh corn on the cob or sliced garden-fresh tomatoes for a simple, scrumptious summertime meal that will have everyone licking their plate and coming back for seconds.
Hope this side dish goes on the regular rotation for you this summer...and throughout the whole year!
More Summer Sides
- {2-Ingredient} Baked Parmesan Zucchini Rounds
- Tomato Cucumber Poppy Seed Salad
- Southern Squash Casserole
- Carrot Apple Slaw
Easy Baked Beans (5 Ingredients + 5 Minutes!)
Video
Ingredients
- 1 (15-ounce) can white beans, such as Navy, Great Northern, or White Cannellini beans, DRAINED
- 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce
- 1 ½ to 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
- 1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stir well, and reduce to a low simmer. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve with a slotted spoon.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- Keep in mind that the type of BBQ sauce you use is going to contribute that same flavor to your beans (smokey vs. spicy vs. sweet, etc.). If your BBQ sauce is sweet, you may want to use a lesser amount of maple syrup.
- This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled or quadrupled in a larger pot.
I used northern white beans and Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce with maple syrup. They were great! Thank you.
This is the best baked beans recipe I've ever tasted! I didn't even like baked beans that much until I made this recipe. I follow it pretty closely, since it's so simple. Sometimes I switch out the BBQ sauce for chili sauce, or add some chopped bacon/hit dogs. And I always add several dashes of smoked paprika.
This was so simple and fast, and they tasted great. I happened to have all the ingredients on hand. Added sautéed onions and a little bacon they were outstanding.