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
- Parmesan Baked Yellow Squash Recipe
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.
yum! i've made this three times (i think) and added little smokies to make it beanie weenies.
I hoped for better-tasting beans, and next time, I'll add more ingredients, such as onions. I wish I had chosen another recipe for guests. The basic concept avoids tough beans baked from dried beans. I would greatly reduce the mustard.
Sorry to hear that, June. You can definitely tweak the ingredients in this recipe to your liking! 🙂
Easy, straight forward and yummy. Used honey instead of maple syrup and turned out great.
Yes, this was so easy! Had everything in the kitchen, with one substitution (ketchup+dry BBQ spice rub = BBQ sauce). I see how you can easily modify this recipe with what you have on hand. Will never buy canned baked beans again.
I'll be honest, I didn't expect to like this as much as I did. We're trying to cut back on sugar, and this was just right! I used No Sugar Added Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ, because it's what I had on hand. Next time, I might make my own sauce though!
This was a first time ever making baked beans and it was delicious!!!! One thing that made it tough for me to doctor was using fresh squeezed lemon and spicy brown mustard which made it mildly tart so I chopped up bacon and cooked it then dumped that and bacon grease in with a little water and it took most the tartness out.
Absolutely fantastic! Wanted baked beans, but only had a can of great northern beans...Followed recipe exactly and super delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Didn't know what to do simply for lunch. Decided it was going to be hot dogs. Didn't have anything to go with. Always have canned beans. Found this recipe, all the ingredients are available. So delicious we will never buy already prepared baked beans from a can AGAIN. THANK YOU!
Pretty good flavor but way too dry.
Sorry to hear that, Jaycie. Did you happen to rinse your canned beans? They only need to be drained, but not rinsed. The small amount of juices they retain from the can -- plus the additional liquid ingredients in the recipe -- are typically more than sufficient to keep these beans moist.
IDK abt Jaycie, but I rinsed them, next time I won't. Liked the recipe thought, thanks.
Just what I was looking for - thanks! Quick and easy. I'd use less mustard next time (personal taste). Great recipe.
I didn’t drain my pinto beans, they were great. Never buy baked beans again. Used chopped bacon fried, drained grease and used the same pan. With chopped onions.
What can i sub for the maple syrup
Maybe honey? But since the flavor of honey may make the beans taste little different, I’d start out with about half as much honey as the recipes calls for maple syrup. Taste your beans once everything is mixed together and then add more, to taste, if necessary. 🙂
I swapped molasses and added a tbsp of brown sugar (and cut the BBQ sauce in half) for a more Northern Baked Beans taste - worked out great!
I had to throw together a side dish for my 4th of July cookout because I didn’t want to run to the store. I found this recipe and I can honestly say I will not need to buy baked beans from a can again! I had to improvise and use Great Northern Beans along with pinto beans. I sautéed an onion before adding the rest of the ingredients. It is not as soupy and gloopy as baked beans from a can, but I definitely wasn’t missing anything! Not to mention it was SO EASY. I will be making these again!
Could you recommend a way to sub for the barbecue sauce? I don't have any at home
Hi Amy! I'd either make a batch of Homemade BBQ Sauce and use a bit of that. Or -- to be really quick -- I'd just substitute 2 tablespoons ketchup for the BBQ sauce, plus add in a splash of apple cider vinegar, a dash of Worcestershire, and a sprinkle of a few seasonings like onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and/or chile powder. Hope that helps! 🙂
Can I use honey instead of maple syrup?
The flavor of honey may make the beans taste little different, but it should work. I think I'd start out with about half as much honey as the recipes calls for maple syrup. Taste your beans once everything is mixed together and then add more, to taste, if necessary. Hope that helps! 🙂
So yummy and easy! We forgot to grab a can of baked beans at the store, but we had plenty of cans of beans at home. I used pinto beans and it came out perfectly. We had made a homemade BBQ sauce with a touch of smoky hot sauce which I used in the beans. It was delicious! I will definitely be saving this recipe!
Just made this for myself. I used 3 tablespoon of Jack Daniel's: BBQ glaze smokey sweet and 1 tablespoon of maple syrup topped with roasted onion and it was heaven on a plate. This recipe has now been saved.
This is so so yummy. I’m eating it as I type this. That’s how good it is I couldn’t even wait to review it because it was so yummy. My Three-year-old loves baked beans she likes the bushes baked beans the most. For this recipe I used bigger beans I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. I used white kidney beans, and presidents choice brand onion and whiskey barbeque sauce. I love the lemon in it, it really makes the dish. Since I was using bigger beans and like most dishes I make, I usually simmer things longer, by keeping an eye on it and adding more water when it evaporates. Because of this, it gets a nice sauce, and allows the flavours to really deep into the beans, creating the illusion of real long baked beans. I am pinning this on Pinterest. Will be making this at least once a week from now on. A new fav! Thank you!
Also Forgot to mention, that I sautéed some shallots an added them to the baked beans.
Very tasty quick vegetarian, low fat, low sodium baked beans!. If you haven't started reading the numbers on canned and frozen foods yet you better start NOW! Honestly, this took all of 2 minutes longer than just heating up a can of commercial baked beans. Thank you Samantha. Will be adding your website to my favorites!
Forgot the stars. Please add.
Thank you, Jeffrey! 🙂
These are good, especially for a “beans now!” kind of night. I did add some sautéed onions to begin. After tasting I added a bit of catsup too, but could definitely enjoy them without. I will be making them again, for sure.
I'm glad you enjoyed them, Andrea! 🙂
Quick and filling, my youngest one just looves beans so much, thank you.