Serve these easy Slow Cooker Baked Beans with Bacon at your next backyard BBQ and watch the sparks fly.
You can interpret that however you’d like.
I really just wanted to give you an opening to start singing ‘Beans, beans the magical fruit…’ if you felt moved to do so because I wasn’t going to make that the headline of this post even if it’s true! But really, these slow cooker baked beans with bacon are so easy and so delicious that they themselves are worthy of a small fireworks show. And there’s just something magical about smokey, sweet and sticky that’s hard to resist, don’t you think? Put these on the table at your next barbecue and watch the sparks of attraction fly.
Baked beans are the ultimate year-round comfort food.
In the winter, there’s nothing better than baking a pot of sweet and saucy beans in the oven to warm the house. Their smell is intoxicating thanks to the bacon and maple syrup. But in the summer, the last thing I want to do is heat up the oven so I’ve adapted my favorite baked bean recipe to use the slow cooker instead. And I’m so glad I did because these are now my go-to set-it-and-forget-it picnic and potluck offering. And my kids beg for them everytime I fire up the grill so having an never-ending pot of these Slow Cooker Baked Beans might have to become a reality around here because I grill several nights a week when the weather is nice.
Worth the (little extra) effort.
Cooking the bacon and onions before adding them to the slow cooker may seem fussy but trust me, you get a much better flavor because the onions mellow out when cooked in the reserved bacon fat and you get a thicker sauce. Cooking the bacon first also means you won’t have any pale rubbery blobs of bacon in your beans like you do when you open a can of pork of beans from the store. Yeah, just no.
And really, this only adds about 10 minutes to your life. If you’re really pressed for time, do this step up to 3 days in advance, storing the cooked onions and bacon separately in covered containers in the fridge before adding them to the slow cooker with the beans and sauce ingredients.
Keep cool and eat well this summer
Summer is all about eating well and kicking back to enjoy the good things in life so be sure to make room on the table for these slow cooker baked beans with bacon. And don’t forget the watermelon, potato salad, slaw, burgers, brownies, and cocktails too!
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Slow Cooker Baked Beans with Bacon
Sweet and saucy baked beans made in the slow cooker are the perfect side dish for barbecues, potlucks, and picnics.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Total Time: 4 hours, 15 mins
- Yield: Serves 6-7 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Cuisine: Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Nut-Free
Ingredients
- 2 (15-ounce) cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed (yields about 3 ½ cups beans)
- 3 slices bacon, chopped
- ½ medium onion, diced
- ½ cup ketchup (such as Tessemae’s or Primal Kitchen made without added sugar)
- 2 Tbsp. maple syrup (or less if your ketchup has added sugar)
- 1 Tbsp. molasses
- 2 Tbsp. yellow mustard
- 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Cook chopped bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 7-8 minutes until almost crisp. Add onion to the pan with the bacon and cook an additional 4-5 minutes until the onion starts to soften. Remove from heat.
- Transfer bacon and onion mixture to slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients and stir gently to combine.
- Set slow cooker temperature to LOW and cook 4 hours, stirring a few times during cooking time.
Notes
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: ½ cup
- Calories: 179
- Sugar: 8g
- Sodium: 628mg
- Fat: 4g
- Carbohydrates: 25g
- Fiber: 6g
- Protein: 7g
What’s your favorite party-worthy summer side dish? Tell us about it in the comments below.
Pin it now & Make it later!
Photo Credit: The photos in this blog post were taken by Jess of Plays Well with Butter.
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Stephanie Smith says
These were tasty! I doubled the recipe and just used 1 cup of water.
★★★★★
Anne Jordan says
Can I use dry northern beans with this receipe? If so how would you do it?
Jessica Beacom says
Hi Anne,
You’d want to precook the beans first then add them in place of the canned beans.
Angie says
I’m a dry beans kind of gal! If you have time, you can probably do it all in the same crock pot. Use 1 1/2 cups of dry beans (or use a whole pound and just increase the rest of the ingredients or take some beans out before you add the rest of the ingredients). Cook them in the crock pot on low for 8 hours (if you can do it overnight) or high for 4 hours. Remove some (most, since you need several cups of water to cook the beans) of the liquid (some people would tell you to save it and use it for other cooking) and add the rest of the ingredients from the recipe, then cook for 4 hours on low. If you want to up the flavor of the beans themselves, I like to make broth in the crock pot overnight (onion, celery, carrot, bay leaf, bones if I have them, bacon or a ham hock, etc – wrap it all up in cheesecloth to make life easier), remove the solids in the morning, then add beans I soaked overnight to the broth and cook all day on low. You do end up with the crock pot going all day, but it can make some tasty, nutritious meals with surprisingly little effort. A caveat to cooking beans in the crock pot is that you don’t want to do it with red kidney beans (they have to be boiled for 10-15 minutes), and the amount of time it takes to cook can vary quite a bit based on the type, size, and age of the beans, although I’ve yet to have beans take more than 9 hours on low – that’s longer than I’m gone on a work day, so no big deal for me. This recipe would be forgiving because you get an extra 4 hours of cook time, so if you did 4 hours on high and still had a firm center in some beans, they’ll likely soften up just fine by the time they’re ready to serve. Canned beans are salted, so bear that in mind. You’ll see a lot of methods for salting dry beans that include salting the soak water, adding salt at the beginning of cooking, and adding salt at the end of cooking. People have strong opinions about what works best. You do you with the salt ;).
Sorry for the book, but I think sometimes using dried beans is a bit of a lost art and many people just don’t know how to make them. My goal for this year is to get to the point where I prepare a pound of beans every week to save money and increase fiber intake, and I work full time and have an 8 month old, so I need that crock pot to do the heavy lifting for me.
Brit says
I use only dry beans also. Mostly I make a lot and freeze them. My method for making them is to cover them with water, bring them to a boil for a couple of minutes. Then I let them soak for an hour or so, drain and refill with water and repeat. This is my soaking version of the beans. Next I boil them on top of the stove, cool, and freeze. The water used for boiling is also new water. Yes, it is a little work up front, but once they are in the freezer, it is less work than opening cans.
★★★★★
Hilary says
If I double all the ingredients for the slow cooker baked beans do I double the amount of water also?
Stacie Hassing says
Yes, I would suggest doubling all of the ingredients. If you like your baked beans more thick, you could to 1.5X and then add more water as needed. Hope that helps!
Ann Wilson says
Hi, would it be possible to prepare this recipe in an instapot? Looks delish!
Ann Wilson
Jessica Beacom says
I believe you could, though I haven’t tried – and it would probably take less than 10 minutes on high pressure. My only hesitation would be the fact that they may not get the caramelization that comes with slower cooking and the evaporation of the liquid that happens with a slow cooker (and not an Instant Pot). If you try it, please let us know how they turn out.
Lisa says
Hi there! I notice that there is a green garnish on the beans. What would this be? It makes it look pretty! Thanks!
Jessica Beacom says
It’s chopped fresh parsley.
Susan judy says
Made these for a rainy day gathering! Doubled , but only one cup water ! Added ground cinnamon! Easy and very delicious! They are now on our favorite list !!!!👍♥️
Guy P says
Recipe looks great … but what is the green herb on top of beans… cilantro, basil, green onions???
Jessica Beacom says
Thanks, Guy! The green herb is chopped, fresh parsley. It’s optional but adds a nice bright flavor and pretty color to the dish.
Heather says
I made the beans for a baseball end of the year picnic. They were a big hit.
★★★★★