Slow Cooker Baked Beans
Summary
How to make Slow Cooker Baked Beans
Slow Cooker Baked Beans
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Slow Cooker Baked Beans Recipe
- Serves: 10-12
- Ingredients:
- 4, 15-ounce cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed
- 7 slices thick cut bacon, cut into ½’ pieces
- 1 medium onion, diced
- ¾ C ketchup
- ¾ C dark brown sugar
- 1/3 C molasses
- ¼ C chicken stock, low sodium
- 2 T rice vinegar
- 1 T Worcestershire sauce
- 1 T ground mustard
- ¾ tsp. garlic powder
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- ½ tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- *I used a 10-quart slow cooker for this recipe. My slow cooker insert can go onto a stove top burner.
- Add your bacon to your slow cooker insert or skillet which is over medium heat. There is no need to add oil, the bacon will release its fat. Cook the bacon until browned and crispy. This will take 8-10 minutes.
- Drain the bacon on a paper toweled lined plate. Reserve three tablespoons of the bacon fat in the pan. Add the onions to the pan and cook for 5-7 minutes until they are translucent. Shut off the heat and add the slow cooker insert to its base.
- Now, add the rest of the ingredients: ketchup, brown sugar, molasses, chicken stock, rice vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, ground mustard, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, and bay leaf. Give it all a good mix to combine. Place the cover on top of the slow cooker. Set to low for 3 hours or 1.5 hours on high. Enjoy!
- Note: This freezes well. Just wait till the dish has cooled completely. Place in freezer storage bags or glass containers. This will keep up to 3 months in the freezer.
Video
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Browning on the stovetop (insert or skillet)
If the slow cooker insert is stove-top safe (for example, a 10‑quart insert that can go on a burner), you can brown the bacon directly in that insert; otherwise brown it in a separate skillet. Drain the bacon on paper towels and reserve three tablespoons of the bacon fat. Cook the diced onion in the reserved fat until translucent. If the insert was used on the burner, return it to the slow cooker base before adding the remaining ingredients and continuing with the slow-cooking step.
Freezing & storing
Allow the dish to cool completely before freezing. Transfer cooled baked beans to freezer storage bags or glass containers. Properly stored in the freezer, the dish will keep up to 3 months.
Why great northern beans work well here
Great northern beans are a medium-sized white bean with a mild, slightly nutty flavor and a tender, creamy texture when cooked. They absorb sauce while generally holding their shape, so the finished dish delivers soft, saucy beans rather than a mashed texture. Their mild flavor also lets the molasses, brown sugar, bacon, and seasonings be the primary taste elements.
Why the flavor combination in these slow cooker baked beans works
Each of the recipe’s main flavorings plays a clear role in the finished sauce:
- Molasses provides deep, caramelized sweetness and color that give the sauce richness.
- Dark brown sugar adds rounded sweetness that complements the molasses.
- Ketchup contributes body, tomato sweetness, and a touch of acidity for balance.
- Rice vinegar brings bright acid to cut through sweetness and keep the sauce from feeling cloying.
- Worcestershire sauce supplies savory umami and tang that deepen the overall taste.
- Ground mustard adds a sharp, lifting note that helps balance sweet flavors.
- Bacon and reserved bacon fat provide smoke, salt, and fat for mouthfeel; browning bacon concentrates those savory qualities.
- Bay leaf offers a subtle aromatic backdrop that helps the other flavors meld during slow cooking.
Watch Dr. J Make Slow Cooker Baked Beans
Watch Dr. J make Slow Cooker Baked Beans and see how it comes together.
