How to make baked beans

Easy, oven-baked classic, now with low-sugar. Can easily be low-sodium.

4 from 7 votes

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Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1

Total Time 9 30

Course Lunch

Cuisine American

Servings servings

Ingredients

1 pound white beans dried (450 g), cooking instructions below (Method #1) OR
64 ounces navy beans cooked, organic, rinsed and drained (Method #2)
6 ounces tomato paste organic, no salt added
1/2 cup molasses dark (omit for diabetic diet)
1/4 cup coconut sugar (organic)
1 tbsp mustard (dry)
2 tsp liquid smoke
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Instructions

Method #1: From scratch

Cook the beans using the OMG Beany Brothy Deliciousness method. Omit the salt if on low-sodium diet.
Remove bay leaves, celery, carrots, herb bundle, and 6 cups of the broth from the oven-safe pot.
Preheat the oven to 300F/150C/gas mark 2.
Stir in everything except the vinegar. Bring to a boil on the stove, then put in the oven and bake, uncovered. Check after 30 minutes. You might be happy with it at this point, or wish to cook it for another hour or two. The sauce will continue to thicken and sweeten. Stir in the vinegar when you remove the beans from the oven.

Method #2: Canned beans

If using canned beans, rinse and drain them, then add them to an oven-safe pot with 2 C. (500 ml) filtered water.
Preheat the oven to 300F/150C/gas mark 2.
Stir in everything except the vinegar. Bring to a boil on the stove, then put in the oven and bake, uncovered. Check after 30 minutes. You might be happy with it at this point, or wish to cook it for another hour or two. The sauce will continue to thicken and sweeten. Stir in the vinegar when you remove the beans from the oven.

Notes

Per serving:

149 calories
0 g fat
0 g cholesterol
20 mg sodium
778 mg potassium
30 g carbohydrate
5 g fiber
11 g sugars
7 g protein
3 Weight Watchers Points Plus

If you make the beans from scratch, here is how I used the leftover items. I composted the bay leaves and the herb bundle. I blended some of the broth with the cooked veggies to make a smooth pureed soup, and finally I replaced water with the last of the broth when cooking a pot of brown rice.)

Required FTC disclosure: I received a bag of organic coconut sugar from Wholesome Sweeteners at BlogHer Food, which I used in this recipe. I was not paid to write this post. I do really like this sugar, it didn't seem to cause any "sugar" symptoms in me, and I will definitely be making cookies with it in the future. I was amazed and fascinated to see how it's made. Truly hand-made, fair trade. A product I can feel good about using. And, I will never take it for granted, now that I see how much time, effort, and care goes into making it. Having been to some pretty remote regions of Java in 1990, I can see how much difference this kind of work would make to a local economy.

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