Southern Baked Beans (2024)

These Southern Baked Beans are the best homemade baked beans you will ever make! An easy, delicious side dish for any cookout or BBQ!

A DELICIOUS HOMEMADE BAKED BEANS RECIPE

I worked on this baked bean recipe for a few years before first publishing it in 2011. It is still my absolute favorite way to make baked beans. Everyone asks me to bring this to the cookout! I love a good thick, flavorful sauce with a good smoky bacon flavor. These Southern Baked Beans are pretty simple to make and I promise everyone will be asking you for the recipe after they try them!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ’S)

INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)

• bacon – it’s important you fry this up fresh and not use precooked bacon. We need that bacon grease for flavor.
• onion – if you don’t like onions, just leave it out.
• canned pork & beans – you need 48 ounces total. Sometimes you can find the larger 16 ounce cans and sometimes stores only carry the smaller 8 ounce ones. So as long as you get a total of 48 ounces, you are good.
• mustard – you are not going to taste this as a separate flavor. It just adds depth of flavor.
• maple syrup – use the real stuff or the corn syrup stuff, they both work just fine here.
• ketchup – it’s always got to be Heinz for me but use your favorite.
• molasses– this is the ingredient that really gives these beans the extra depth of fantastic flavor.
• brown sugar – you can use light or dark brown, I prefer the light.

HOW TO MAKE SOUTHERN BAKED BEANS:

In a large frying pan, fry bacon until crispy, drain on a paper towel then crumble the bacon. Reserve about 1/4 cup of the bacon grease in the pan. Finely chop the onions and saute them over medium heat in the bacon drippings until onion is clear. If your bacon didn’t produce enough grease, just add a little oil to your pan if necessary.

Add in all the remaining ingredients into the pan (including cooked and crumbled bacon) and stir.

Pour bean mixture into an ungreased 9×13-inch baking dish and bake covered (with aluminum foil) for about an hour (until brown and bubbly).

If you like your beans to be a little less sauce-y, take the aluminum foil off and bake for about another 20-30 minutes (stirring the beans occasionally.) The longer it cooks, the thicker it gets. So if you want them thicker, just let them continue to cook for longer. Stir again before serving.

CRAVING MORE RECIPES?

• Crock Pot Baked Beans
• Sausage Baked Beans
• Beanie Weenie Casserole
• Calico Baked Beans
• Root Beer Baked Beans
• Beef and Bean Cowboy Casserole
• Crock Pot Beans and Ham
• Appalachian Soup Beans
• Red Beans and Rice
• Black Eyed Peas Recipe
• Best Grilled Ribs
• Grilled Chicken Marinade
• Grilled BBQ Chicken
• Grilled Steak Marinade

Originally published: February 2011
Updated photos & republished: March 2024