If you haven’t made your own baked beans from scratch before, you should start with this Scratch-Made Molasses Baked Beans recipe.
And by “scratch-made” I mean using dried beans you cook for several hours.
It may take a little more time and effort than using canned baked beans, but it’s well worth it in the end. This Scratch-Made Molasses Baked Beans recipe is so flavorful you’ll never want to put the spoon down.
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Choosing the Beans
Most baked beans recipes use white navy or great northern beans. Those beans are smaller and are great to use for baked beans recipes.
However, I prefer pinto beans. Pintos are meatier and more filling, and can easily turn a side dish into a main dish.
I recommend trying this Scratch-Made Molasses Baked Beans recipe with pinto beans. It might seem strange at first, but I think you’ll enjoy it more when it’s all said and done.
Prepping the Beans
A lot of prep-work goes into this recipe, starting the day before you cook it.
Make sure you soak the beans overnight in a bowl of water. The beans will double in size and most of the water will get soaked inside of them. This will cut down the cooking time of the beans substantially.
After soaking them, I cooked the beans in water with just a few seasonings (onion powder, salt and beef bouillon) on a low simmer for 1.5-2 hours. The longer you slow-cook them, the more tender they will become.
Once you’re done cooking the beans, you’ll add them to a pot full of the true baked beans ingredients.
Seasoning the Beans
This Scratch-Made Molasses Baked Beans recipe contains a slew of ingredients to maximize its sweet and savory flavor.
I used a combination of bacon, onion, garlic, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and of course, molasses.
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Don’t skip the molasses. It add a deeply rich sweetness that can’t be beat.
After mixing all of your ingredients together, you’ll bake the beans (hence the name, hah) for an hour to an hour and a half so that all of those wonderful flavors can mingle together.
Enjoy!
Scratch-Made Molasses Baked Beans
A rich, sweet and savory baked beans recipe with bacon, molasses and brown sugar.
Ingredients
Directions
- Soak beans overnight in a large bowl of water.
- Drain beans and add to a pot with 6 cups water, beef bouillon, seasoned salt, and onion powder. Let simmer for 1.5-2 hours until beans are tender.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large Dutch Oven, fry bacon until crispy. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 6-8 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minutes.
- Add all other ingredients to the pot, including the cooked beans and 1/2 cup of the bean broth. Stir.
- Cover with lid and put into oven. Bake for 1 to 1.5 hours, checking after 30 minutes to make sure beans have not dried out. If not much liquid remains, add another 1/2 cup of water or beef broth. Serve with barbecue or burgers.
I like molasses. It deepens the intensity of flavors. 🧡🌿
It really does! Always good to keep a jar handy.