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Best Ever Cowboy Baked Beans are a delicious, hearty side dish with a western twist. Cowboy Baked Beans are a bit of spice, bit of sweet and a whole LOT of delicious…and BACON! The perfect side dish recipe for your next summer BBQ, picnic, Father’s Day, potluck or game day; you’ll be the talk of the party. 

Everyone says theirs is the “best” and probably even the BEST EVER; I have come to learn that the best ever depends on our personal tastes. So for our family, these are truly, the Best Ever Cowboy Baked Beans.

If you are looking some fabulous potluck or barbecue side dishes, try these fan faves: Corn Casserole (without Jiffy), keep the bacon going with this creamy Bacon Balsamic Macaroni Salad or my personal favorite; Asian Ramen Salad – this one’s all natural!

I hope you will give these baked beans a try and maybe even a tweak them to your families taste, Make it Yours! That is after all, what The Fresh Cooky is ALL about! Oh and BACON! Just saying.

We’ve already established that I’m weird; I don’t like plain ol’ ham & beans, ham hocks & beans (sorry mom), bean soup, navy beans…but BAKED BEANS! Yes ma’am!!

Yes please…bring on the baked beans, it’s probably because they are sweeter and have bacon in them and did I mention they are sweet and a bit spicy!?

I’ve had an ancient recipe for baked beans floating around my kitchen for decades, but when my friend at Julia’s Simply Southern featured her Southern Style Baked Beans a few weeks back and I knew I had to dust off my recipe and introduce it to her recipe. Southern girl meet, Western girl!

My original recipe used a green bell pepper, but (excuse me) green peppers, well, yup (burb). So I went with a yellow bell pepper and bottom line, I think you can use whatever color you’d like, that’s how Cowboy Baked Beans roll people. 

Ingredients

Detailed amounts and all of the little things are in the recipe card at the end of this post! This is just to get an idea!

• Canned Pork & Beans | I chose B&M baked beans, because they are gluten free and do not have high fructose corn syrup. But you choose whichever brand you love!
• Onion | gives it a lovely sweet bite!
• Bell Peppers | Use any color you like, I used yellow because it’s what I had, use green, red or orange too!
• Bacon | Would it be a Cowboy dish if it didn’t have crisp bacon on the top! Mmmmm!
• Tomato Sauce & Ketchup | These add depth, richness and definitely that rich tomato-y sauce flavor!
• Molasses | Again adds to the richness of the dish with a touch of sweet, helps balance out the acidity in the tomatoes.
• Apple Cider Vinegar | Gives it the perfect tang! You can certainly replace with another vinegar!
• Mustard | We used spicy brown AND yellow mustard!
• Worcestershire Sauce | I could seriously slather this on everything, well almost!
• Spices | Garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper! All-the-FLAVOR!

Secret Sauce for Baked Beans

Step by Step for how to make

• In a large mixing bowl, I probably should have used larger than a 2 qt mixing bowl, but I managed somehow!

• So in said larger mixing bowl, combine all sauce ingredients and whisk well. Remember if making gluten free make sure ketchup, vinegar, mustard, molasses and Worcestershire sauce are all gluten free. 
• Open can(s) of beans (I still occasionally use an electric can opener) and pour beans over sauce, no draining, you want all those delectable juices. 

• Toss in diced onion and bell pepper. I added about a half of a 15 oz can of tomato sauce. Stir to combine. Freeze the other half of the tomato sauce and use in Spanish Rice (or Mexican Rice), sometime when you are not making baked beans. 

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour baked beans into a casserole dish, I used my trusty Pyrex casserole dish because it fits into my trusty Pyrex carrier and I was taking these beans to a BBQ at a friends house.
• But roughly any 9 x 13 casserole dish would work just fine, if you have a 12″ or larger cast iron skillet try that or go one better and try a nice hefty cast iron dutch oven! I bet you could even cook these over a campfire!!

• Here is where it gets fun or good or AMAZING! Dice a 1/2 lb of bacon into small (bite-ish sized) pieces and toss onto the top of the beans.
• No need to make it pretty, but spread it out so that bacon gets crispy…cause I don’t like limp bacon!

• That’s it, bake (uncovered) for 1 1/2 – 2 hours — until the beans are a bubblin‘ and the bacon is crispy.
• At the end of the baking process, placed mine under the broiler, on the middle rack, for about 3 minutes to really crisp the bacon!

Stir it all together or leave that showy, crisp bacon on top! Now get out there, and make up these amazing beans for Father’s Day, Memorial Day, July 4th or any BBQ, potluck, picnic or game day that calls for crazy good, Best Ever Cowboy Baked Beans.

Frequently Asked Questions

Bean Fan? Try these recipes by some of my favorite bloggers:

• Ham & Beans {by Mandy at South Your Mouth}
• Nana’s Epic Navy Bean Ham Bone Soup {by Sommer at A Spicy Perspective}
• Copycat Cafe Rio Pinto Beans {by my mentor and friend Norine at Norine’s Nest}
• Charro Beans {by my sweet friend Nikki at Soulfully Made}

I reheated these in this cast iron oval baking dish the next day for dinner. They were just.as.good!

This Cowboy Baked Beans recipe keep well as leftovers (if you have any), but unless you plan on eating them within a few days it’s best to freeze them in dinner sized portions!

Great Barbecue and Potluck Dishes:

• Nana & Papa’s Famous Flank Steak Marinade
• Easy Asian Pork Tenderloin
• Tropical Fruit Salad
• Summertime Shish Kebabs {Beef or Chicken Marinade}
• Oven Baked Barbecue Beef Brisket
• Juicy Hamburger (using Bison, Beef, Chicken or Turkey) aka, best burgers ever!
• Coconut Lime Chicken

And for potluck or barbecue desserts…

• The BEST Key Lime Pie
• Easy Chocolate Loaf or Bundt Cake
• Chocolate Chocolate Chip Nothing Bundt Cake
• Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake or Chocolate Shortcake
• Best Chocolate Chip Cookies (EVER) or try these Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Like this recipe?
Don’t forget to give it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating and comment below the recipe!

Best Ever Cowboy Baked Beans

BEST EVER Cowboy Baked Beans are the perfect hearty side dish for your summer BBQ, Father’s Day, Picnic or July 4th celebration!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes

Course: Side Dishes and Condiments

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bacon, Baked Beans, Best Ever Baked Beans, Cowboy Baked Beans, Old Fashioned Baked Beans

Servings: 16 -20 servings

Calories: 189kcal

Author: Kathleen Pope

Equipment

• Pyrex 1102267 885459426300 Portables Glass Bakeware
• Lodge 5 Quart Cast Iron Dutch Oven. Pre Seasoned Cast Iron Pot and Lid with Wire Bail for Camp Cooking

Ingredients

For the Beans

• 2 – 28 oz cans Pork & Beans I used B&M original baked beans
• 1/2 large sweet onion diced (Vidalia or other sweet onion is fine)
• 1 large bell pepper finely diced (I used yellow, use whatever color you like)
• 1/2 lb bacon uncooked chopped into pieces (I prefer uncured, nitrate, nitrite free)

• 8 oz 1 cup organic tomato sauce (or 1/2 15 oz can)
• 1 cup organic Ketchup
• 1/2 cup molasses unsulphured
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar or replace with white vinegar
• 1/8 cup spicy brown mustard heaping
• 1/8 cup yellow mustard heaping (making with only yellow mustard increase to rounded 1/3 cup)
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• Dash of Cayenne Pepper more if you like heat
• Pinch of Kosher Salt
• Couple Grinds of Black Pepper

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl, add all of the sauce ingredients and stir to combine, whisking if needed.
• Add pork and beans (undrained), tomato sauce, and diced onion and bell pepper. Using a large spoon or spatula stir to combine beans with sauce.
• Pour into casserole baking dish or cast iron skillet or dutch oven. Bake uncovered for 1 1/2 – 2 hours until bubbly and bacon is crispy. If crisper bacon is desired, with beans on middle rack, broil for 2-3 minutes until desired crispness is reached. Allow to rest for 10 minutes and serve warm.
• Baked beans can be made ahead of time, refrigerate. Remove from fridge for 1 hour prior to baking, bake as directed.
• Baked beans may be frozen, but only after they’ve been baked. Cool completely and transfer to freezer storage container. Beans are good up 7 days refrigerated; 6 months frozen.

Fresh Tips

GLUTEN FREE BAKED BEANS

Be sure your beans (B&M are GF), Ketchup and all condiments are gluten free)

Nutrition

Serving: 1/2 cup | Calories: 189kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 805mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 11g

Recommended Products

Pyrex 1102267 885459426300 Portables Glass Bakeware

Lodge 5 Quart Cast Iron Dutch Oven. Pre Seasoned Cast Iron Pot and Lid with Wire Bail for Camp Cooking

Did you make this recipe?Let us know how it was!

About Kathleen Pope

Recipe Innovator | Food Photographer | Food Writer

Hi, I’m Kathleen Pope. Here at The Fresh Cooky you will find easy, mostly from-scratch, trusted recipes for all occasions. From speedy dinners to tasty desserts, with easy step-by-step instructions. I am here to help teach you how to make mouthwatering recipes without spending hours in the kitchen. Read more about Kathleen here.