I love baked beans. The trouble is that my husband does not like them.
He has told me many times that beans and sugar should not be mixed. He like beans, just not covered in sugar.
Most baked bean recipes contain sugar and/or brown sugar and molasses. Although my husband does not like sugary beans, he does like molasses. In fact he loves molasses. He even drinks molasses milk on occasion. I will have to post that recipe sometime.
My solution for making baked beans that we both enjoy is to leave out the sugar completely and use only molasses. This makes them more of an old fashioned baked bean. They are not nearly as sweet and sugary as the beans most people make, but we really like them.
Not only are they less sugary, they healthier and less expensive to make. The baked beans that most people make now contain not only lots of sugar, but they also contain canned pork and beans, which are not exactly the healthiest.
If you are looking for a healthier and cheaper baked bean recipe this is one to try.
Baked Beans
- ½ cup molasses
- ½ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup Dijon mustard
- 3 cans (15 ½ ounces each) navy beans, drained and rinsed
- Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 slices bacon, cut into pieces (optional but good)
- In a pan cook bacon and onion together until onion is tender and bacon is cooked.
- Combine molasses, ketchup, and mustard. Add beans and the onion bacon mixture, and then season with salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Cover dish, and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover and cook 20-30 minutes more.
- Serve and enjoy.
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
We’re trying to cut down on sugar everywhere anyway, so this sounds like a good alternative. I hope my sugar-lovin’ daughter will still enjoy them….
Ann Kroeker´s last blog ..What’s the Word
@Ann Kroeker, Well, I guess technically molasses is still sugar, but at least it is a little healthier of one and less of it. I hope you enjoy them.
@Lynn, These look really good! I will have to try them sometime! Thanks for the idea!
Heather´s last blog ..Recipe of the Week
Lynn–
Thanks for sharing! Baked beans are another item that I have not found since in Rio this year (my Brazilian husband and family did not *get* the sweet bean concept in the U.S. but I still love them). Beans however are easy to find & plentiful.
Really enjoying your site and glad I subscribed–your recipes’ typical lack of “canned” and “processed” ingredients are very helpful to me while here trying to prepare them!
Tricia
@Tricia, I am so glad that you are liking my site and recipes. I hope you and your husband enjoy these beans. I think they are a good mix of sweet, but not too sweet.
This looks awesome… quick question: have you ever tried this with other kinds of beans? My husband likes his mom’s BB (mostly I think because she uses canned pork and beans as the base) and she uses a couple different kinds of beans that are different sizes. Are Navy beans small? What about pinto or Great Northern?
@Becca, Navy beans are a small white bean, so yes a northern bean would work fine here. I think you could easily use several beans in this if that is what you are use to. Use two cans of northern and maybe one can pinto or something like that. Let me know how you like it, if you try it.
These look so good
I’m so glad I found your blog again. I tried your crockpot salsa chicken last week and loved it. I posted about it in my blog but didn’t know where I’d found the recipe. Now I’ve found you again, I just linked up to your recipe on my MPM post 
Denise@ DensDailyLife´s last blog ..Menu Plan Monday – August 9th
yea!! how did you know I was looking for a baked bean recipe? My husband doesn’t really care for traditional baked beans, but I love baked beans. I’ll have to give this a try!
SnoWhite´s last blog ..Most viewed recipes
Molasses milk? Can’t wait for that recipe!
Thanks for posting this. I’ve been thinking about making my own baked beans, and now I have no more excuses!
Yummy!!! I’m going to have to try these.
Sounds delicious! I’ve been looking for a homemade baked bean recipe for a little while, they all seem to have quite a lot of sugar!
I love my baked beans over thick toasted slices of wholewheat bread, topped with grated cheddar. My hubs thought that was the weirdest idea, but it’s a fairly normal lunch in the UK (where I’m originally from).
Satakieli´s last blog ..Summer Vacation
I agree w/ Dr. W. Beans and sugar should not be mixed.
FishMama´s last blog ..How Often Should You Vacuum
What temperature do you bake them at?
@Heidi, 350 degrees. I can not believe that no one else has noticed that. I fixed the recipe. Sorry about that.