Incredible Slow Cooker Baked Beans (w/ Canned Beans!)
These simple homemade slow cooker baked beans truly are incredible. Perfectly sweet & just the right amount of saucy, they come together easily with 3 types of canned beans, a hint of brown sugar, and hit of smokey, rich bacon. And, thanks to the crock pot, they can be made ahead and kept warm, making it just the thing for BBQs, cookouts, and potlucks!
5 star review
“This was hands down the best baked beans I’ve ever had! I made them for my mom who is super picky about stuff like that, and she loved so much she convinced me to make them again the next day!”
– Emily
Homemade Baked Beans in the Crockpot? Yes, Please!
If you’re looking for an easy BBQ side dish, look no further than these crockpot baked beans! Truly, the slow cooker is my favorite way to prep baked beans from scratch because you don’t have to turn on the oven (and heat up the house in the summer), and they taste just as good as homestyle baked beans.
Look, I know there are a lot of slow cooker baked bean recipes out there, but I find many of the recipes can be a bit too sweet and lacking depth of flavor. So, for this simple homemade version, I wanted to create a homestyle slow cooker baked bean recipe that was easy, bursting with flavor, while still leaning on canned beans for connivence.
And, since I’m all about saving time and effort, I use canned beans and then add more savory flavor notes with smokey bacon, simple spices, and a combo of BBQ sauce, ketchup, a little brown sugar, and mustard to create a wildly flavorful sauce. This is the kind of side dish that once you make it, everyone will want the recipe and ask you to bring it to gatherings!
Welcome to My Kitchen! Let’s Make Slow Cooker Baked Beans
A Few Notes on Making & Serving
These slightly sweet and spicy beans are perfect for feeding a crowd or having on hand for easy dinners at home! The recipe makes 6 small side-dish servings, and can be made in a 3-quart slow cooker. However, if you want to serve more people, double or triple the recipe.
If you double or triple the recipe, make sure to use a 6-quart slow cooker and increase the cooking time by 30-60 minutes. As a side, serve alongside a delicious main such as slow cooker BBQ chicken, slow cooker flank steak, or tropical pulled chicken along with this easy slaw. Or up the flavor in my easy BBQ chicken bowls and swap the black beans with these slow cooker baked beans.
P.S. If you love the ease this recipe, check out my other easy summer slow cooker recipes like slow cooker bbq chicken and slow cooker bbq chicken thighs.
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Bacon: I prefer thick cut bacon, but any bacon will work. For a vegetarian version, leave out the bacon and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan to saute the onions.
- Red onion: Substitute with yellow or white. Or if you don’t like onion, you could leave it out all together.
- Fresh garlic: I prefer the flavor of fresh garlic, but ¾ teaspoon garlic powder can be substituted in place of the 3 fresh cloves.
- Smoked paprika: I highly recommend the smoked paprika powder because it gives the beans a smokey flavor, but you can use regular paprika powder.
- Chipotle chili powder: Regular chili powder can be used instead.
- Canned beans: I like the combination of kidney, pinto, and Northern beans, however you can use any combination of beans you have on hand. Black beans and even chickpeas also work.
- Apple cider vinegar: Sherry vinegar, red wine vinegar, or white wine vinegar can be used as well.
- BBQ sauce: I love using my quick and easy BBQ sauce, but a good-quality store bought BBQ sauce works as well.
- Yellow mustard: Dijon mustard also works well in this recipe.
- Dark brown sugar: I love the deep flavor dark brown sugar offers, however white sugar, light brown sugar, or coconut sugar also work. Or, you can use 1 tablespoon of molasses instead of the brown sugar. If you want sweeter baked beans, increase the sugar to ¼ or ½ cup.
Follow my step-by-step video:
Incredible Slow Cooker Baked Beans (w/ Canned Beans!)
Ingredients
- 4 slices (5-oz) thick cut bacon, diced
- 1 small red onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1 can (15-oz) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (15-oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (15-oz) Northern or white beans, drained and rinsed
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup BBQ sauce
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
Equipment
Instructions
- Heat a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add the bacon and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the bacon grease (if desired), then add the onion. Cook the onion until softened, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the garlic, paprika, and chili powder and cook until fragrant, about 1 more minute.
- Carefully add the onion mixture to a 6-quart slow cooker. Add the beans, salt, vinegar, BBQ sauce, ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar, stirring to combine.
- Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or low for 4-5 hours. Do not uncover during this time. Uncover, stir, and adjust seasoning as desired. Serve warm.
Notes
- Note: This recipe will NOT work with dried beans–it is written and tested for and with canned beans. If you’d like to use dry beans, cook them first, and then proceed with the recipe.
- See blog post for further ingredient substitutions, variations, storage, and more.
Thank you for this recipe! I recently learned that my husband really likes baked beans 🫣; I’m ambivalent, but it always looked like too much work when my mom made them. This recipe was so easy and it satisfied hubby’s craving, even without bacon!
Lauren, wonderful, so happy to hear this fit the bill for your husband’s baked beans craving without all the work! Thanks so much for leaving a review!
This was hands down the best baked beans I’ve ever had! I made them for my mom who is super picky about stuff like that, and she loved so much she convinced me to make them again the next day!
Emily, I’m thrilled to hear this was such a hit, especially with your mom. Easy homemade baked beans for the win! Thanks so much for leaving a review.
A friend of mine made these and they were the best baked beans I ever tasted! She shared the recipe and I don’t have a slow cooker. Can you provide instructions for cooking stovetop?
Deborah, you can make these on the stovetop in a large Dutch oven. Follow step one as written, then add the remaining ingredients to the Dutch oven, cover, bring to a strong simmer, and set to low and simmer for 45 minutes, covered, stirring often to avoid any sticking to the bottom of the pan. If the beans start to dry out you can also add a splash (1/4 cup) of water during the cooking process. I hope you enjoy!
Thanks so much, Robyn. I’ll let you know how they turn out!
Wonderful Deborah!
This is my go-to recipe for baked beans. They are easy to make and delicious!
Lisa, I’m so please to hear this has become your go-to recipe! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts!
Can you make ahead of time?
Hi Jim, yes, these beans actually taste even better ahead of time! Just be sure to allow them to cool completely, then store, covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days. When ready to serve you can gently reheat them in the slow cooker on warm (if you want to serve them warm). I hope you enjoy!
I made these today so yummy. I used a smoker bbq sauce with gave it a deeper flavour. Was going to share my batch with my in laws but they are just too good.
Taryn, next time you’ll have to make a double batch! 🙂 Great tip to use a smoker bbq sauce, too. Thanks so much for leaving a reivew!
my grandson loves homemade baked beans so I’m keen to give your recipe a go, I will let you know how I go making it, looks great, thanks for sharing.
That’s wonderful, Kathleen, and what a thoughtful grandma you are! I hope this one’s a hit!
The best tasting baked beans ever!
Jackie, yay, so happy to hear you enjoyed these homemade baked beans! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and for leaving a reivew!