Best Southern Baked Beans Recipe! (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to soft baked beans? ›

Baking Soda – This will actually help soften the beans as they cook so they are just the right (not crunchy, but not mushy) texture. Bacon – Adding a couple slices of bacon brings a nice smokey flavor and a little texture to this recipe. Onion – I use yellow onion though white onion would work great too.

Cook up beef sausages with onion to create a super-flavorful base for your dressed up baked beans. Upgrade #3: All of the condiments! Maple syrup, molasses, ketchup, vinegar, mustard—basically throw every sweet, salty, tangy condiment you've got at those canned baked beans and you know they're going to taste delicious.

I like to sprinkle in some taco seasoning, but you could add whatever spices you like — garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder are all good calls. Then, you mash the beans up directly in the pan and add just a little bit of vinegar at the end to really make the beans sing.

Onions and garlic: Quartered onions, halved shallots, or smashed garlic cloves. Herbs: A sprig of fresh rosemary or thyme, or sage, parsley, or cilantro leaves or stems. I often add frozen herbs to my home cooked beans. Spices: Black peppercorns, freshly ground black pepper, bay leaves, or dried chiles.

Caramelized Onion + Bacon + Espresso Powder

Slowly caramelize a chopped onion in a bit of oil, then add bacon and cook until crispy. Add the can of beans and stir, making sure to scrape up any tasty bits that have stuck to the pan. To finish, toss in a pinch of espresso powder for an extra hit of earthy flavor.

Hot soaking is the preferred method since it reduces cooking time, helps dissolve some of the gas-causing substances in beans, and most consistently produces tender beans. Quick Soak: This is the fastest method. In a large pot, add 6 cups of water for each pound (2 cups) of dry beans.

Bottom Line. If beans make you uncomfortably gassy, sprinkle a little baking soda into their soaking water. It will reduce the volume of gas produced by the legumes, plus, they will cook quicker. If you're even shorter on time, you may want to try some of our favorite recipes to make with a can of black beans.

Prepared White Beans, Water, Brown Sugar, Salt, Mustard (Vinegar, Water, Mustard Seed, Salt, Turmeric, Paprika), Bacon, Modified Corn Starch, Onion Powder, Caramel Color, Spices, Garlic Powder, Natural Flavor.

If the beans are too dry, add some hot water—or leftover bean-cooking water, if you still have some—until they're just saucy enough.

If you're wondering what is the secret ingredient for restaurant-quality refried beans, the answer is fat. Restaurant-made refried beans honor traditional Mexican culinary practices by adding a hearty helping of lard or bacon fat drippings to their recipe.

What are the tastiest beans? ›

America's favorite bean is pinto beans, according to the U.S. Dry Beans Council, often used to make refried beans. Navy beans, Great Northern beans, red kidney beans and black beans round out the rest of the top five.

Undercooking your beans

Overcooking can detract from the eating experience, leaving your beans bland and lifeless. Undercooking beans, on the other hand, can put yourself at risk of food-borne illness. This is especially true for red beans like kidney beans.

Drain most of the liquid, add some vinegar, a little hot sauce and a little salt and pepper. Don't buy "baked beans" just buy regular canned beans, black or pinto. Just warm them up and season with salt , pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, Chile powder. Some rice will pair with them nicely.

In general, most beans go well with herbs like parsley, rosemary, sage, savory, and thyme. You usually can't go wrong with garlic and onions, either. Specific kinds of beans, like fava beans or mung beans, have other affinities with particular herbs and spices. This is not to say that other combinations won't work.

We recommend cooking your beans in chicken stock or broth if you have it for an extra boost of flavor. Chickpeas are more solid and can crisp up nicely when roasted in the oven. If you want them extra crispy result, be sure to dry them before tossing them in the oven.

Dried beans typically have a moisture content of around 16%. However, as they age, moisture evaporates, giving pectin time to age and harden the skin. These beans can often take much longer to soften while soaking and cooking, up to twice the time!

As they cook at a low temp in the oven, I add more liquid to keep them just covered. Toward the last 2 hours of cooking, I add acidic stuff like tomato juice. If you use anything acidic at first the beans may not soften properly as they cook.

The addition of baking soda to the cooking water does two things: It adds sodium ions that weaken the pectin as explained above, and more importantly, an alkaline environment causes the pectin molecules to break down into smaller molecules that greatly weakens the pectin causing the beans to soften much more rapidly.