Baked Beans
Rich, homemade baked beans, served in a tangy tomato sauce. Super easy to make, these work great as a side dish or served on toast.
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The Beans
The beans that we are using & the one’s that Heinz also use, are haricot beans. Also known as navy beans. These are small white beans that are perfect for baked beans because of their creamy texture & mild flavour.
For this recipe, we are using cooked beans from a jar/tin. This makes the whole cooking process a lot quicker, plus we use some of the liquid from the tin to loosen off the sauce at the end. If you’d prefer to use dried beans, keep in mind that they’ll need soaking in water overnight before being boiled in salted water for around an hour.
The Sauce
We’re making a rich, tomato based sauce for these homemade baked beans. It’s all about the base with this one.
First, onion & garlic is gently cooked until soft then we’re adding in spices, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar & tomato paste. This is cooked until sticky & reduced then we add in passata & stock (chicken or veg). A long, gentle simmer thickens the sauce up & cooks out the tomato then we add in Worcestershire sauce & lemon juice. This is then blitzed up until smooth then we add in the beans.
Finish with some of the bean liquid, a generous amount of butter & plenty of salt & pepper and the beans are good to go!
I like to make my baked beans extra saucy. But if you’d prefer more beans to sauce, feel free to add in more!
Variations
This baked bean recipe makes a great base for adding in extras. Whether its crispy bacon, some smoked pulled pork or sausage. Or even use a different type of bean. There’s endless possibilities!
If you’d prefer to keep these baked beans vegan then make sure to use veg stock & leave out the butter.
How To Make Baked Beans
Homemade baked beans are surprisingly easy to make. Here’s the process.
- Cook diced onion in a large saucepan until soft then stir in grated garlic & cook for 2-3 more minutes.
- Add in spices, brown sugar, vinegar & tomato paste. Cook out for 3-4 minutes.
- Pour in the passata & stock then bring to a simmer.
- Simmer until reduced & thick. This will take around 30 minutes.
- Stir in Worcestershire sauce & lemon juice then blitz in a blender until smooth.
- Warm the sauce back up & add in beans & butter.
- Loosen the sauce off with some of the reserved bean liquid if necessary.
- Keep cooking to warm the beans through, season with plenty of salt & pepper then serve.
Storage & Reheating
Once cooked, the beans should be kept in the fridge & should be eaten within 2-3 days. To reheat, simply warm them up in a saucepan over a medium heat. If the sauce seems a little thick, thin it off with a splash of water or stock.
Equipment Used
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More Recipes
Homemade Baked Beans
Equipment
- Large Saucepan
- Sieve/Colander
- Jug Blender
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 1 Large White Onion Finely Diced
- 3 Cloves Garlic Grated
- 1 tbsp Tomato Puree
- 3 tbsp Dark Brown Sugar
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp Onion Granules
- 1 tsp Garlic Granules
- 1 tsp Ground Cumin
- 4 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- 680 g Passata
- 400 ml Chicken/Veg Stock
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 3 tsp Lemon Juice
- 700g Tin Haricot Beans Drained – Keep The Liquid!
- 50 g Butter
Instructions
- Add the vegetable oil into a large saucepan & place over a low heat.Once hot, add in the diced onion & a pinch of salt then cook until starting to soften, roughly 5-10 minutes.2 tbsp Vegetable Oil, 1 Large White Onion
- Add in the grated garlic & cook for another 2-3 minutes.3 Cloves Garlic
- Next, stir in the tomato puree, sugar, paprika, onion & garlic granules, cumin & balsamic vinegar. Cook out over a low heat for 3-4 minutes.1 tbsp Tomato Puree, 3 tbsp Dark Brown Sugar, 1 tsp Smoked Paprika, 1 tsp Onion Granules, 1 tsp Garlic Granules, 1 tsp Ground Cumin, 4 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- Pour in the passata & stock then turn the heat up to medium & bring the sauce to a simmer.680 g Passata, 400 ml Chicken/Veg Stock
- Simmer the sauce, stirring regularly until reduced & thick. This will take around 20-30 minutes.
- Next, stir in the Worcestershire sauce & lemon juice. Season with salt & pepper then transfer to a jug blender & blitz until smooth.3 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce, 3 tsp Lemon Juice
- Return the tomato sauce to the saucepan & place over a low heat.
- Once the sauce has warmed back up, stir in the drained beans & the butter.700g Tin Haricot Beans, 50 g Butter
- When the butter has melted, add in enough of the reserved bean liquid (from the tin) to loosen the sauce slightly.
- Keep cooking for a couple more minutes, to warm the beans through then season with salt & pepper if necessary.Serve immediately or leave to cool then refrigerate.
