for the family

everyday wisdom for everyday families

  • start here
    • Meet Patrick and Ruth
    • Meet the Contributors
    • Contact Us
    • Videos
  • For Better or For Kids
  • You
    • Following God
    • Ministry
    • Relationships
  • Family
    • Marriage
    • Motherhood
    • Fatherhood
    • Parenting
      • Special Needs
      • Babies
      • Toddlers
      • Teens
    • Discipleship
  • Food
  • Shop

Food For the Family Recipes Whole Food

Nourishing Baked Beans

One of the things I love about these nourishing baked beans is that you don't need to bake them. You can simmer them on the stove and have an equally tasty dish.

For years baked beans and I weren’t friends. Sweet beans, who needed ’em? My mom never fixed them, so I gracefully avoided them at all the barbeques I went to growing up. I equated them with hot dogs.  (Yes, my mama raised me right; but this was before the days of organic grass-fed hot dogs.)

One fateful day while visiting family what was being served around the table?  None other than my dear enemy:  baked beans. I respectfully added a spoonful to my plate.

They weren’t as bad as I thought.

During the next few days I was fed baked beans three more times at different family gatherings (those Missourians love their baked beans),  and by that point I decided that I liked them.

After reading a few recipes online that called for a can of pork and beans and store bought BBQ sauce, I knew that I needed to make my own, real-food style. So began my experiments making nourishing baked beans. No processed food, just pure and simple ingredients.

This dish is a winner with most of my “family” which is saying a lot when you are raising a gaggle of girls. If one out of ten doesn’t care for them, I think I’ve done pretty good. We do live in Mexico, after all, where beans are savory and soda is sweet — and did I mention that it took me 25 years to like my beans sweet?

One of the things I love about these nourishing baked beans is that you don’t need to bake them. You can simmer them on the stove and have an equally tasty dish. (I do still prefer to bake mine, but if that’s not your cup of tea then no worries!  This is a versatile dish!)

One of the things I love about these nourishing baked beans is that you don't need to bake them. You can simmer them on the stove and have an equally tasty dish.

Nourishing Baked Beans

3 cups uncooked navy beans (or 2 – 15 oz cans)*
1 can tomato sauce
1 large yellow onion, diced
5 slices bacon
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 TBS molasses
2 TBS maple syrup
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

* I prefer to make beans from scratch and soak them overnight to save money and to make them more digestible. After soaking them, I make my beans in crockpot. (If you are cooking your own beans, follow my crockpot recipe and then come back to this recipe.)

1. Heat a large oven-proof skillet (I prefer cast iron) over medium heat.  Add the bacon, reduce to low heat and cook until almost crisp. Remove the bacon, leaving the bacon grease in the skillet.

2. Add the onions and garlic, and saute until almost translucent.

3. While the onions are cooking, mix the tomato sauce, molasses, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, black pepper, mustard, salt and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Wisk together and set aside.

4. Once the onions and garlic are cooked, chop the bacon and add it to the skillet.

5. Add the sauce mixture and beans to the skillet. Stir and cook over medium heat until warm.

6. Place the skillet in the oven and bake for 20 minutes (optional).

Serve at your next BBQ with the family!

Blessings,

Katie Mae

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)


Katie Stanley

About Katie Stanley

Katie Stanley is a dorm “mama” to a bunch amazing girls ages 8 to 18 at a home and school for the Deaf in Baja California, Mexico. She and her “hijas” can be frequently found in the kitchen, the garden or making friends with their new chickens. She loves to read, hike the hills near her home and spend time with her girls. Katie blogs at Nourishing Simplicity about nourishing foods, herbal remedies, simple living, the deaf, raising her girls and encouraging other women in their walk with Christ. A cup of tea or coffee and a bit of dark chocolate make and appearance at some point in any given day.

« Embrace This Season of Life
A Simple Family Bible Study Method that Always Produces Fruit »

Comments

  1. Emily Gardner says

    May 13, 2014 at 6:33 pm

    I LOVE baked beans and can’t wait to try these out!

  2. Kristen @ Smithspirations says

    May 19, 2014 at 8:21 pm

    Baked beans are a staple to the part of Ohio where I grew up, too, Katie! I’ve never been a fan, but the rest of my family loves them. I’ll have to make your recipe as a surprise for them!

  3. Diane says

    July 3, 2014 at 10:58 pm

    Baked beans were always a tradition in our family (baked in a stone crock or cast iron, of course!) and your recipe is very similar. We are now vegetarian and use vegetarian bacon bits or sometimes ham flavored, but the end result is so comforting as it reminds me of Mom’s baked beans!

Hey there! Thanks so much for stopping by our blog. We are absolutely thrilled you are here! We are a crazy church planting couple who loves Jesus, our four kids and loads of coffee! We are giving God the glory every step of the way and love sharing our journey with you.

Read more about us

Subscribe and receive our 10-Day Devotional FREE!

POPULAR POSTS

  • Are You Married to a Selfish Spouse?
  • No Bake Coconut Snowballs (GF)
  • How God Produces Incredible Joy from the Pain in Your Marriage
  • How to Build a Christian Home
  • Five Lessons of Wisdom from Abigail

Search For the Family

Find Us on Instagram

Load More...
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2018 For the Family · Design by Bethany Beams

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.