These Mean Baked Beans are loaded with all your favorite baked bean extras, which means they’re also packed full of flavor. Baked beans with bacon? Check. Sausage? Check. Onions? Absolutely. Peppers? Yes. Brown Sugar? Yep. Molasses? Oh yeah, now we’re talking. While we’re getting down and dirty with these baked beans, why not throw in three different types of beans, some homemade sweet and tangy sauce, and plenty of sharp cheddar cheese cubes? Mean Baked Beans: When it comes to baked beans, we mean business! (Maybe I should’ve gone into advertising.)
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This Mean Baked Beans recipe was inspired by an old recipe I found for a Three-Bean Bake. When I came across the original recipe, I thought it sounded like a nice, easy twist on traditional ove-baked beans. After testing the recipe, however, I realized that the Three-Bean Bake was in need of a good dose of southern lovin’, that’s all. A few delicious adjustments later (namely maple sausage, molasses, spicy brown mustard), and we’ve got ourselves one Mean Baked Beans recipe that will hold its own against any slab of meat you’ve got smoking on the barbie.
PRODUCTS YOU MAY NEED
I make these baked beans all in one pan – from stovetop, to oven, to dinner table. A 3.6 qt casserole is the size I use for this dish. Here is the exact one I own, and I absolutely love it.
How to Make Mean Baked Beans with Bacon, Sausage, and Cheddar Cheese
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STEP-BY-STEP TUTORIAL: BAKED BEANS WITH BACON, SAUSAGE, AND CHEDDAR CHEESE
First, be sure to prep all your ingredients so they’re already chopped, measured, and ready for use. Once your ingredients are ready to go, this baked beans recipe is very easy to throw together.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. We’ll start on the stovetop and then put it all in the oven to bake.
In a large ovenproof skillet or braising pan, cook the bacon over medium heat for a few minutes, or until it is about halfway cooked. This will give the bacon a head start, and it will finish cooking in the oven. Drain on paper towels and set aside.
In the same pan, add the maple sausage, onions, peppers, salt, and pepper. Cook over medium until the sausage is browned. The onions and peppers will finish cooking in the oven.
Baked beans with bacon and sausage? Oh yeah! The more pork the better!
Turn off the heat and drain any excess grease.
Next, add canned baked beans, drained kidney beans, and drained butter beans.
I use Bush’s Original Baked Beans for this recipe since we’ll be adding in our own sweet and tangy sauce ingredients later.
This three-bean recipe also calls for kidney beans and butter beans. If you can’t find canned butter beans, look for lima beans.
Now for the most surprising ingredient: cheese! Simply cube the cheese right off the block, and it will melt completely into the baked beans for an extra layer of delicious flavor. I like to use a combination of Cabot’s sharp and white cheddar.
HOW TO MAKE SWEET AND TANGY BARBECUE SAUCE FOR BAKED BEANS
Finally, it’s time to add in all those bold ingredients that are going to make these baked beans sweet, tangy, and saucy: brown sugar, ketchup, spicy brown mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and molasses. Nice!
Stir all that saucy goodness into your baked bean mixture, and then give it a taste. Add a little more salt and pepper as needed to get those beans well-seasoned.
The last step is to top off your baked beans with bacon.
Bake uncovered in a 350 degree F oven on the lower middle rack. Bake for 50 minutes, or until your oven baked beans are bubbling hot in the center.
Allow to cool off a bit before serving. If desired, garnish these Mean Baked Beans with fresh chopped onion and bell pepper for added color and crunch. Enjoy!
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HERE’S THE COMPLETE, PRINTABLE RECIPE
Mean Baked Beans (with Bacon, Sausage, and Cheddar Cheese)
Mean Baked Beans is the ultimate oven-baked beans recipe with all your favorite southern flavors! Bacon, maple sausage, onions, peppers, and cheddar cheese get all baked up in a homemade sweet and tangy barbecue sauce. As if that weren’t enough, this easy recipe uses three different types of canned beans. Deluxe... The Best... Ultimate... Whatever you want to call them, this is one Mean Baked Beans recipe!
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon cut into 1 inch pieces
- 8 oz Jimmy Dean Maple Sausage ground
- 1 large yellow onion chopped
- 1 large green bell pepper chopped
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 28 oz can baked beans original flavor
- 16 oz can light red kidney beans drained
- 16 oz can butter beans drained
- 6 oz cheddar block cheese cut into ½ inch cubes
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1 Tbsp spicy brown mustard
- 3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tbsp molasses
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
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In a large ovenproof braiser or skillet, cook the chopped bacon over medium heat until it is about halfway cooked. Transfer bacon to a plate lined with paper towels.
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Into the same skillet, add sausage, onions, bell peppers, salt, and black pepper. Cook until sausage is browned, stirring often and breaking up sausage into small crumbles. Turn off the heat and drain any excess grease.
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Add the rest of the ingredients into the pan. Stir well to combine. Taste and add additional salt and pepper as desired.
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Top with bacon.
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Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F on the lower middle rack for 50 minutes. The center of the beans should be bubbling hot.
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Allow to cool slightly before serving, and garnish with fresh onions and peppers for extra color (optional).
Recipe Notes
Adapted from “Three-Bean Bake” recipe, Food Fare: A Treasury of Recipes cookbook (1982).
This recipe is linked up with other saucy bloggers at Meal Plan Monday and Weekend Potluck!
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Best Baked Beans Eva!
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I am in complete agreement, lol!