Southern Baked Beans with Bacon

How do you make canned baked beans taste awesome? Take a handful of pantry staples and a few slices of bacon, and whip up a tasty pan of these semi-homemade easy Southern Baked Beans with Bacon.  They're the perfect summer cookout side!
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Alas, we are nearing the end of summer.  And I can hardly believe it.  It's that time of year when school is about to start up and the less-structured, stay-up-later days of summer are about to be figments of the past.  But as our warmer days wind down, there's still time to get in a cookout or two more before we pack away the grills and pool toys for cooler weather.

And what makes a better cookout side dish than baked beans?  Nothing!  Especially when they're semi-homemade, easy Southern Baked Beans with Bacon.

This particular baked beans recipe is a cookout staple in our family. 

Starting with canned pork and beans as a base, this semi-homemade baked beans recipe comes together super quickly, and truly makes canned baked beans taste amazing. 

As a matter of fact, it's a plain old any-type-of-get-together staple in our family, cookout or not!  We even enjoy a big pan full on Christmas Eve with our family-tradition pulled pork barbecue dinner.

My Southern-born-and-bred sister-in-law introduced me years and years ago to this easy baked beans recipe.  Starting with canned pork and beans as a base, this semi-homemade baked beans recipe comes together super quickly, and truly makes canned baked beans taste amazing.  

The pork and beans are mixed with several pantry staples -- like onion, brown sugar, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce -- to amp up their flavor.  And they get a huge jolt of flavorful spiciness from a generous dose of chili powder.

But my favorite part of all with this dish?  The bacon, of course.

Yes, the whole pan of baked bean yumminess gets topped off with a few slices of bacon.  

As the beans bake, the bacon imparts fabulous flavor throughout the whole pan ... and the bacon gets all nice and toasty on the top.

I, for one, clamor to scoop up one of those tasty slices of bacon with my serving of beans.

I, for one, clamor to scoop up one of those tasty slices of bacon with my serving of beans.  Heck, I've been known to just pull a piece of bacon right of the top and pop it whole into my mouth shortly after the pan of beans comes out of the oven.  Yes, I indeed love it that much.

So as these days of summer wind down, grab the grills and enjoy squeezing in at least a few more cookouts and some extra summer fun.  

And whether it be burgers and dogs or some nice juicy steaks you're tossing on that grill, bake up a big pan of Southern Baked Beans with Bacon to serve alongside ~ They're the perfect cookout side.

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Side Dishes

Southern

Yield: about 10-12 servings

Author: Tracey | The Kitchen is My Playground

Southern Baked Beans with Bacon

How do you make canned baked beans taste awesome? Take a handful of pantry staples and a few slices of bacon, and whip up a tasty pan of these semi-homemade easy Southern Baked Beans with Bacon. They're the perfect summer cookout side!

Prep time: 15 MCook time: 2 H & 30 MTotal time: 2 H & 45 M

Ingredients:

• 2 (14 or 16 oz.) cans pork & beans
• 1 T. chili powder
• 1 T. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 c. ketchup
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1 T. prepared yellow mustard
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• dash of salt
• 3 or 4 slices bacon

Instructions:

1. Spray a 2-quart baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. 
2. In the baking dish, combine all ingredients EXCEPT the bacon slices. Stir until well combined. 
3. Place bacon slices on top.
4. Bake at 300 degrees for 2 to 3 hours, until bubbly and bacon is cooked.

TRACEY'S NOTES:

1. I prefer to use Bush's baked beans in this recipe ~ the sauce is thicker, and in my opinion bring a better base flavor to the dish than other brands.

https://www.thekitchenismyplayground.com/2016/08/spicy-baked-beans-with-bacon.html

Created using The Recipes Generator

You might also like these other side dish favorites:

5-Cheese Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese

Cauliflower {Just Like} Loaded Baked Potato Casserole

Pea Salad

Make-Ahead Layered Picnic Salad

Baked Onions

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This post is linked with Weekend Potluck.