Baked Beans with Bacon

Ingredients

6 slices bacon, chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
2 19 oz (540 ml) cans red kidney beans, drained
2 19 oz (540 ml) cans white kidney or navy beans, drained
3/4 cup (185 ml) bottled barbecue sauce
1/2 cup (125 ml) tomato sauce or ketchup
1/2 cup (125 ml) apple cider or juice
1/4 cup (60 ml) packed brown sugar
1/4 cup (60 ml) grainy mustard
2–4 tbsp (30–60 ml) cider vinegar
2 tbsp (30 ml) molasses (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste

OPTION: If you’d rather use dry beans, cover 2 cups of dry navy (or any little white) beans with plenty of water and let them soak overnight; follow the recipe, but add an extra cup of cider and finish in the oven for 3–4 hours, or set on low in the slow cooker for 6–8 hours.

Directions

In a deep pot, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove it from the pan, crumble and set aside.

Sauté the onion in the bacon drippings for 4–5 minutes, until soft. Add the beans, barbecue sauce, ketchup, apple cider, brown sugar, mustard, vinegar and molasses. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low and cook for an hour, until thickened. Or, pour into a baking dish and bake for 1–2 hours, or into a slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Stir the bacon back into the beans right before serving. Reserve some to sprinkle on top.

Serves 8.

Per Serving

338 calories, 3.3 g fat (1 g saturated fat, 1.4 g monounsaturated fat, 0.9 g polyunsaturated fat), 59.5 g carbohydrate, 6 mg cholesterol, 18.2 g protein, 12.1 g fibre.

Originally published in ParentsCanada magazine, Feb/Mar 2015.