Name: Bacon and Brown Sugar Baked Beans
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 6 h
Total time: 6 h 30 min
Yield: 16
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds dry white beans; 1 pound sliced smoked bacon, cut in small pieces; 4 cloves minced garlic; 2 large red onions chopped; 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp pepper; 3 cups boiling water; 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar; 3 tbsp smoked paprika; 1 tbsp chili powder; 1 tbsp dried thyme; 3 1/2 cups one 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes; 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce; 3 1/2 cups one 28 ounce can tomato sauce; 3 tbsp dijon mustard

Jump to recipe if you like, but be sure to read the whole post for instructional photos & other tips.

A family favourite comfort food, our decades old Bacon Brown Sugar Baked Beans recipe is a perfect winter warm up meal or summer barbecue side dish.

Bacon Brown Sugar Baked Beans.

Updated April 2026.

There is simply no better winter warm-up comfort food meal at our house than slow cooked baked beans and fresh homemade bread. These Bacon Brown Sugar Baked Beans are often the star of the show.

We made these in the midst of a winter blizzard this weekend here on The Rock. Newfoundland snow storms can pack a punch and with up to 75 centimetres of snow expected with this storm it was a real whopper.

Our power went out for the morning but came back on at lunchtime. Just in time to have the scent of these tasty baked beans wafting through the house as the winter winds howled along with the heady aroma of freshly baking bread. If you are so inclined, you can find our recipe for Homemade Bread here.

White Beans.

These beans are deliciously versatile, whether for brunch, barbecues, or a winter warm up meal.

These beans have plenty of sweet smoky flavour to warm your insides on cold winter days such as these. Come summer barbecue season and they make an outstanding side dish too.

This recipe does make a particularly large batch but this is intentional. That’s because we always freeze the leftovers in 20 ounce sealed plastic containers.

That’s an easy way to have these yummy brown sugar baked beans on hand as a side dish for pulled pork or BBQ chicken.

These delicious beans are often found on our weekend brunch table too beside scrambled eggs and some of our fantastic Easy Homemade Breakfast Sausage.

A few tips for making these beans:

Total cooking times will vary on these depending on the variety of bean being used. Just plan for these to cook for quite a long time. As long as you don’t let them dry out, it is practically impossible to over cook baked beans.

Bacon Brown Sugar Baked Beans

About the beans.

Learning from readers over the years, I’ve found that what is sold as white beans may vary depending on where you are located. There can be considerable cooking time difference between different kinds of white beans.

If making these for the first time, I recommend making them a day ahead if possible. Some people have reported having to cook them for 10 hours! Many people say these are even better the next day.

I often make these a day ahead of when I want to serve them, so that I am not on a set schedule to have them ready on time. What I find is that sitting in the fridge overnight also softens the beans just that little bit more and allows the flavours to penetrate the beans as well.

I generally add a cup or so of boiling water to the beans and op them back into the oven for an hour or so to reheat if serving the entire batch but the microwave will do perfectly fine if you are dishing up smaller portions.

I think it’s an ideal Slow Cooked Sunday recipe because Monday leftovers are already built right in.

You might also like our Maple Baked Beans with Apple Sausage recipe.

Maple Baked Beans with Apple Sausage

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Bacon and Brown Sugar Baked Beans

Yield: 16 serving

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 6 hours

Total Time: 6 hours 30 minutes

A family favourite comfort food, our decades old Bacon Brown Sugar Baked Beans recipe is a perfect winter warm up meal or summer barbecue side dish.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds dry white beans
1 pound sliced smoked bacon, cut in small pieces
4 cloves minced garlic
2 large red onions chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3 cups boiling water
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
3 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp dried thyme
3 1/2 cups one 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
3 1/2 cups one 28 ounce can tomato sauce
3 tbsp dijon mustard

Instructions

Begin by soaking in water overnight or up to 48 hours. Change the water in the second day if soaking for 2 days. Drain the water off before using the beans in the recipe.
In a large skillet slowly fry the bacon. Completely render the fat out of the bacon, leaving it crispy.
Remove the crisp bacon from the pan. Pour off the majority of the fat from the pan. Return the pan to the stove over medium heat and add the garlic and onions.
Cook until the onions and garlic are softened but not browned, then add the boiling water.
Let the water come to the boil to deglaze the pan. Add the water and onions to a large covered roaster along, with the crisp bacon, the soaked beans which have been drained and all of the remaining ingredients.
Stir all together well, cover and place in a 325 degree F oven for about 6 hours or more, stirring them every hour or so and checking to see if they need additional boiling water added. Total cooking times will vary on these depending on the variety of bean being used. Just plan for these to cook for quite a long time. As long as you don't let them dry out, it is practically impossible to overcook baked beans.
The beans should be fully cooked and tender and the sauce should thicken. I often add a little extra boiling water during the cooking time if the sauce thickens too quickly before the beans are fully cooked. This is not a problem at all and can be done more than once if necessary.

Notes

Total cooking time will vary and does not include soaking time of an extra day for the beans. You will need to plan in advance to make these.

Total cooking times will vary on these depending on the variety of bean being used. Just plan for these to cook for quite a long time. As long as you don't let them dry out, it is practically impossible to over cook baked beans.

The beans should be fully cooked and tender and the sauce should thicken. I often add a little extra boiling water during the cooking time if the sauce thickens too quickly before the beans are fully cooked. This is not a problem at all and can be done more than once if necessary.

Learning from readers over the years, I've found that what is sold as white beans may vary depending on where you are located. There can be considerable cooking time difference between different kinds of white beans. If making these for the first time, I recommend making them a day ahead if possible. Some people have reported having to cook them for 10 hours! Many people say these are even better the next day.

The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.

Bacon Brown Sugar Baked Beans

A family favourite comfort food, our decades old Bacon Brown Sugar Baked Beans recipe is a perfect winter warm up meal or summer barbecue side dish.