Slow Cooker Baked Beans

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Slow Cooker Baked Beans – comfort food classic made easy in the slow cooker with dried beans (no cans!). Use a leftover ham bone or bacon for best flavor. This recipe is a family favorite! 

We love serving these beans with grilled chicken, pulled pork and a side of coleslaw.

SLOW COOKER BAKED BEANS

I can now officially say that I used every last bit of our Christmas ham. We enjoyed a hefty part of it for our holiday dinner, the leftovers got chopped and mixed in to make this delicious chowder and I even froze some for a breakfast casserole this weekend. The ham bone had a lot of meat on it and I knew I would use it to make something fantastic. What better dish than baked beans! In a slow cooker, because they are the best cooked slow.

If you are looking for real comfort food to warm up your soul – these baked beans are soft, rich in flavor thanks to the sweet and tangy sauce with chunks of meat or bacon. Pure comfort food!

How to make baked beans in a slow cooker?

• Start by soaking beans (most packages have directions).
• Add all ingredients to slow cooker, set timer to 4 hours (on HIGH setting) or 6 hours (on LOW setting).
• Stir beans and let sit for 30 minutes.
• Remove bone, take off the meat and stir it into beans.

What do you need to make this recipe:

• great Northern beans
• ham bone with meat OR thick cut bacon
• onion
• brown sugar
• molasses
• tomato sauce
• ketchup
• BBQ sauce
• water
• salt, pepper

What if I don’t have a ham bone?

If you don’t have a ham bone, no worries! You can use bacon slices (the thick cut would be great!) or leftover pork roast chunks would work great too! I haven’t tried it with raw meat so I can’t say how would that affect the final dish. You need enough liquid for the beans to soak up but not too much because we are not making soup here.

What beans are best to make Baked Beans?

For this recipe, I used one pound of dry great northern beans that were soaked. You can do that two ways (most packages have the instructions on them): overnight soak or quick soak. I have used both methods and had great results each time. To rapid soak the beans, simply place them in a large pot with enough water. Bring to boil and let cook for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and cover the pot. Let sit for 1 hr. Drain the beans and use in this recipe.

More Slow Cooker recipes:

Best Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes

Slow Cooker Green Bean Casserole

If you like this recipe and make it, snap a photo and share it on INSTAGRAM! Tag me @crunchycreamysweet so I can check it out!

5 from 7 votes

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Slow Cooker Baked Beans

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

6 hrs

Total Time

6 hrs 10 mins

 

Comfort food classic made easy in the slow cooker with dried beans (no cans!). Use a leftover ham bone or bacon for best flavor. This recipe is a family favorite! 

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: crock pot beans, slow cooker baked beans

Servings: 7 servings

Calories: 225 kcal

Author: Anna

Ingredients

• 1 lb dry great northern or navy beans
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup BBQ sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2.5 cups water
• 2 lbs meaty ham bone

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

1. Soak beans according to package directions.
2. In a slow cooker, place beans, chopped onion, brown sugar, molasses, tomato sauce, ketchup, BBQ sauce, salt and pepper. Stir well. Add water and stir again.
3. Add ham bone or bacon and stir.
4. Set slow cooker on low and cook for 6 hours or on high for 4 hours.
5. When done, stir the mixture and let sit for 20 to 30 minutes with lid slightly open.
6. To freeze, cool beans completely, then place in Ziploc bags.

Recipe Notes

The prep time does not include soaking the beans.

Nutrition Facts

Slow Cooker Baked Beans

Amount Per Serving

Calories 225

% Daily Value*

Sodium 722mg31%

Potassium 703mg20%

Carbohydrates 51g17%

Fiber 5g21%

Sugar 34g38%

Protein 6g12%

Vitamin A 225IU5%

Vitamin C 5mg6%

Calcium 104mg10%

Iron 2.8mg16%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

This post was originally published on December 30th, 2015 and updated on May 21st, 2019.