The Best Southern Baked Beans Recipe (From Scratch!)

Adapted from https://grilledcheesesocial.com/2025/04/23/southern-baked-beans-recipe/

Servings: 8

INGREDIENTS

4 16 oz cans Navy Beans drained and rinsed
2 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 large Yellow Onion finely chopped
1 large Green Pepper finely chopped
4 cloves Garlic minced
1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1.5 cup BBQ Sauce
½ cup Brown Sugar
2 tablespoon Maple Syrup
⅓ cup Ketchup
3 tablespoon Yellow Mustard
1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
½ cup Water
Kosher Salt and Fresh Cracked Pepper to taste

STEPS

1) Preheat oven to 350ºF.

2) In a braising pot or small dutch oven heated over medium heat, add olive oil, onion, green pepper, and a hefty pinch of salt. Cook down until soft—about 5-7 minutes.

3) Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Then stir in the smoked paprika and the garlic powder.

4) Add the beans to the pan along with the BBQ sauce, brown sugar, ketchup, mustard, vinegar, Worcestershire and water. Stir to combine and bring back to a simmer.

5) Put the lid on the pot and place in the oven—bake for 45 minutes.

6) Uncover and bake 5–10 more minutes until bubbly and caramelized.

7) Remove from oven cover and let rest 10 minutes before serving. At this point, the steam from the pot should have loosened to the fond stuck to the sides, so that it can be scraped in.


NOTES

If you want to add bacon, simply chop up 4 strips of thick cut bacon and fry over medium heat before you add onions and pepppers.