Recipe: Baked Beans

by julie on July 9, 2009

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One of the very first meals Terry made me involved baked beans– a stovetop recipe, that involved lots of onions, and it was delicious. Later, he made me this really wonderful oven variety, that involved pineapple and French’s onions. For a party at our friend’s house on the 4th of July, I combined the best of both into one killer recipe. I got nothing but compliments, and several requests for the recipe– so for them (and you), here it is. This is based on a Paula Deen recipe, but it was missing a few things: not enough bacon, no onions (aside from the french fried ones), not enough of the french-fried onions (one can to that many cans of beans?), not a lot of heat. Also, the topping was baked with the casserole; for a crispier, less-burnt topping, I chose to bake a bit longer and put the topping on for the last 20 minutes. It also makes a ton– so bring it to a party, or halve the recipe. Here’s a link to the original recipe so you can compare with my revised recipe.

2 red onions, diced
1 pound bacon, two tablespoons of fat reserved.
4 (16-ounce) cans baked beans (I use Bush’s Homestyle, 24-oz cans, thus I use 2.5 cans instead of 4 16-oz)
1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained well
1 cup molasses
1 cup barbecue sauce (I used Kroger Honey; Stubb’s is also nice)
2 tablespoon yellow or brown mustard
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
2 (6-ounce) cans french-fried onions, crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Saute onions in reserved bacon grease until softened. Combine sauteed onions, beans, pineapple, molasses, barbecue sauce, mustard, cayenne, 3/4 of the bacon, and one can of french fried onions together in a large bowl. When well combined, pour into 9 x 13 baking dish (or two smaller dishes). Bake at 350 for 1 hour, covered; then uncover and top with remaining bacon crumbles and can of french fried onions. Bake for an additional 20 minutes to crisp the topping. Serve warm.