Homemade Boston Baked Beans are slow cooked for hours and are comforting and delicious. You don’t need to own an authentic ceramic bean pot, but I decided to invest in one anyway. Baking beans, in liquid with brown sugar, molasses and a few other aromatics for several hours yields really flavorful beans that are firm, yet tender. This will be my new “go to” recipe for Boston Baked Beans.
I like to record food shows on my local PBS station– especially now that I’ve grown bored with Food Network’s programming, lately. Recently, I watched an episode of “Martha Stewart Cooking School“, where Martha shares her recipe for Boston Baked Beans. I was so intrigued by the bean pot that she used, and at how simple it looked to make these beans. Because of that show, I became obsessed with wanting a bean pot for myself! I was able to find one, made in the USA, on Etsy for less than $30.00.
I’ve posted many recipes for beans, because they are one of my favorite legumes that is good anytime of year. I try to keep a can of Bush’s Baked Beans in our pantry. They are a perfect side dish with hot dogs or burgers. I love the taste of the sweetness from the brown sugar and molasses and the saltiness from the pork.
NOTE: It isn’t mandatory to have a bean pot. My favorite method of cooking beans is in a Dutch oven, simmering them on a stove. My pressure cooker is another great way to make beans, in a fraction of the time. I’ve never cooked beans in the oven, over a period of six hours! I’ve read that this technique produces beans with a lot of flavor. It was time to test this method. ONE MORE NOTE: I do not recommend making these in a slower cooker, though. Maybe I’m wrong, but I’ve never had luck making really good beans in a slow cooker, as the beans were still a bit “crunchy”.
Boston Baked Beans
Ingredients
- 2 pounds dried pinto or navy beans I recommend navy beans
- 1 large onion about 1-pound, peeled, halved and sliced
- 4 canned plum tomatoes seeded and crushed (I used fresh roma tomatoes, sliced in half)
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 12 whole cloves I recommend reducing to 8, as the cloves almost overpowered the flavor
- 1/2 cup dark-brown sugar packed (increase to 3/4 if you like sweeter beans)
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon coarse salt plus more for serving
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more for serving
- 1/2 cup unsulphured molasses
- 12 ounces salt pork sliced
Instructions
- Soak beans in cold water to cover overnight in a large bowl. Drain in a colander.
- Heat oven to 300°F.
- Arrange onions in the bottom of a bean pot or Dutch oven. Top, working in order, beginning with tomatoes, and continuing with bay leaves, dry mustard, cloves, brown sugar, and salt and pepper.
- Add soaked beans and pour over molasses.
- Top evenly with salt pork. Add 5 cups water and cover. (Note: I couldn't fit 5 cups of water into my bean pot. 3 hours later, I was able to add another 1/2 cup, which worked out just fine.)
- Transfer to oven and bake (I'm glad I set my bean pot on a baking sheet, as the water did ooze out of the top), without stirring, until the beans are tender and the liquid has thickened, about 6 hours. Check the beans every 45 minutes, adding hot water, if necessary, to keep beans slightly soupy at all times.
- Note: After 5 hours, I felt the beans were a little too soupy. I returned the beans to the oven, without the lid. The beans, and sauce, became darker and more thickened. I was very happy with that result.
- Remove from oven, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary, before serving.
Notes
The beans look fantastic. Now I'm thinking I need a bean pot too.
My aunt always made baked beans in a bean pot for our family gatherings throughout the years. Lately, I have been on the lookout for an older bean pot at Goodwill. This made me want to try this recipe ASAP- it looks wonderful and I love the different spices. Did you have a problem with biting on cloves? I loved the picture tutorial!
No problems with the cloves. Well, I spotted one, and removed it. Where the other eleven went, I do not know?!
Everyone should have a good cook them slow baked bean recipes-love, love this one. I like that you used a bean pot a very traditional approach to making beans. Love it.
I grew up eating beans and can totally appreciate a good bean dish.
Velva
Wow, Debby! These beans look amazing! I'm a make-it-from-scratch kind of guy and I love that you started from scratch! I'm having a dinner party in a couple of week and I"m making smoked pork butt. I might just have to try this recipe! Excellent post!
Low and slow is definitely the way to go with baked beans! These look perfectly cooked!
I think beans and ribs are made for each other. I've tried baked beans from scratch and we didn't like them as well as our doctored versions BUT these sound and look so delicious and your crazy good description means they must be given another try.
I grew up in California, but my Bostonian mother made beans like this in the summer and in the rainy seasons. For her, the beans were a familiar connecrion to her childhood in Boston. On the East Coast, neighbors and communities sometime host a “Bean Supper” from time to time (sometimes called a Maine Bean Supper or a Boston Bean Supper. They say “suppa”. They’ll also hold a community Bean Supper as a fund raiser now and then. Most traditionally these are served with Brown Bread baked in an old 1lb coffee can, (B&M makes a store canned bread, with our without raisins); a good quality hot dog; Cole slaw; and sometimes Parker House rolls. I love how the onions cook down. I’ve tried adding a little more onion, it’s really good. Some recipes don’t have ’em at all. Martha’s recipe is nice, although I always cook it a little longer too, like you did. I also like that the molasses isn’t overdone in this one. Some recipes use too much and you can’t taste much else. Ina Garten uses Maple Syrup instead of molasses, some chili, and ginger in her recipe. The Maple Syrup is decidedly East Coast, but the flavor isn’t as robust and recognizable as molasses.
I’ve always wanted to make brown bread. That sounds so delicious! Thanks for stopping by.