With smoky bacon, sweet root beer, and a buttery bread crumb topping, everyone’s sure to enjoy these appetizing baked beans. They are smoky, a little sweet and very flavorful. Plus, they are super easy to make with canned pinto beans.
Hello Friends!
Today, I am sharing a very simple recipe for one of the tastiest beans I’ve ever made.
I almost didn’t post this recipe, because I didn’t take pictures of the cooking process, and only two quick shots of the finished recipe. I made these beans as a side dish when I made Jamaican Jerk Chicken, for the second time– it’s that good!
It’s funny, but root beer isn’t my favorite beverage of choice, unless you serve it in a frosty mug with a scoop (or two) of vanilla ice cream. With this recipe, root beer is deglazed just enough to give a sweet and savory flavor to these beans.
In my haste of making this side dish, I didn’t fully notice that this recipe lists “root beer extract” as a key ingredient. Ooops! Too late… the chicken was on the grill, and I had hungry guests. So I kept on making them without the root beer extract, hoping for the best.
NOTE: I received a comment that the root beer extracted did not taste good in the recipe. Therefore, I will list that as totally optional.
…plus, I opted not to make the buttery bread crumb topping. (Maybe, next time.) My only regret is that I didn’t take the time to portion the beans into a cute ramekin and take more photos. That’s what happens when I’m busy in the kitchen, and paying more attention to my guests.
I did, however, spend more time photographing my spectacular (if I do say so, myself) birthday cake that I baked for myself! That recipe is posted here!
My guests were commenting on how delicious the beans were, and I have to agree. They had just the right notes of tangy tomato, sweetness from brown sugar and reduced root beer and a tease of bacon flavor. With fall/winter coming up (and football food season) I had to share this easy recipe. Bring this to a pot luck, and you’ll be a rock star.
Root Beer Baked Beans with Bacon
Ingredients
BEANS:
- 4 strips thick-sliced bacon diced
- SWEAT:
- 2 cups diced onions
- 1 green bell pepper seeded and diced
- 1 tablespoons fresh garlic minced
DEGLAZE:
- 2 cups root beer
- 2 cans pinto beans 15-ounces each, drained and rinsed
- 1 can tomato purée 10.75-ounces
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 2 tablespoons each Worcestershire sauce and cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon each Tabasco sauce, and kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp root beer extract optional, I have never used
TOPPING, PULSE:
- 3 slices white bread buttered
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley minced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
For the beans, cook bacon in a nonstick skillet until crisp; transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate and discard all but 1 tablespoon drippings.
- Sweat onions, bell pepper, and garlic in drippings over medium heat until soft, 5 minutes.
- Deglaze skillet with root beer and bring to a boil; cook until root beer nearly evaporated, 10 minutes. Stir in beans, tomato purée, ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire, vinegar, mustard, Tabasco, root beer extract, salt, and bacon; bring to a simmer. Transfer beans to a 2-quart baking dish.
For the topping, pulse bread in a food processor to crumbs. Add parsley; pulse to combine. Top beans with bread crumb mixture; bake until topping is toasted and beans are bubbly, 15 minutes.
Notes
Bacon and root beer – works for me.
I adore root beer! I drank it more than any other soda when I was a kid. Now that I'm older and trying to eat better and eat less sugar and eliminate most soft drinks, I only have one as an occasional treat. There are times the root beer craving just hits me! This is the perfect way to get more root beer in my life. Beans are good for me! I can have lots of root beer and say that I'm eating healthfully. 😉 Thanks for this.
I never tire of the many flavors that can come together in baked beans! This sounds delightful. It is on my list!!
Sorry but the Root Beer extract ruined this dish for me, my husband is eating it though 😉 I made it yesterday & so glad I only made 1/2 the recipe….very artificial tasting, even the next day (I just reheated & tasted). Now what to do with a bottle of crummy r/b extract?
Oh no! I am so sorry to hear that. Thank you for letting me know… maybe it was fortuitous that I didn't have root beer extract, after all! If hope that you try again, and leave out the extract. I will edit my recipe accordingly.