Sweet and Spicy Baked Beans

This recipe for Sweet and Spicy Baked Beans is the most perfect recipe for baked beans that I’ve ever put together.

Baked Beans for Summer Holidays:

There’s a big holiday coming up later this week in the fabulous USA- 4th of July!  We take 4th of July seriously in our house.  In fact, we begin celebrating on the 3rd with a barbecue, friends, family and fireworks.  Then we repeat it all over again on the 4th.  Does anyone else go crazy-overboard in celebrating?  It’s the best!  I suppose it’s also a reason to have a party.  And my family definitely loves to have parties and entertain.  It’s so easy to make burgers, prepare some salads and side dishes to offer guests.  These Sweet and Spicy Baked Beans are on our menu every single year.

Now, when I say sweet… I mean that there is a sweetness to these beans, but not overly so.  And when I say spicy… I mean that there is a spice to them, but not crazy-spicy (unless you WANT to make them crazy-spicy).  For bacon lovers, I’ve added a good amount of bacon to these beans too.  Bacon makes baked beans 99.2% better.

The recipe serves a small crowd (about 10 servings), so it’s perfect for serving for a summer barbecue.  Your guests will love the fact that you made “homemade” baked beans (even though we’re starting with canned beans here) instead of the usual canned kind that – to me- are a bit overboard with syrupy sweetness.  And they have plenty of bacon in them, so these sweet and spicy beans should make everyone quite happy.

If you’re a fan of sweet and spicy things, you might also like to try my Sweet and Spicy Chicken Lettuce Wraps or these Slow Cooker Sweet and Spicy Pulled Pork Sandwiches.

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Sweet and Spicy Baked Beans

Great baked beans recipe for a summer barbecue!

Recipe Details

Prep Time: 25 mins

Cook Time: 55 mins

Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: baked beans, sweet and spicy

Servings: 10 servings

Calories: 352kcal

Author: RecipeGirl.com

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 large green bell pepper, seeded and diced
• ⅓ cup packed brown sugar
• 1 to 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• Three 16-ounce cans cannellini or navy beans, rinsed and drained
• Two 16-ounce cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• One 18-ounce bottle sweet and spicy barbecue sauce (I like the Sweet Baby Ray's brand)

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13-inch pan (or similar casserole dish) with nonstick spray.
• Cook the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and set on a paper towel to drain. Remove all fat from the pan except for about 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat. Saute the onions and bell pepper in the bacon fat until softened- 6 to 8 minutes.
• In a large bowl, combine the onion/pepper, bacon, beans, brown sugar, Dijon, beans and barbecue sauce.
• Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Serve immediately, or keep covered until ready to serve.

Notes

• *Make these as spicy as you want. One tablespoon of Dijon will give it a little kick, and two tablespoons will give it more. It also depends on the spice-factor of the barbecue sauce you choose to use.
• *If you are preparing this recipe as GLUTEN-FREE, just be sure to use brands of bacon, Dijon, beans and barbecue sauce that are known to be GF.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 352kcal, Carbohydrates: 65g, Protein: 15g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 9mg, Sodium: 1156mg, Potassium: 443mg, Fiber: 12g, Sugar: 27g, Vitamin A: 181IU, Vitamin C: 15mg, Calcium: 138mg, Iron: 5mg