5 Smoky, Saucy Baked Bean Recipes for a Summer's Worth of Cookouts From sweet-and-smoky to tangy British-style baked beans, these rich, slow-simmered sides are built for backyard barbecues. By Molly McArdle Molly McArdle Molly McArdle is Food & Wine's Updates Editor. She has written and edited stories about food, wine, culture, place, and technology for more than 15 years. Her work has appeared in Travel + Leisure, GQ, Esquire, Oxford American, The Believer, Bookforum, and many more. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Published on May 21, 2026 Add Us On SAVE ALL RECIPES NEW! Save as a collection on MyRecipes Close Credit: Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen We have a clay bean pot at our house from the F&W-recommended Pot Shop of Boston, which gets pride of place on display when it isn't full of beans or, on occasion, sweet treats. (It doubles as a great cookie jar!) It's how we make Boston-style baked beans, slow-cooked with molasses and bacon, a beloved favorite of my Beantown-born partner and our young kids. Whether slow-cooked with pork and sweeteners or brightened with tomatoes, vinegar, and warming spices, a pot of baked beans is welcome any time of the year. As one of the defining dishes of cookouts and barbecue spreads, it's expected once summer rolls around. If you're looking for some baked bean inspiration, this collection highlights a range of styles, from sweet-and-smoky maple baked beans studded with hot dogs to tangy British baked beans and a New England–inspired version enriched with pork belly and quince. Along the way, ingredients like dark ale, turmeric, guanciale, and Calabrian chiles bring new depth and complexity to the comforting classic. Keep all of your recipes at your fingertips. With the MyRecipes app you can easily save and organize your favorites from anywhere, including Instagram and TikTok, in one convenient place. Get the free app. 01 of 05 Gina Mae's Baked Beans Caitlin Bensel / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell “A cookout's DNA is found in the sides and who made them,” says Regina Bradley (nicknamed Gina Mae as a child), a scholar of the Black American South. In this take on her husband’s baked beans recipe, she personalizes store-bought barbecue sauce with extra brown sugar for deeper sweetness and apple cider vinegar for bright acidity that balances the smoky flavor. Get the Recipe Save 02 of 05 Sunny Turmeric-Spiced Baked Beans Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen For this lighter, brighter spin on baked beans, F&W’s Justin Chapple starts with a silky puree of golden tomatoes seasoned with turmeric and coriander, which lend the dish its vibrant sunny hue. Creamy borlotti beans are paired with rich guanciale, while the tomatoes bring balancing acidity and Calabrian chiles add a gentle, lingering heat. Get the Recipe Save 03 of 05 Spicy Maple Baked Beans Food & Wine / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Dickey / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle Chef Kevin Sousa’s baked beans lean deeply smoky and savory, with cayenne and chile powder adding subtle heat. Canned navy beans simmer in a rich mixture of maple syrup, ketchup, and dark ale, whose slight bitterness tempers the sweetness, along with molasses and mustard for extra depth. And in true nostalgic fashion, the beans are studded with sliced hot dogs. Get the Recipe Save 04 of 05 British Baked Beans Food & Wine / Photo by Morgan Hunt Glaze / Food Styling by Jennifer Wendorf / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell British baked beans lean tangy, with tomato paste, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce shaping the flavor. A small amount of cornstarch stirred in at the end thickens the sauce, making the beans especially well suited for spooning over toast or alongside a full English breakfast. Though this recipe cooks the beans on the stovetop, the beans can also be baked in a 325°F oven for about an hour in an oven-safe pot. Keep in mind that cooking times will vary depending on the beans’ size, age, and whether they’ve been soaked, so begin checking for doneness after about 30 minutes. Get the Recipe Save 05 of 05 Baked Beans with Pork Belly and Quince At his former restaurant Dressing Room, chef Michel Nischan often revisited classic New England dishes through what he described as “updated heritage cuisine.” In this reinterpretation of baked beans, he trades traditional bacon for fresh pork belly and uses quince in place of molasses, lending the dish gentle sweetness while naturally thickening the sauce. Get the Recipe Save Explore more: Food Ingredients Beans + Legumes Beans Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit