Crockpot Baked Beans (Easy, No Soak Recipe)

A black crockpot full of baked beans and a wooden spoon.

Crockpot Baked Beans (Easy, No Soak Recipe)

These homemade Crockpot Baked Beans are incredibly easy to throw together and taste way better than the canned stuff! Tender navy beans simmer in a rich, flavorful homemade barbecue sauce, then are topped with crispy chopped bacon for the finishing touch. They’re the perfect side dish for holidays, potlucks, and backyard barbecues this summer.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Total Time 10 10

Servings

Calories 297

Author Ashlyn Edwards | Belle of the Kitchen

Equipment

1 Crockpot

Ingredients

1 pound dried navy beans
5 cups water
1 medium yellow onion diced
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup molasses
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
6 ounces tomato paste
2 Tablespoons yellow mustard
1 teaspoon pepper
5 strips thick cut bacon cooked until crisp and cut into small pieces
3 teaspoons salt

Instructions

Place the dried beans into a colander. Rinse the beans and remove any that are damaged or broken.
Combine the rinsed beans, water, diced onion, brown sugar, molasses, apple cider vinegar, tomato paste, yellow mustard, and pepper in your crock pot.
Set the crockpot to the high setting for 9-10 hours. If you have presoaked your beans (see notes) you can set the crockpot to the low setting for 8-10 hours or high setting for 4-6 hours.
During the last hour of cooking, stir in the cooked bacon and salt.

Notes

No Soak vs. Soak Option: as written, this recipe uses a no soak approach. I like this because it cuts out another step. However, you can definitely soak your beans before cooking if you prefer. Simply soak your dried beans in a large bowl with enough water to cover by 1 inch. Soak for at least 8 hours or overnight, then drain the beans in a colander. Add the soaked beans to the crockpot and follow the recipe as written, but cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-6 hours.
Don't add salt or bacon until the last hour of cooking! This is very important because adding salt to the dried beans too soon will prevent them from softening.
What kind of beans to use: I used navy beans, but you could also use dried pinto beans or northern beans.
For a shortcut, you can use canned beans. Make sure you rinse and drain them well before cooking. You will need to reduce the water to ½ cup. Then cook for about 3 to 4 hours on low or 1 to 2 hours on high.
To make this into a main dish, you can add cooked ground beef.
Store any leftover baked beans in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days.

Nutrition