Texas BBQ Baked Beans

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 2 25

Soak time: 8

Total Time: 10 30

Servings: servings

Calories: 551kcal

Author: Jazzmine Woodard

Cast iron baked pinto beans from scratch in a smoky, sweet, and tangy barbecue sauce

Print Recipe

Equipment

1 large bowl
1 cutting board
1 knife
1 large cast iron skillet or dutch oven
1 kitchen spoon

Ingredients

1 pound dried pinto beans or four 15-ounce cans of pinto beans
water
½ pound bacon or andouille sausage
½ sweet yellow onion
1 bell pepper
1 jalapeño pepper
4-5 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
sea salt to taste
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup Dr. Pepper or root beer or coke
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup molasses
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons tomato paste or ¼ cup tomato sauce or ¼ cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon mustard I recommend spicy brown mustard
½ teaspoon liquid smoke
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons water

Instructions

Add beans to a large bowl and cover by about two inches in water. Soak the beans for 8-12 hours (overnight is fine) then drain and set aside.
*If using canned beans, skip this step.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat up cast iron skillet over medium flame and chop bacon into small pieces.
Cook bacon to desired level of crispness. Meanwhile, dice the onion, seed and dice the bell pepper, and jalapeño, and mince or crush the garlic.
Remove bacon from pan then chopped onion, bell pepper, jalapeño, smoked paprika, chili powder, black pepper, and sea salt. Cook until fragrant and onions are almost translucent (about 4 minutes) then add garlic and cook one minute more.
Mix in chicken broth or stock, Dr. Pepper, apple cider vinegar, molasses, brown sugar, tomato paste, Worcestershire smoke, mustard, and liquid smoke and bring the mixture to a boil (takes about 5 minutes) then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. Dissolve cornstarch in two teaspoons water then stir into pan.
Turn off stove top heat then add the beans and cooked bacon to the skillet and carefully stir. Cover the pan with foil or a lid and transfer to the oven to bake for about two hours or until beans are tender and cooked through and sauce is thick. Bake uncovered for the last 30-45 minutes to help the sauce thicken.
*If using canned beans, start checking for doneness after 45 minutes.

Notes

Preparation

Soaking pinto beans softens their texture, which shortens the cooking time but don't soak them for too long or else they will get mushy when cooking and may not be as flavorful. I typically pour water over the beans right before going to bed to cook them the following day.

You can make Texas style baked pinto beans up to four days ahead of time as long as they are stored properly.

Variations

An easy shortcut is to make baked beans using bbq sauce from a bottle (or my homemade hibiscus barbecue sauce). If you want to take that route, leave out the ACV, brown sugar, cornstarch, liquid smoke, molasses, mustard, tomato paste, and Worcestershire.

Storage

Store in an airtight container in the fridge and they will keep for up to seven days.

You can freeze these beans after the cookout. they will keep for up to six months but may not maintain the same flavor beyond three so I recommend eating them sooner rather than later.

Nutrition