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Virginia Baked Beans

by 35 Comments

Virginia?

I have been slowly working on this bean recipe for a few years now. I knew I got it right when my husband stopped asking me to buy the canned stuff. I love that my Yankee-born and bred husband is starting to appreciate southern food. We’ve been together 22 years so these things are a big deal. I call these Virginia Baked Beans because, well, I’m from Virginia and this is my recipe. I’m a smart one, huh?  I’m pretty picky about my baked beans. They gotta have that right mix of sweet and smoky. I think you are really going to like this combination of flavors if you give it a try.

  Ingredients:
½ pound bacon
1 medium onion
3 (16 oz.) cans pork & beans (undrained)
3 tbsp. mustard (yellow, spicy brown or dijon if you’re feelin’ fancy)
¾ cup maple-flavored syrup (or the real stuff)
⅔ cup ketchup
⅓ cup molasses
¼ cup brown sugar
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a skillet, fry bacon until crispy, then crumble bacon. Don’t toss the bacon drippings. You should have about a 1/4 cup of drippings left in the pan if your bacon was fatty enough. Finely chop the onions and saute them (over medium heat) in the bacon drippings until onion is clear (it will brown up a little too from frying in the bacon fat). If you used very lean bacon (which I don’t recommend) then you may have to add a tablespoon or so of oil. But the bacon fat is really what adds the flavor here.

Now mix all the remaining ingredients together (including crumbled bacon).

Stir throughly.

Pour into a 9×13 baking dish.
Cover with aluminum foil and put into preheated oven for about an hour (until brown and bubbly).
If you like your beans to be a little less sauce-y (which I do), take the aluminum foil off and bake for about another 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. This will thicken the sauce up. Depending on your oven, it may take up to another 45 minutes. Just be sure to stir beans occasionally.

Stir before serving.

Cook’s note: If your bacon produced a large amount of grease then you may need to set aside some of it for later use. You really don’t want more than about a 1/4 cup of bacon grease for this recipe. Anything more and it will be greasy baked beans.
Enjoy!

5 from 4 votes
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Virginia Baked Beans
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
45 mins
Total Time
55 mins
 
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Servings: 10
Calories: 400 kcal
Author: Brandie @ The Country Cook
Ingredients
  • ½ pound bacon
  • 1 medium onion
  • 3 16 oz cans pork and beans undrained
  • 3 tbsp mustard yellow or dijon
  • ¾ cup maple syrup
  • 2/3 cup ketchup
  • 1/3 cup molasses
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
  2. In a skillet, fry bacon until crispy, then crumble bacon.
  3. Don’t toss the bacon drippings.
  4. You should have about a 1/4 cup of drippings left in the pan if your bacon was fatty enough.
  5. Finely chop the onions and saute them over medium heat in the bacon drippings until onion is clear (it will brown up a little too from frying in the bacon fat).
  6. If you used very lean bacon (which I don’t recommend) then you may have to add a tablespoon or so of oil.
  7. But the bacon fat is really what adds the flavor here.
  8. At this point I will add in a little salt & pepper.
  9. Now mix all the remaining ingredients together and add the onions (with bacon fat) and crumbled bacon and pour into a 9 x 13 glass baking dish and bake covered (with aluminum foil) for about an hour (until brown and bubbly).
  10. If you like your beans to be a little less sauce-y (which I do), take the aluminum foil off and bake for about another 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  11. This will thicken up the sauce a bit.
  12. Depending on your oven, this could take up to 45 minutes.
  13. Just be sure to stir the beans occasionally.
  14. The longer you cook it, the thicker it will get.
  15. Stir before serving.
Recipe Notes

If your bacon produced a large amount of grease then you may need to set aside some of it for later use. You really don’t want more than about a 1/4 cup of bacon grease for this recipe. Anything more and it will be greasy baked beans.

Nutrition Facts
Virginia Baked Beans
Amount Per Serving
Calories 400
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

 

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Comments

  5. Brandie, my hubby would LOVE these!!! I will have to whip him up a batch soon~thanks for sharing your perfected recipe 🙂 Happy Valentine's Day, my friend!

    Reply

  6. Is there really anyone who doesn't like bacon? I can't imagine baked beans without them! This looks like one great mix of sweet, spicy, and smoky. Into the file! (It's warmer, rue; I can't wait for spring.)

    Reply

  11. Those look good, will have to give them a try. Thanks for stopping over and visihttp://couponloversunite.blogspot.com/2011/02/menu-plan-monday-21411-saving-money.htmlting me at my blog and commenting.

    Reply

  12. I loooooove baked beans! I could eat them just like they are. A big huge bowl with a few jalapenos on top. Yum, this recipe looks so good.

    Reply

  13. Brandie-So happy to see your recipe for the baked beans. It brings back such good memories of them. I used to make this years ago, but did not know the proper equivalent. Thanks for sharing your oh, so yummy reipe!

    Reply

  14. Wonderful baked beans! I love grilling too, as you said it keeps kitchen neat and clean! And it is so leovely to spend some time outside with the family. Thank you for sharing 🙂

    Reply

  18. Those beans look fantastic! You had me at "Virginia"…I'm a daughter of the Commonwealth too, now far away in San Francisco. Cheers!

    Reply

  19. this recipe is similar to the baked beans that my Mom used to make. Even though we're in the Midwest, we grill in the winter. We last grilled last Sat. night. You just have to keep the path shoveled to the grill:)

    Reply

  21. Hi Brandie,
    When we start getting our Baked Bean recipes out I know that spring and summer is not far off. Your Virginia Baked Beans look so delicious. Thank you for bringing them to Full Plate Thursday and please come back!

    Reply

  30. We have made these for years. Sometime I brown hamburger or hotdogs and ad that to the dish before baking. Delish!

    Reply

  31. Can I use this recipe but use a crock pot instead of the oven?
    How long do you recommend it being in the crock pot for?

    Reply

  32. His was a fantastic recipe! Made this for my husband who is a southerner and my parents. They loved the beans. I also cooked them longer without the foil to thicken them up .

    Reply

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