Baked Beans and Apples with Bacon
Old-fashioned baked beans with apples, bacon, and molasses: it's smoky, sweet, and tangy. A cozy fall side dish that tastes even better the next day and is perfect for Thanksgiving dinner.
Servings 6 side dish servings
Ingredients
- 10 ounces bacon chopped into small dice
- ½ cup diced onion
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 apple peeled and diced, Granny Smith or Honeycrisp
- 30 ounces navy or Great Northern beans 2 cans (15 ounces each), drained and rinsed
- ½ cup regular ketchup
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1 or 2 tablespoons brown sugar optional, for a sweeter dish
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
- In a large oven-safe skillet with high sides or Dutch oven, cook 10 ounces bacon, chopped, over medium-low heat until the fat is melted (rendered) and it's slightly crisp and brown. Remove some fat if there’s too much, but keep about 2 tablespoons.
- Add ½ cup diced onion and 1 garlic clove, minced, to the pot and sauté for 2–3 minutes, until softened and fragrant and lightly browned. Don't let it burn, or it might turn bitter.
- Stir in 1 apple, peeled, cored and diced, and cook for a few more minutes.
- Add ½ cup regular ketchup, 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon molasses, 1 or 2 tablespoons brown sugar (if using), 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg. Stir to combine.
- Add 30 ounces navy or Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed, toss to mix, and season with ½ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper. At this point, it's hard to know if it will need more seasonings as their flavor concentrates during baking. So don't overdo it. You will adjust later.
- Bake, uncovered, for 40–45 minutes, stirring twice during this time (don't forget the oven mitts!!), until the sauce thickens and bubbles gently. About 5-10 minutes before the time, when the preparation has thickened nicely, taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed.
- Remove from the oven (use oven mitts as the pot is extremely hot!) and let it sit 10 minutes before serving; the sauce will thicken more. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed. If eating it the next day, see Notes below to cool it down.
Notes
Important tip: This dish tastes much better the next day, so you can make it ahead for the holidays. My recommendation: transfer it hot from the pot to a shallow dish and let it cool completely. This prevents it from slightly fermenting, which can happen when preparations with tomato and apple take too long to cool, as it might happen if left in the deep pot. Then cover and refrigerate up to 2 days.
Make it spicy: you can use spicy ketchup instead of regular or add a dash of cayenne pepper to increase the heat a bit.
