Baked Beans

I’ve made these several times for parties or large gatherings. They are heartier than the usual canned version with a nice dense bean.

Baked Beans
Servings: 12 to 16
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

• 4 28-oz. cans of small red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups ketchup
• 1 1/2 cups tomato puree
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 3 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
• 1/2 Tbsp. ground red chipotle
• kosher salt and cracked black pepper

Directions:

1. Adjust the oven racks so a large Dutch oven (with lid) will easily fit. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. Add the ketchup, tomato, brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire, paprika and chipotle to a bowl. Stir until the brown sugar has broken up and been well mixed into the other ingredients.
3. Heat the oil in the Dutch oven over medium until shimmering. Add the chopped onions and a good pinch of kosher salt. Stir to coat with oil and cook for around 5 minutes. The onions should be translucent.
4. Add the sauce mixture to the pot, stir into the onions, bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Stir in the beans and incorporate. Cover pot and bake for 75 minutes.
6. Remove the lid and cook for another 15-20 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Test seasoning for salt and pepper; adjust as desired.

Notes:
For best results make this dish in advance, cool and refrigerate overnight. Reheat the next day in a slow-cooker or a 350°F oven for 30 minutes.

This recipe is roughly based on one by Dave Lieberman. I pulled the bacon to make it more vegetarian friendly though I don’t mark it as vegetarian because Worcestershire sauce is not vegetarian.