An easy recipe for homemade baked beans that uses tinned beans for speed. Perfect for a vegan or vegetarian brunch or side dish and great for kids too. Also delicious on toast!
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You know the colour of a tin of shop-bought baked beans? That orangey-red colour? It's actually pretty hard to replicate exactly.
I've been working on this recipe for a while, trying hard to perfect it. The closest I got was by adding butternut squash, but the taste and texture just wasn't right.
I'm pretty happy with this version though. It's a delicious and easy recipe for homemade baked beans that ¾ of our household absolutely love. The ¼ that doesn't is 2 years old at the moment so I'm hoping she can be convinced to try them soon.
What are baked beans?
Baked beans are simply haricot beans (a small white bean) in a tomato sauce. If you live in the United Kingdom, it's almost guaranteed that you've eaten tinned baked beans.
The most common brand of tinned baked beans here in the UK is Heinz. However, there are many different varieties and all supermarkets do their own version.
There are other types of baked beans in other parts of the world. My recipe is based upon the British version.
Are these homemade baked beans easy to make?
Yes. My homemade baked beans are very easy to make. I've used tinned haricot beans, rather than cook my own. This makes the recipe easier.
The sauce needs to be made on the stove top, then added to the beans. The whole lot is then baked in the oven at a low heat for 3-4 hours. All you need to do during this time is stir it occasionally.
You can of course cook your own beans from dried if you prefer.
What should you serve with baked beans?
My favourite way to eat baked beans is to put them on toast. Baked beans on toast with a good serving of black pepper and perhaps some grated cheese is an easy, cheap and nutritious lunch.
However, baked beans go brilliantly with lots of different dishes including:
- with jacket potatoes
- in a pie
- as part of a traditional English breakfast
- with veggie sausages and mash.
What's your favourite way to eat baked beans?
Can I use something instead of black treacle?
Black treacle adds a lovely flavour to these baked beans. However, if you don't have them you could replace with molasses or a lighter syrup such as maple or agave. Alternatively, you could leave the sugar out altogether.
Do you need any special equipment to make these baked beans?
You will need a blender to make these baked beans. I use a hand held blender*. If you are using a jug blender* allow the sauce to cool a little before blending.
More beans recipes
- how to prepare broad beans
- stovetop baked beans
- Mexican rice with black beans
- baked Greek beans
- African beans
- smoky baked beans with aubergine
Pin homemade baked beans for later
How to make easy homemade baked beans
If you have made this recipe I would love it if you’d leave a comment and rating below. Thank you!
Easy homemade baked beans
Ingredients
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 3 medium carrots finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 2 teaspoon brown sugar optional*
- 2 teaspoon black treacle optional*
- 2 tablespoon tomato purée
- 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 275 ml vegetable stock or water
- 800 g tinned haricot beans
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 130°C (fan)/150°C/gas mark 2
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large casserole dish with a lid. Add 3 medium chopped carrots and 1 chopped onion, stir, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes with the lid on, stirring occasionally, until soft.
- Add 1 tsp mustard powder, 2 tsp brown sugar, 2 tsp black treacle, 2 tbsp tomato purée and a tin of chopped tomatoes. Stir well and cook for 10 minutes. Then blend into a smooth sauce using a handheld blender*.
- Add two tins of haricot beans beans and 275ml hot vegetable stock and stir well. Place in the pre-heated oven for 3-4 hours with the lid on. Stir occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
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