Dressed Up Baked Beans | The Modern Proper (2024)

May 17, 2024

Brimming with bacon, spicy mustard and sausage, these dressed up baked beans take those boring old canned baked beans and make them interesting!

Photography by Gayle McLeod

What To Do With Baked Beans

Summertime is also known around The Modern Proper as summer side dish season, and we take this time of year seriously. These dressed up baked beans use canned baked beans, take almost no time at all, are super delicious, and what doesn’t go with baked beans?! Loaded with all of the bacon and sausage, these baked beans are nearly a meal all on their own. But we love to eat them with Classic Cheese Burger with Secret Sauce, Hot Dogs, and Classic Potato Salad. For more summer side inspo check out our 56 Best BBQ Side Dish Recipes.

Ingredients You’ll Need To Dress Up Your Baked Beans

Canned baked beans can use a little jazz. They need, shall we say, a little help to taste their best. Our doctored up baked beans recipe is just the thing! Here’s what we dress them up with:

• Bacon

• Onion

• Maple syrup

• Spicy mustard

• Beef sausage

  See Also

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• Molasses

• Ketchup

• Cider vinegar

How To Dress Up Canned Baked Beans

While you can simply warm them up in a pot as-is, our easy baked beans recipe will be well worth your (short) while. Here’s how to improve canned baked beans:

1. Upgrade #1: Bacon! Fry some up and set it aside.

2. Upgrade #2: Sausage! Cook up beef sausages with onion to create a super-flavorful base for your dressed up baked beans.

3. Upgrade #3: All of the condiments! Maple syrup, molasses, ketchup, vinegar, mustard—basically throw every sweet, salty, tangy condiment you’ve got at those canned baked beans and you know they're going to taste delicious.

4. Upgrade #4: Heat. Despite our nostalgic camping trip experiences, baked beans are best warmed through. So warm that pot of doctored up baked beans, and add the bacon back in.

How to Store Baked Beans + Tips

• You can freeze beans for like, ever, or up to three months in an airtight container.

• Get yourself a nice casserole dish, because it’s going to get a workout this season! And a good can opener while you’re at it!

• Make sure bacon is crispy before adding to the beans for best texture. We don’t want to see any unidentifiable pork ‘n beans style white bits floating around!

• Dressing up canned baked beans is kind of a maximalist kitchen art. Don’t hold back!

  See Also

  What You Can Do To Thicken Baked Beans - Tasting Table

More Bean-tastic Dishes From The Modern Proper

• Instant Pot Mexican Pinto Beans

• Red Beans and Rice

• Garlicky Beans with Lemon, Dill and Trout

• 3 Bean Salad

Side Dish Summer

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