Smoked Baked Beans

Skip the canned baked beans and learn how to make Smoked Baked Beans at home. These homemade beans are filled with thick-cut bacon pieces smoked in a cast-iron skillet with tender beans and a sweet and tangy homemade sauce. It's one of the best summer side dishes for a reason!

Jump to:

📋 About the Recipe
🛒 Ingredients
⁉️ Substitutions and Alterations
📓 Instructions
❄️ How to Store
🔍 Recipe FAQs
💭 One More Tip
🍴 Related Recipes
Smoked Baked Beans
Reviews

📋 About the Recipe

Great option for using up beans. If you have several cans of beans to use and aren't in the mood for Soups or Mexican-inspired meals like Ground Turkey Enchiladas or Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers, use the beans to make this homemade baked beans recipe.
Rich, smoky flavor. This delicious side dish is packed with rich, sweet, smoky, tangy flavor and seriously blows store-bought baked beans out of the water. Once you learn how easy it is to make baked beans at home, you won't want to enjoy them any other way.
Perfect for a summer potluck. In addition to serving as an easy side dish on weeknights any time of year, these easy baked beans are particularly well-loved at summer potlucks and outdoor BBQs. Serve them with your favorite smoked meat and Summer Sides like Instant Pot Asparagus and Red, White, and Blue Fruit Salsa.

🛒 Ingredients

A few notes about the ingredients:

Bacon - For the best, rich flavor, I'd recommend using thick-cut slices of pork bacon. If you prefer to use Turkey Bacon, it will work, but Turkey Bacon has a much lower fat content. To compensate, add 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter or oil to the skillet when sautéing the onions and peppers. For tips on cooking with turkey bacon, check out my helpful guide: How to Cook Turkey Bacon.
Bell pepper - Use either a red bell pepper or green bell pepper. Red peppers will add additional sweetness whereas green peppers will add a mildly sweet, bitter flavor. This would also be a great recipe to repurpose leftover Air Fryer Bell Peppers.
Beans - Navy beans, pinto beans, or Great Northern Beans will all work well when making homemade smoked beans.
Light Brown Sugar - Baked beans are notoriously sweet and savory. For the best, rich flavor, I recommend using a combination of ketchup, light brown sugar, and unsulphured molasses. These ingredients not only add a well-balanced sweet, tangy, and caramel-like flavor profile, but also help thicken the sauce as it cooks.
Mustard - Enhances the tanginess and helps balance the sweetness. Mustard also acts as a natural emulsifier and helps blend the flavors in the thick, syrup-like sauce.

⁉️ Substitutions and Alterations

Use maple syrup. If you're out of light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, replace it with maple syrup for a similar, bold, caramel-like flavor profile. Honey could also work.
Add jalapeño pepper. Add a spicy kick to your smoked baked beans with the addition of a diced jalapeño pepper.
Use two types of beans. If you'd like to add some variety and texture to your smoked baked beans, feel free to use a bean mixture of 2 types of beans. For example 2 cans of pinto beans and 1 can of Great Northern Beans or a half and half mixture of Navy Beans and Great Northern beans.
Vegetarian option. These smoked baked beans can be easily made vegetarian by omitting the slices of bacon. Instead, sauté the aromatics in 2 tablespoons of neutral oil.

📓 Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat your pellet grill or smoker to 225 degrees F.

Bacon cooking in a cast iron skillet. Onions and peppers added to the skillet.

Cook the bacon. Place a 10-inch oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add diced bacon to the bottom of the skillet and cook until browned and crispy. Remove the bacon from the skillet and place on a paper towel-lined plate, then drain a majority of the bacon grease, leaving just 2 tablespoons remaining in the skillet.
Sauté the onion and peppers. Into the same skillet with the reserved bacon fat, cook the onion and bell pepper for 5 minutes, or until softened.

Remaining ingredients added to the sautéed onions and peppers in a cast iron skillet.

Add remaining ingredients. Into the skillet, add the drained and rinsed beans, ketchup, light brown sugar, molasses, and yellow mustard. Stir well to combine, then add the bacon. Gently fold everything together until the bacon is evenly dispersed.

Homemade baked beans in a cast iron skillet on a pellet smoker.

Smoke the beans. Place the oven-safe skillet on the smoker and smoke, covered, for about 2 hours, or until the baked beans have thickened to your desired consistency. I typically like to stir about halfway through cooking. If the beans are thickening too quickly, stir in a small splash of water to help loosen them up again.
Serve. These smoked baked beans are the perfect side dish to serve alongside Baby Back Ribs, Instant Pot Pork Butt, or Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Chicken. It's also delicious paired with additional healthy side dishes like Kale Apple Slaw, Blackened Corn, and Air Fryer Fingerling Potatoes.

Smoked baked beans scooped with a serving spoon.

❄️ How to Store

To store: Leftover beans will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

To freeze: Freezing is not recommended.

To reheat: These beans will reheat best in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium-low heat. If the beans have thickened considerably overnight, add a splash of water or broth to loosen them up before reheating.

🔍 Recipe FAQs

What is the difference between navy beans and great northern beans for baked beans?

These two types of beans are often used interchangeably in many recipes like Instant Pot Navy Bean Soup and Chicken Chili without Tomatoes, but there are a few differences to note.

Great Northern Beans are slightly smaller. Great Northern Beans are also slightly more robust and nutty in flavor compared to mild, soft Navy beans.

If you prefer your smoked baked beans to be more soft and creamy, I'd go with Navy beans. If you like your beans to have a bit more texture and substance, go with Great Northern.

I don't have an oven-safe skillet. What can I smoke these beans in?

While an oven-safe skillet such as a cast iron skillet makes things easier, these beans can also be smoked in a disposable aluminum pan or a similar-sized dutch oven (without the lid).

The most important thing to consider is the size. If the pan or dutch oven is significantly wider at the base, the beans will be spread thinner and the sauce will thicken much faster.

Can I make smoked baked beans in the oven?

Baked beans can be made in the oven, but they will be missing the delicious smoked flavor. If you do choose to go this route, follow the instructions through step 4, then place the beans in an oven preheated to 350 degrees F for 60-90 minutes, depending on how thick you like your baked beans.

Once baked, you can stir in a dash of liquid smoke to mimic the smoky flavor of smoked beans.

Can I use dry beans to make these smoked beans?

This recipe was developed using canned beans. If you have dried beans to use, they must be soaked and cooked beforehand.

If needed, checkout this helpful guide: How To Cook Pinto Beans on the Stovetop and Quick Soak Beans for Faster Cooking.

💭 One More Tip

Use quality wood pellets! For best results, always use "100% hardwood" or "all-natural wood" in your pellet smoker. I purchase my wood chips from Costco and use a gourmet blend of maple, hickory, and cherry wood chips. Pecan wood would also work great.

Smoked baked beans, corn, and beer ready for your next backyard get-together.

Share your cooking with me! If you make this recipe, I'd love to know! Tag @yourhomemadehealthy on Instagram or leave a comment with a rating and some feedback at the bottom of this page!

Want more recipes like this delivered right to your inbox? Be sure to subscribe above and never miss a thing!