Maple Baked Beans
Navy beans are slow cooked with pure maple syrup, bacon and onion in this traditional recipe right from the sugar shack.
Servings 8
Ingredients
- 1 lb 16 oz. navy beans white pea beans
- 2 quarts water
- 4 slices bacon cut into 1-inch pieces
- ½ cup chopped yellow onion 1 medium
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
- ½ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Sort and rinse beans.
- Pour beans and water into a large saucepan, cover and soak for about 8 hours.
- After soaking, adjust water level to cover beans if required.
- Bring beans to a boil then reduce and simmer for 1½ hours.
- Stir occasionally, remove foam and add water if required to ensure beans are covered in water.
- After beans are tender, drain them.
Slow Cooker Method
- Add beans and all other ingredients to a slow cooker.
- Add one cup of warm water to the measuring cup used for the syrup and ketchup. Stir to release the residual ingredients and add it to the bean pot.
- Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
- Two hours before cooking is complete, remove 1 cup of the beans and mash them. Stir mashed beans into the cooking pot and add a little water if bean mixture becomes dry.
Oven Method
- Add beans and all other ingredients to a bean pot, oven roast pan or dutch oven.
- Add one cup of warm water to the measuring cup used for the syrup and ketchup. Stir to release the residual ingredients and add it to the bean pot.
- Cover and cook for 4-5 hours in an oven at 250°F.
- Two hours before cooking is complete, remove 1 cup of the beans and mash them. Stir mashed beans into the cooking pot and add a little water if bean mixture becomes dry.
Notes
If you prefer your baked beans a little less sweet, you can omit the brown sugar. If you prefer them sticky and mushy increase the baking time by an hour or two (slow cooker low setting).