Vegan Backyard Baked Beans

A delicious must-have side dish for your next backyard barbecue or potluck. The perfect accompaniment to burgers, dogs, sloppy joes, and more.

These baked beans are simple and delicious and make the perfect accompaniment to burgers, dogs, sloppy joes, and more.

And even better, they have three incredible benefits going for them.

• They are easy to prepare.
• They have plenty of baked bean sauce.
• They are best served the next day.

They are easy to prepare.

In fact, I can’t believe how easy these baked beans are. You simply soak your beans the night before and let them absorb the water while you sleep. Rinse them and cook them in your pressure cooker. While they’re doing their thing, chop up your onion and bell pepper. Sauté them and add all your sauce ingredients and beans. Then let them bake while you do something else. Easy-peasy.

They are also easy to transport. If you bake them in a casserole dish, you can either cover them with a corresponding lid or cover. But you can also cover your dish with foil and transport these baked beans just as easily. Super important for potlucks.

These baked beans have plenty of baked bean sauce.

The bean to sauce ratio is super important. You need plenty of saucy goodness to coat your beans well without feeling like your beans are drowning in sauce. So when you see two cups of vegetable broth, it may seem a little soupy; but trust me, if you’re serving these the next day, this truly is the right amount of liquid. Otherwise, the beans will absorb all of it and they will become very dry. That is definitely not a problem with these beauties. Check out all that gorgeous sauciness.

These baked beans are best served the next day.

This last one may seem a bit odd as a key benefit; but I’m telling you that this makes these baked beans perfect for parties and get-togethers since you don’t have to worry about getting them fully baked before the guests arrive. Just bake them a day or two in advance and simply heat them up before the party. Less stress means more fun.

So now that you know why these beans are best served the next day, you just need to plan accordingly so that you can have amazingly delicious saucy baked beans. On the other hand, if you don’t have a day for them to absorb these delicious juices, you probably should decrease the broth by up to one-half. Then you can serve it as soon as it comes to a respectable temperature.

Ready to dive in? Let’s gather your ingredients and get started.

Ingredients

• 2 cups dry navy* beans

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, any color, chopped
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 4 Tbsp tomato paste 
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce**
• 1 Tbsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp brown mustard
• 2 tsp liquid smoke
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp chili powder
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt (optional)

Instructions

1. Rinse dry beans until the water runs clear.
2. Soak 12 hours or overnight in water.
3. Rinse the soaked beans in water and drain.  There should be about 5 cups of beans.
4. Place the beans in an Instant Pot*** and cover with water (about 5 cups).  
5. Set to high pressure for 10 minutes; allow for natural pressure release (15-20 minutes).
6. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
7. Sauté the onions and bell peppers in a large saucepan on low heat for 5 minutes.
8. Add minced garlic and sauté until onions and peppers are fully cooked.
9. Stir in all of the remaining ingredients and heat through.
10. Remove from heat.
11. When the beans are done, rinse them gently and add them to the sauce.
12. Combine the sauce and the beans and pour into a large casserole dish.
13. Bake for one hour.  It’s done when the sauce is dark and bubbly.
14. Remove from the oven and if serving, allow to cool for at least 30 minutes.
15. If serving the next day (recommended), allow to cool completely and store covered in the refrigerator over night.
16. Reheat in an oven or microwave until heated through.

Notes

These beans are best served the day after they are baked, which makes them a great make-ahead dish since they absorb all of the liquid overnight.

* You can use great northern beans or any other white bean; but navy beans are much smaller and much preferred – they are so good in these baked beans. Here’s a photo of a batch using northern beans, though I’m not sure if you can see the subtle difference.

**Lord Sandy’s Worcestershire sauce is vegetarian and is available at most grocers.

*** You can also cook your beans on the stove until tender, about 45 minutes.

The list of ingredients may seem like a lot. But that just creates more layers of flavor. You can use ½ cup ketchup, ½ cup barbecue sauce, and 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth, if you’d prefer an easy shortcut.