It's Stampede time again and baked beans are a staple around Cowtown during Stampede. And this Slow Cooker New England Baked Beans recipe is the perfect summer side dish because it's so easy! You dump everything into a crockpot and go. It uses canned beans so you don't have to worry about fussing with boiling or soaking dried beans. You can make it in advance, and because it's made in the crockpot, you don't have to heat up your house either!
Baked beans are also great for bringing along to a potluck, BBQ, family gathering or feeding a crowd. This recipe pairs perfectly with my Slow Cooker Beef on a Bun, Sparkling Strawberry Punch (non alcoholic) with carnival style mini donuts for dessert!
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🥘Ingredients
You'll need the following ingredients for this New England baked beans with navy beans recipe:
- Navy beans (canned)
- bacon *I use pre-cooked
- canned diced tomatoes
- onion
- water
- brown sugar
- molasses
- maple syrup*I use low sugar
- garlic
- salt
- dry mustard
- bay leaf
- maple extract (optional)
*See recipe card for quantities.
🔪Instructions
These slow cooker baked beans are so easy to make - just put everything in the slow cooker and walk away for 5+ hours!
Add all ingredients in slow cooker.
Mix until combined.
Cover and cook on low for on 5.5 hours or until mixture is thickened. Remove bay leaf and add maple extract (optional) before serving.
📖Variations & Substitutions
- Beans - you could use Great Northern beans or use dried beans. You will just need to soak and boil the dried beans
- Bacon - I use bacon instead of salt pork, which many recipes call for. And I use pre-cooked bacon because it's faster. However, you could use regular bacon or lighten it up with turkey bacon
- Vegetarian - leave out the bacon, but add a little seasoning salt (½ tsp) and skip the regular salt
- Spicy - add chili pepper flakes or chili powder while cooking to imbue heat into the dish
- Syrup - if you don't have maple syrup, use regular syrup and add more (½ tsp) maple extract at the end of the cooking process
- WW friendlier - lighten it up using a turkey bacon, a sugar substitute and sugar-free maple syrup
Although this recipe was adapted from a slow cooker cookbook and called New England Baked Beans, it's really more of a combination of Boston Baked Beans and traditional New England (specifically Vermont) baked beans. Traditionally Boston Baked Beans have salt pork and molasses, but no maple syrup, where as Vermonters have their own version of Baked Beans with bacon instead of salt pork and maple syrup instead of molasses. This recipe uses both maple syrup and molasses, for a sweet flavor, with bacon. You can read more about the history of baked beans HERE.
🥗 Main Dishes
What goes well with baked beans?
These beans are great for bringing along to a summer cookouts or potluck and go great with sandwiches and grilled meats such as:
- Slow Cooker Pulled Pork on a Bun
- Maple Cider Grilled Chicken Kabobs
- Monterey Chicken - Bonanza Copycat
- Marinated Grilled Maple Lemon Pork
- Slow Cooker Beef on a Bun (shown below)
- hot dogs
💭Top Tip
What to do with leftover baked beans?
- Beans on toast with eggs- makes a great breakfast! (shown below)
- Baked bean aioli
- Spicy bean dip
- Add to baked potatoes (and top with bacon and cheese)
- Use in breakfast burritos instead of refried beans
🍽Equipment
You'll need a slow cooker (affiliate link) and a knife and cutting board, for this slow cooker baked beans recipe.
🌡️Storage
Store these baked beans in an airtight container for up to 4 days. You can freeze these slow cooker baked beans for up to 3 months in a sealed container.
👪 Serving Size
This recipe makes 6 servings so a serving is ⅙ of the recipe. However, you can half, double or triple the recipe by clicking on the blue serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust. A 6 quart crock pot will hold 3x the recipe!
🦺Food safety
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov
My Amazon Recommendations (affiliate links)
Slow cooking gives this delicious baked beans recipe a depth of flavor like no other. So if you are looking for an easy baked beans recipe, you'll love this traditional side dish!
⭐ Reviews
Did you make this recipe? Please RATE THE RECIPE below
📋Slow Cooker New England Baked Beans Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 15 ounce -cans navy beans rinsed
- 4 slices pre cooked bacon * use chopped
- ⅔ cup diced tomato drained
- 1 medium onion chopped
- ¾ cup water
- 4 tablespoon brown sugar
- 3 tablespoon molasses
- 4 tablespoon maple syrup * I use low sugar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ teaspoon maple extract (optional)
Instructions
- Place beans in slow cooker, then add all other ingredients.
- Mix together.
- Cover and cook on low for on 5.5 hours or until mixture is thickened (like a very thick stew). Remove bay leaf and add maple extract (optional) before serving.
Bernice
You just reminded me that I haven't had baked beans yet this stampede. I haven't even been to the grounds!
I had no idea there were different styles of baked beans...to me these are usual recipe (except for the tomatoes).
Asha
Such a flavourful baked beans recipe! Making it in the slow cooker was so easy. Made an excellent side dish.
Cindy Mom the Lunch Lady
I grew up with my Mom making baked beans and fresh bread for dinner. It was one of my favourite nights for dinner. Her recipe is very simple, minus the garlic, since my Dad isn't a big fan. Thank you for reminding me that I should make these very soon!