Vegetarian Baked Beans

Love the taste and flavor of baked beans but don't eat meat (or maybe just doing a meatless Monday?) Try this savory and sweet baked bean recipe-- can also be made in a slow cooker.

 3/4 or 1 full cup dried pinto or cannellini beans (or 2.5 - 3 cups mostly cooked)
 Butter or oil
 1/2 white or sweet onion, diced
 1 carrot, diced
 2 cloves garlic, minced
 2 tbsp sorghum syrup (or molasses)
 2 tbsp BBQ sauce or Adobo sauce from canned chipotle peppers
 1/2 tsp onion powder
 1/2 tsp garlic powder
 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
 1 bay leaf

1

Prepare your beans following our Guide to Cooking Dried Beans. When the beans are almost cooked (soak overnight, 1st boil, and about halfway through a second boil so not soft yet), turn off heat and drain and discard liquid.

2

Turn your oven to 325. In wide, deep skillet with a lid, melt your butter or oil and then start to cook the onion. Before it browns, but after it softens a bit, add in the carrot and the garlic. Keep the heat over medium, medium-low so as not to burn the veggies. Add in the sorghum, the vinegar, the adobo or BBQ sauce, and the spices (except the bay leaf) and allow to cook down to thicken.

3

Add in the beans, and cover with water by a quarter inch, add the bay leaf and then cover. After about 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue to cook in your oven till the liquid has been absorbed and the beans are soft, about 45 min longer. Finish on the stove top if you need to hustle it up*.

4

A great pairing is to serve alongside Baked Creamed Cabbage.

*You can speed this whole process up by mostly cooking the beans in the first place (or defrosting already cooked beans) and doing it all on the stovetop, cooking the beans in the sauce and stirring occasionally for about 30-40 minutes until the desired bean texture is achieved, but baking the sauce into the beans results in a creamy, softer texture and reduces the likelihood of splitting the beans.

Ingredients

 3/4 or 1 full cup dried pinto or cannellini beans (or 2.5 - 3 cups mostly cooked)
 Butter or oil
 1/2 white or sweet onion, diced
 1 carrot, diced
 2 cloves garlic, minced
 2 tbsp sorghum syrup (or molasses)
 2 tbsp BBQ sauce or Adobo sauce from canned chipotle peppers
 1/2 tsp onion powder
 1/2 tsp garlic powder
 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
 1 bay leaf

Directions

1

Prepare your beans following our Guide to Cooking Dried Beans. When the beans are almost cooked (soak overnight, 1st boil, and about halfway through a second boil so not soft yet), turn off heat and drain and discard liquid.

2

Turn your oven to 325. In wide, deep skillet with a lid, melt your butter or oil and then start to cook the onion. Before it browns, but after it softens a bit, add in the carrot and the garlic. Keep the heat over medium, medium-low so as not to burn the veggies. Add in the sorghum, the vinegar, the adobo or BBQ sauce, and the spices (except the bay leaf) and allow to cook down to thicken.

3

Add in the beans, and cover with water by a quarter inch, add the bay leaf and then cover. After about 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue to cook in your oven till the liquid has been absorbed and the beans are soft, about 45 min longer. Finish on the stove top if you need to hustle it up*.

4

A great pairing is to serve alongside Baked Creamed Cabbage.

Vegetarian Baked Beans

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