Slow Cooker Honey Baked Beans {and Maple Variation}

I love  making slow cooker baked beans! It’s an easy way to have flavorful beans ready for any party, BBQ, or even a simple family meal. And of course this recipe calls for homemade honey-sweetened ketchup and just a bit more honey (or maple syrup, for the Maple Baked Beans variation), so you know it’s going to be better than any canned stuff.

We like our beans a little dryer (I just don’t like a ton of bean juice oozing over the whole plate!), but if you’d like yours juicier, it’s simple to add a bit more liquid in the form of water or broth.

I hope you make these to enjoy at your next get-together – I think you’ll love them, and how easy they are – just load all the ingredients in the pot, stir, and turn the cooker on. Using a slow cooker means no hot ovens or worrying about enough space on the stove, plus I find they’re easier to transport, too!

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Slow Cooker Honey Baked Beans {with a Maple Variation}

• 7-8 c. cooked beans (from the freezer or about 5 cans, drained)
• 1 c. easy homemade honey-sweetened ketchup
• 1 sm. onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 slices bacon, chopped
• 1/4 c. chicken broth or water (increase to 1/2 c. -or more- for juicier beans)
• 3 Tb. honey (or maple syrup for ‘Maple Baked Beans’)
• 1-2 Tb. Dijon mustard, as desired
• 1 tsp. salt, or to taste
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper, or to taste
• Dash of Worcestershire sauce

1. Mix all ingredients in the bowl of a slow cooker (alternately, you can cook the bacon first and saute the onions and garlic in the bacon fat if you think it will impact the flavor a lot – I usually don’t bother).
2. Cook on low 4-6 hours or on high for 3 hours.

Serves 10-12 as a side dish

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