SLOW COOKER BAKED BEANS

5 from 1 vote

These homemade slow cooker baked beans are super easy to make and packed with flavor! They’re sweet, savory, and satisfying, made lighter with turkey bacon.

Prep Time15

Cook Time6

Total Time6 15

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: homemade slow cooker baked beans, slow cooker baked beans, slow cooker baked beans recipe

Servings: servings

Equipment

slow cooker

Ingredients

For The Beans:

8 slices turkey bacon chopped
1 small white or sweet onion finely diced
3, 15-ounce cans of pinto beans rinsed and drained

For The BBQ Sauce:

15 ounce can of tomato sauce
2 tablespoons maple syrup or sugar-free maple syrup
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon minced garlic (or 1 garlic clove or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke optional
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon brown sugar or brown sugar substitute optional for more sweetness

Instructions

Cook the turkey bacon using your preferred method. We like to bake ours in the oven. Simply place the turkey bacon slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake them at 400°F for 15-20 minutes. Once cooked, let the turkey bacon cool slightly, then chop it into small pieces.
Add the chopped turkey bacon, diced onion, and rinsed and drained canned pinto beans to the slow cooker.
To make the homemade BBQ sauce, add the tomato sauce, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, mustard, smoked paprika, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, salt, pepper, and optional brown sugar to a large bowl. Then, mix until smooth and combined.
Pour the BBQ sauce into the slow cooker. Stir gently to combine the ingredients.
Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours, until the beans are tender and the sauce has thickened slightly.
Once done, give the beans a final stir and serve them warm.

Video

Notes

How to Cook Bacon: See our post on how to cook bacon in the oven.
Bacon Options: For a richer and smokier taste, try smoked applewood bacon instead of turkey bacon. You can also use traditional pork bacon.
Bean Mix: Feel free to swap out the pinto beans for navy beans, great northern beans, or use a combination of your favorites. Mixing different beans adds interesting textures and flavors to your baked beans.
BBQ Sauce To Use: You can substitute the homemade BBQ sauce in this recipe with 2 cups of your favorite BBQ sauce for an easy and quick option.
Vinegar Substitutions: You can substitute the apple cider vinegar for red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar.
Sweetener Options: If you don’t have maple syrup, brown sugar or honey make great substitutes. For a sugar-free option, try sugar-free maple syrup or a sugar-free brown sugar sweetener.
Vegetarian & Vegan Option: Simply omit the bacon from this recipe and use a vegan Worcestershire sauce when making the homemade barbecue sauce.

WW Points: 1 point per serving; each serving is about 1 cup of baked beans

To see your WW Points in the WW app for this recipe click here! Or, please manually add the ingredients to the recipe builder.

Nutrition