Bourbon Maple Slow Cooker Baked Beans
User Reviews
4.7
Bourbon Maple Slow Cooker Baked Beans
Description
This recipe starts by soaking and partially cooking dry beans until tender but not fully done, ensuring they finish perfectly in the slow cooker. The flavorful sauce includes bourbon, maple syrup, barbecue sauce, brown sugar, ketchup, mustard, molasses, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce or alternatives. Combining these with the beans in a slow cooker allows the flavors to meld over many hours with gentle heat.
The resulting baked beans are tender and infused with a complex blend of sweet, tangy, and smoky tastes. They work well as a comforting side dish for barbecues, cookouts, or casual meals.
Adjusting slow cooker settings can vary cooking time; beans typically need 8 to 12 hours to develop the right texture and sauce consistency. The dish stores well refrigerated up to a week, and while freezing is possible, it hasn't been specifically tested by the recipe author. Care should be taken with ingredient choices for dietary needs, particularly regarding vegan and gluten-free considerations.
Ingredients
- 1 pound great northern beans or navy beans, dry
- 1 cup bourbon
- 1 cup maple syrup
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 cup water
- ketchup heaping 1/4 cup
- ¼ cup mustard I used yellow, if using stoneground or dijon, consider using slightly less
- ¼ cup molasses
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce omit if keeping vegan, or substitute with Bragg’s Liquid Aminos or soy sauce
Instructions
- Rinse and sort dry beans in a colander over the sink.
- Add beans to a large pot and cover with 8 cups water and let soak overnight (about 8 hours). OR to save time….
- …Use the 1 hour rapid soak method. Bring beans and 8 cups water to a boil. Allow beans to boil rapidly for 3 minutes, uncovered. Shut the heat off, cover the pot, and let stand for 1 hour.
- In either the overnight soak method or the 1 hour rapid soak method, drain soaking water and rinse beans well under running water in a colander over the sink.
- Return beans to pot, cover with 6 cups water, and allow to simmer on low heat for about 45 minutes, or until quite tender; cooked about 80% of the way. They’ll be transferred to a slow cooker where they’ll cook for 12+ hours so you don’t want them or need them to be totally done, but they shouldn’t be overly hard either (taste a few beans, you’ll know when you bite into them)
- While beans are simmering, combine all remaining ingredients in the slow cooker, and whisk to combine until smooth.
- After beans are done simmering, drain them, add them to the slow cooker, and stir.
- Cover and cook on low heat for about 12 hours (start checking at about 8 hours), or until beans are tender, the sauce has thickened and reduced dramatically, the flavor is concentrated and robust, and the smell in your house is intoxicating. If after 12 hours your sauce is still liquidy or on the soupy side, remove the lid, increase the heat to the highest setting, and cook uncovered until thickened to desired level (this took 4 hours for me; 12 hours covered on low and 4 hours uncovered on high, for 16 hours total). *
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Slow-cooker temperatures vary; you can cook on medium for 10-12 hours or high for 8-10 hours until beans are tender and sauce thickens.
- Refrigerate airtight leftovers for up to one week; flavors improve after a couple of days.
- The beans may be frozen for up to six months, but freezing is not tested in this recipe.
- Check ingredient labels to ensure they suit dietary needs if keeping vegan or gluten-free, such as substituting Worcestershire sauce.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 8Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 522 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Serving | 1 | |
| Calories | 522kcal | 26% |
| Carbohydrates | 103g | 34% |
| Protein | 13g | 26% |
| Fat | 8g | 12% |
| Saturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 6g | 35% |
| Sodium | 579mg | 24% |
| Fiber | 12g | 48% |
| Sugar | 62g | 124% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.7
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