The dried bean shortcuts in last week’s column show their value in a true baked bean recipe. Many modern recipes for “baked” beans, and those sold in a can, boil or steam the beans instead of baking them in an oven. Commercially canned ones have ingredients like “natural smoke flavor” to simulate the oven-roasted taste and modified cornstarch to quickly thicken the sauce. Most brands also have more than a quarter of the recommended daily sodium and sugar intake.
Like all canned beans, it’s so much less work to pop open a can than to soak, cook, sauce and finally bake beans. Brining and seasoning the dried beans gives you a head start. As I explained last week, the beans cook more quickly and come off the stove infused with flavor – ready to eat or easy to sauce and slide into the oven.
You fully control the sauce you put on homemade baked beans. Soy sauce instead of salt gives an umami boost. Maple syrup or organic dark brown sugar instead of granulated sugar adds complexity. Frozen homegrown cherry tomatoes thaw right in the pan and release natural sweetness into the sauce. Vinegar and a few spices round out the flavors; the time in the oven at a low temperature does the rest.
Even vegans can dig into this baked bean recipe, but it welcomes modifications. Vegetarians could sweeten the sauce with honey. Meat lovers could use a pork or beef stock in their seasoned pot beans and add cooked bacon to the sauce. A splash of bourbon provides boozy richness.
You could even start with unseasoned cooked beans and add the missing flavors, like onion and garlic, to the baked bean sauce. Navy beans are the traditional choice for baked beans, but I often mix together cannellini, red kidney and pinto beans or use homegrown heirloom shelling varieties like Turkey Craw.
Vegan Oven-Baked Beans
Serves 8-10
1 pound frozen cherry tomatoes or fresh diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons maple syrup or dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
Pinch of ground cloves
6 cups Brined and Seasoned Pot Beans
In a large saucepan, combine the tomatoes, syrup or sugar, molasses, vinegar and soy sauce. Stir in the paprika, mustard, allspice, mace and cloves. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for about five minutes, until the frozen tomatoes thaw and burst or the fresh ones soften and release their juices. Stir in the beans until evenly coated.
Arrange the beans in a 2-quart baking dish. Cover the dish with an oven-safe lid or aluminum foil.
Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes, uncover and continue baking for another 10 to 30 minutes, until the beans are completely tender and the mixture has thickened. Remove from the oven and adjust the seasonings as needed before serving.
Julie Laing is a Bigfork-based cookbook author and food blogger at TwiceAsTasty.com.