Shortcut Baked Beans Recipe

Quick, flavorful side dish recipes are essential for any cook's repertoire. When you want all the flavor of baked beans that have simmered for hours but need them in about 30 minutes, this recipe is for you. Recipe developer and health coach, Miriam Hahn, brings us an excellent recipe for shortcut baked beans, utilizing canned beans that have been drained and rinsed for the ultimate time-saver.

Hahn likes to use this recipe for large gatherings. She notes, "This is a great side dish to serve at a barbecue. It also works well for any type of meal where you want a hearty side dish. [The baked beans go] great with burgers, veggie burgers, chicken, tofu, wraps, or sandwiches. Also makes a delicious meal [when] stuffed in a baked potato." Hahn serves these beans with weeknight dinners as well, adding, "Since the ingredients are usually a pantry staple, it is easy to whip up if you need to bulk up dinner!"

To make these shortcut baked beans, start by gathering your ingredients. For this recipe, you will need canned cannellini beans, barbecue sauce, ketchup, maple syrup, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, Sriracha sauce, ground cumin, dry mustard, salt, smoked paprika, onion granules, and black pepper. For a nice finishing touch, add chopped chives as a garnish.

Hahn loves to add Sriracha to the baked beans, noting, "it adds a little kick to balance out some of the sweet flavors and is such a nice complement!" Also, using canned beans helps cut down the cooking time tremendously. Hahn suggests that you could another variety of white beans, including white northern or navy beans, if needed.

Add the barbecue sauce, ketchup, maple syrup, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and Sriracha to a small bowl. Then, add the cumin, dry mustard, salt, smoked paprika, onion granules, and black pepper. Give this mixture a stir and set the sauce aside for the moment.

Rinse the canned cannellini beans very well in a colander under cold water and let them drain before adding them to a medium pot. Then, add the sauce you just made, and stir it into the beans until fully incorporated.

Bring the beans to a boil on the stovetop, then lower the heat to a simmer. Continue to simmer the beans in the sauce for 20 minutes before serving with the optional chopped chives garnish. 

Hahn says that when making these beans in advance for a crowd, "You can actually transfer it to a slow cooker to keep it warm for serving." If you have any leftovers, she says, "This stores great for up to a week. I like to store it in a glass container that has an airtight lid. It actually gets better the next few days as the flavors meld."