Mixed Baked Beans

Many baked beans recipes call for only one kind of bean. This recipe, however, uses more than one kind — as well as pre-made pork and beans has a primer. Throw in some hot dogs and serve with a salad and you’ve got a meal. Or you can use it as a side to a summer BBQ meat dish. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Ingredients for Mixed Baked Beans:

1 tablespoon olive oil
 1 medium onion, finely chopped 
1 pound center-cut thick bacon, cut into 1″ pieces 
1/2 cup ketchup 
1/2 cup sugar 
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed 
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
 1 teaspoon brown mustard 
15 oz can dark kidney beans, drained 
15 oz can butter beans, drained
 30 oz can pork and beans, undrained

Ingredient Substitutions:

To lower the sugar content, use tomato paste instead of ketchup and reduce the sugar and brown sugar to either 1/3 cup or 1/4 cup each.
Don’t have white vinegar? Apple cider or red-wine vinegar will work!
Don’t have brown mustard? Try regular or dijon.
Play around with different kinds of beans. Substitute light kidney beans for dark. Use pinto beans for butter beans. Get creative!

Directions for Mixed Baked Beans:

Preheat oven to 350° F.
Sauté onion in olive oil over medium-high heat until it starts to soften. Add bacon and cook until crispy.
With a vented spoon, remove bacon and onions from pan and place on folded paper towels. Blot with extra paper towels to remove as excess fat.
In a large, oven-proof dish, combine ketchup, sugar, brown sugar, vinegar, and mustard. Add all three beans. Stir together.
Add bacon and onions to bean mixture. Stir well to combine.
Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.

I’ve already suggested some ways to make this recipe your own in the suggested ingredient substitutions above. However, you can do even more. Here is some inspiration.