These BBQ Baked Beans are quick, easy, and the perfect side dish for any meal! Loaded with crispy bacon, onions, canned baked beans, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, and steak seasoning. The canned bean shortcut is easy and still delicious. Promise!
This is one of our most popular recipes (originally posted February 17, 2015), so I’ve updated them to include a how-to video! Enjoy!
I have an odd obsession with bbq baked beans. Who’s with me? I’ll eat them plain, I’ll eat them with a side of mashed potatoes (maybe that’s a pregnancy thing), I’ll eat them next to chicken sausages, and I LOVE them piled on my cheeseburgers. Just gimme the baked beans, ok?
What I love about this recipe in particular is that it’s super quick and easy thanks to a shortcut, but they’re still LOADED with flavor thanks to bacon and onions cooked in leftover bacon fat.
Spoiler alert here’s my quick and easy bbq baked bean recipe with shortcut . . .
How to make bbq beans from canned beans:
- Cook bacon in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat until crispy.
- Remove bacon from pan and crumble. Set aside.
- Cook onions in the same pan with the leftover bacon fat until tender.
- Place onions into a large bowl with cooked and crumbled bacon, 2 cans of baked beans (this is our genius shortcut), mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, steak seasoning, and salt, to taste.
- Stir, pour into an oven safe dish, and bake!
These bbq baked beans are the best semi-homemade side dish. Whether you’re making them for a summer BBQ or a cozy winter dinner, these beans will not disappoint.
I absolutely love the texture and smokiness from the crispy bacon and the combination of sweet brown sugar and tangy vinegar really takes these to the next level.
Bbq baked beans tips:
- Make sure you cook your bacon until crispy. Emphasis on the word crispy. Crispy bacon > than soggy bacon and the crisp texture is key to this recipe.
- Use Bush’s Original Baked Beans or another can of beans that you really love. Since this is the base of our recipe, make sure you love the flavor!
- Don’t skip the apple cider vinegar. The tang cuts through the sweetness from the brown sugar and richness of the canned beans.
- Use a good steak seasoning. I just used a generic brand, but I made sure I liked the flavor before adding it in!
- Taste before seasoning with salt. Different bacon, canned beans, and steak seasonings might have varying levels of salt. While I needed to add about 1/2 teaspoon, you may need to add more or less depending on the brands you used.
Are bbq baked beans healthy?
While they’re definitely not a health food, they’re not the worst thing in the world for you. I categorize baked beans under my “middle-of-the-road” column. 😉
Now that we’ve got the beans covered . . .
What goes well with bbq baked beans?
- Cheeseburgers! I LOVE making simple cheeseburgers and piling beans right on top.
- Hot dogs, brats, and chicken sausages.
- Grilled potato salad
- Fruit salad
- Broccoli pasta salad
What would YOU serve with baked beans?
Quick, easy, and packed with flavors and textures . . .
. . . what’s not to love about these easy baked beans?
– Jennifer

BBQ Baked Beans
Equipment for this recipe
Ingredients
- 8 oz bacon
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 (16 oz) cans Bush’s original baked beans
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon steak seasoning
- salt to taste if necessary
Recipe Video
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a baking dish (I used a square non stick 8x8) with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Place bacon in a single layer on a cold non-stick pan.
- Turn heat to medium and cook until the bacon is crispy. You don’t want soggy bacon in this recipe.
- Remove the bacon from the pan and dice, but leave the bacon grease in the pan! Set the crumbled bacon aside.
- Cook the diced onions in the leftover bacon grease until tender, about 5-10 minutes.
- Place the cooked onions, crumbled bacon, beans, sugar, mustard, ketchup, vinegar, and steak seasoning into a large bowl.
- Stir, then taste and re-season with salt, if necessary.
- Pour into an oven safe dish and bake uncovered for 30 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
- Take 5 seconds to rate this recipe below. We greatly appreciate it!
Nutrition Information
*Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on products used.
Matea Fort Mill, South Carolina
Jennifer @ Show Me the Yummy