Spare Spoons Kitchen
Aunt Betty’s Comfort Kitchen · Nutritious and Economical

Mr. Sweet's Baked Northerns

From-scratch baked beans — Great Northerns soaked and simmered tender, then baked low in a sweet-tangy tomato sauce with bacon and brown sugar on top. Worth the wait.

~3 hr total 1 hr bake
Effort ●●○○ Time ●●●○ Some Doing
Servingsamounts scale to match
10
Units

Ingredients

Soak and simmer the beans first, then bake low with the bacon on top. The quick-soak (boil 2 minutes, stand 1 hour) softens the beans before they bake into the sauce — and save a cup of the cooking liquid, because it's what builds the sauce. Bacon and brown sugar on top caramelize as it bakes.

Easier, if you like

  • Canned beans: use 3 cans of Great Northern beans (drained) and skip the soak — go straight to the sauce (use water or broth for the liquid) and bake.
  • Slow cooker: after soaking, build the sauce and cook on low 4–5 hours instead of baking.

Method

    Cook's notes

    Reserve the bean cooking liquid — a cup of it is the base of the sauce, and it carries far more flavor than plain water.

    Makes about ten ½-cup servings — a proper cookout-sized pot.

    The bacon and brown sugar form a sweet, slightly crisp top as it bakes.

    Cooked-from-dry beans hold their shape better than canned here, but canned work in a hurry (see below).

    Gluten-free with one check; meatless option

    Gluten-free: use a gluten-free Worcestershire sauce (some contain malt).

    Meatless: skip the bacon and add ½ tsp smoked paprika and a tablespoon of oil for the smoky note.