Spicy Bacon Baked Beans are packed full of flavor and heat and they have lots of bacon for plenty of smokiness. They are sure to be a hit at your next picnic or cookout. The heat comes from jalapenos and cayenne pepper. Use fewer jalapenos and less cayenne pepper if you just want a little heat.
Canned beans form the base of these Spicy Bacon Baked Beans. I use Van Camp’s Pork and Beans. Even though these baked beans are made with canned beans, lots of layers of flavor are added and they completely taste like homemade, from scratch beans.
How To Make Spicy Bacon Baked Beans
Start by cooking 8 slices of chopped bacon in a large pan. Set the cooked bacon aside and leave some bacon grease in the pan to cook the onion and jalapenos. Once they are soft, add the other ingredients: ketchup, brown sugar, molasses, chili powder, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and apple cider vinegar.
Adding both brown sugar and molasses gives some sweetness to counteract the spice.
Pour the mixture in a 9×13-inch baking dish and top with the bacon and jalapeno slices. Bake for at least one hour. Longer if you like your beans on the thicker side like I do.
To make this recipe less spicy, cut the cayenne pepper in half and only add one jalapeno.
How To Serve
These Spicy Bacon Baked Beans go great with burgers, hot dogs, and barbecue.
Storage
Leftovers will keep for 4 to 5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator and can be reheated in the microwave.
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon
- 1 medium yellow or sweet onion
- 2-3 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped
- 2 (28-ounce) cans pork and beans
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 jalapeno, sliced
Instructions
1-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
2-Chop bacon into 1-inch pieces and cook in a large nonstick pan until crisp. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and set aside on a paper towel-lined plate.
3-Pour off bacon grease, leaving about 2 tablespoons in the pan. Add onion and jalapeno and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
4-Add remaining ingredients except sliced jalapeno to pan and stir to mix. Note: If pan is not big enough, mix everything in a large bowl.
5-Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish. Sprinkle bacon and jalapeno slices on top.
6-Bake for 60 minutes uncovered. If you like your beans really thick, bake an extra 20 minutes.