Homemade Molasses Baked Beans

Homemade molasses baked beans are a year-round family favourite! Soak dried beans in the morning, boil in the evening, and bake with pantry staples overnight.

This post was first published on October 4, 2017, and was last updated August 5, 2020.

Molasses baked beans are seriously one of my family’s FAVOURITE recipes. They are equally amazing in the winter with homemade cheese tea biscuits, or in the summer alongside grilled ribs and corn.

I like to soak my dried beans in the morning and give them a quick boil in the evening. I then mix them with basic pantry staples and slow-bake them in a cast iron Dutch oven overnight. You don’t have to bake the beans overnight, however, I love the scent wafting through the house while we sleep! Make molasses baked beans on whatever schedule works for you.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Step-By-Step Instructions
• Notes & Tips
• Substitutions
• Recipe

Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top of the post, or scroll to the bottom of the post, to see the full recipe card with ingredient measurements and instructions.

Ingredients

• dried navy beans
• water
• baking soda
• ketchup
• molasses
• apple cider vinegar
• brown sugar
• ground dry mustard
• ground black or white pepper
• onion
• bacon

Step-By-Step Instructions

For best results, use a cast-iron Dutch oven with at least 4-quart (4-litre) capacity. The pot pictured in the instructions is a 4-quart vintage Nacco enamelware cast-iron pot made in Denmark.

Place the dried navy beans in the Dutch oven you will cook them in and cover them with cold water. Leave them to soak for 8 hours.

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After soaking the beans will have swollen in size.

Drain and rinse the beans with cool water. Place the drained beans back in the pot and cover them with fresh cold water.

Bring the beans to a boil on the stovetop over medium-high heat. This will take about 10 to 15 minutes. As the beans heat a layer of foam will develop on top. This is totally fine and normal.

Add the baking soda to the boiling beans. Be prepared because the soda can foam up and over the edges of the pot very quickly! Blow gently on the foam, or lift the pot up and away from the heat to help it settle down.

Reduce the heat to medium-low, place the lid on the pot, and continue to simmer the beans until they are tender, about 30 minutes. Be sure to keep the lid on as you will be using the cooked bean water later in the recipe and don’t want it all to evaporate.

Preheat the oven to 250ºF (120ºC). 

Place a colander over a large bowl or other vessel (I use a large glass measuring cup) to catch the cooked bean liquid. Once the beans have drained you should be left with about 3-1/2 cups (875 ml) of reserved liquid. If you have less than that, simply top the bean liquid with water to reach that amount. Set the liquid aside.

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At this point, I like to give my Dutch oven a quick wash to remove any foam residue from the pot.

Add the ketchup, molasses, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, dry mustard, and ground pepper to the clean pot.

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Stir everything together until smooth.

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Add the bacon and onion to the pot and stir to combine.

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Pour the reserved bean liquid into the pot and give it a good stir. Add the cooked drained beans and mix until well combined.

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Place the lid on the pot, and bake the beans in the oven for 8 hours.

After baking, remove the beans from the oven. Your molasses baked beans may look dry on top when you take off the lid, but trust me they are not dry! Give the beans a good stir to loosen then serve hot or cold, as a meal, or as a side.

Notes & Tips

The main reason to add baking soda to beans while they boil is to help them soften faster during the cooking process (I’ve also read baking soda will help reduce flatulence after eating, so that’s a good reason too).

I use raw bacon and raw onion and mix them straight into the pot of beans with the other ingredients. You could lightly cook the bacon and onion together beforehand if you want, however, it’s not necessary.

If your beans are watery when you take them out of the oven after baking don’t fret! They will thicken as they cool. If for some reason your beans don’t thicken, preheat the oven to 250ºF (120ºC), place the pot back in the oven uncovered, and bake for 1 hour.

To store, scoop cooled beans into plastic or glass container with lids and keep in the fridge for up to one week.

Molasses baked beans freeze exceptionally well! Once cool, store them in airtight containers with tight fitting lids. They will keep in the freezer for up to three months.

To reheat frozen beans, thaw molasses baked beans in the fridge for 24 hours, or on the counter for a few hours, then heat gently in a pot or in the microwave.

To Serve Baked Beans With Molasses

• Have molasses baked beans as a side for breakfast with your eggs.
• Serve them alongside almost any meat. They’re particularly good with burgers, pork ribs, hot dogs, pulled pork, ham, or grilled chicken. 
• Dollop them on a plate alongside potato salad and cornbread for a super summery meal.
• Eat them as a meal with a side green salad.
• And of course, living in Nova Scotia, I would be remiss to not mention fishcakes! Molasses baked beans and fish cakes were practically made for one another.

Substitutions

I made this exact recipe with yellow eye beans for years, which are great, however, these days I use dried white navy beans. Navy beans have a creamier texture after baking which I prefer.

Regular smoked, or double-smoked bacon, is my go-to for molasses baked beans, however, salt pork is also a good substitute. If using salt pork, consider adding a teaspoon or two of liquid smoke before baking for smoky flavour.

I tried making this molasses baked beans recipe in my slow cooker once, and they were ok, however, they turned out to be quite watery. I had to slow cook them a few hours longer than the oven-baked version.

Make this recipe plant-based! Just substitute 1 to 2 teaspoons of liquid smoke for the bacon and continue to follow the recipe and cooking times as written.

I haven’t tried it myself, however, I think maple syrup could be a safe bet to swap for molasses at a 1:1 ratio. Because maple syrup is less thick than molasses, you may need to bake your beans a bit longer. Other sweetener options if you don’t have molasses or maple syrup could be to double the brown sugar, or try a mix of brown sugar and applesauce. Again, I haven’t tried these options but I think they could work.

Serve These Recipes On The Side Of Molasses Baked Beans

Whole Wheat Cheese Biscuits Best served fresh out of the oven and slathered with butter.

Nova Scotia Oatmeal Molasses Bread A rich delicious loaf that’s very easy to make!

Brown Butter Sourdough Cornbread Take a few extra minutes to brown the butter for this aromatic sweet bread.