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Homemade Baked Beans With Molasses

ByKelly Neil
11 Comments
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Homemade baked beans is a family favorite, year-round comfort food recipe! Soak beans in the morning, boil in the evening, and bake overnight.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours 30 minutes
Soaking Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 17 hours
Bowls of homemade molasses baked beans and plates of cheese tea biscuits on the side.

Homemade baked beans are seriously one of my family’s FAVORITE recipes. They are equally amazing in the winter with whole wheat cheese 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. I love the scent wafting through the house while we sleep! You can make homemade baked beans on whatever schedule works for you.

Jump to:
Dry white beans.

Ingredients

To Cook The Dried Beans

  • Dried navy beans
  • Water
  • Baking soda

For The Molasses Sauce

  • Ketchup
  • Molasses
  • Apple cider vinegar
  • Brown sugar
  • Ground dry mustard
  • Ground black pepper
  • Onion
  • Bacon
Bowls of ketchup, molasses, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, chopped onion and bacon, ground mustard, and ground pepper on a stone surface.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Soak & Cook The Dried Beans

For best results, use a cast-iron Dutch oven with at least 4-quart (4-litre) capacity.

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

Dried navy beans in a cast iron pot.
Dried navy beans covered with water and soaking in a pot.

After soaking the beans will have swollen in size.

Navy beans after soaking in water overnight in a pot.

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.

A pot of undrained cooked navy beans.

Make The Molasses Sauce And Bake The Beans

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 3-½ 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.

Hands pouring cooked beans from an orange pot into a metal colander.
A hand removing a colander of drained cooked beans from the top of a glass vessel.

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.

A hand scraping molasses from a small bowl into a pot.
A hand tipping a small bowl of ground pepepr into a pot.

Stir everything together until smooth.

Hands mixing baked bean ingredients together.
Molasses mixture stirred together in a pot.

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

Hands scraping chopped bacon from a bowl into a pot of onion and molasses mixture.
Ingredients to make baked beans mixed together in a pot.

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

Bean water being poured into an orange pot.
A wooden spatula being used to scrape cooked beans into a pot.
Hands stirring a pot of beans, ketchup, molasses, bacon, and onion with a wooden handled rubber spatula.

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.

Hands stirring a pot of beans.

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.

Storage

  • To Store—scoop cooled beans into plastic or glass container with lids and keep in the fridge for up to one week.
  • To Freeze—homemade 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—thaw baked beans in the fridge overnight, or on the counter for a few hours, then reheat them gently in a pot or in the microwave.
A bowl of beans with a spoon on a stone surface.

Substitutions

  • I originally used yellow-eyed beans for this recipe, however, navy beans have a creamier texture which I prefer.
  • Regular smoked, or double-smoked bacon, however, salt pork is also a good substitute. Salt pork won’t have smoky flavor so keep this in mind.
  • I don’t recommend making this recipe in the slow cooker. The beans I’ve made this way have turned out a bit watery.
  • Make this recipe plant-based! Just substitute 1 to 2 teaspoons of liquid smoke for the bacon.
A bowl of beans with half of a tea biscuit inside the bowl.

More Family Meal Ideas

Did you make these homemade baked beans, or any other recipe on my site? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you made out in the comments below. You can also stay in touch with me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest to see more delicious food and recipes!

🖨 Recipe

Bowls of homemade molasses baked beans and plates of cheese tea biscuits on the side.

Homemade Baked Beans With Molasses

Author: Kelly Neil
Homemade baked beans is a family favorite, year-round comfort food recipe! Soak beans in the morning, boil in the evening, and bake overnight.
4.89 from 9 votes
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours 30 minutes
Soaking Time: 8 hours
Total Time 17 hours
Course Family Meal Ideas
Cuisine American / Canadian
Servings 12 servings
Calories 259 kcal

Equipment

  • 4 to 6 quart (litre) cast iron Dutch oven with lid
  • Colander
  • Measuring cups and spoons or digital kitchen scale
  • Large bowl or large liquid measuring cup at least 8 cup capacity
  • Rubber spatula or wooden spoon
  • Sharp kitchen shears for cutting bacon

Ingredients
 

  • 2 cups dried white navy beans
  • 6 cups cold water
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • ½ cup molasses
  • 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ cup brown sugar, tightly packed
  • 1 teaspoon ground mustard
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper, ground
  • 1 medium onion, ends trimmed, peeled, chopped
  • 6 to 8 strips bacon, cut into ½ inch (1 ¼ cm) pieces

Instructions
 

  • Place the dried navy beans in a 4-quart (4 L) Dutch oven. Cover the beans with cold water and let them soak for eight hours or overnight.
  • Drain and rinse the beans with cool water. Place the drained beans back in the pot and cover them with 6 cups (1 ½ L) of fresh cold water. Bring the beans to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling add the baking soda. Reduce the heat, place the lid on the pot, and simmer the beans for 30 minutes or until tender.
  • Preheat the oven to 250ºF (120ºC).
  • Drain the cooked beans into a colander fitted over a large bowl or other vessel to catch the liquid. Once drained you should have about 3 ½ cups (875 ml) of cooking liquid (if you don't have 3 ½ cups, top it up with water until you do). Rinse the cooked beans with cool water and drain. Set the cooking liquid and the drained beans aside.
  • Give the Dutch oven a quick wash to remove any cooked bean scum. Add the ketchup, molasses, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, ground dry mustard, and pepper to the pot. Stir together until smooth.
  • Add the chopped onion and bacon to the pot. Stir to mix. Add the 3 ½ cups of reserved bean liquid and the beans to the pot. Stir well to combine.
  • Place the lid on the Dutch oven and place the beans in the preheated oven. Bake the beans for 8 hours (I usually bake mine overnight). Remove the baked beans from the oven, remove the lid, stir, and serve.

Notes

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.
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).
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.

Substitutions

I made this recipe with yellow eye beans for years, and they’re great, however, I now 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 to get more of a smoky flavour.
I tried making molasses baked beans in my slow cooker once, and they were ok, however, my slow-cooker beans turned out quite watery. I had to cook them a few hours longer than this 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 exactly 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.

Nutrition

Serving: 113gCalories: 259kcalCarbohydrates: 45gProtein: 10gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 325mgPotassium: 762mgFiber: 9gSugar: 22gVitamin A: 113IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 99mgIron: 3mg
Did you make this recipe?Let me know on Instagram @kellyneildotcom or tag #kellyneil!

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11 Comments

    1. Oh good, I’m so glad Elaine! They are one of our winter time favourites for sure! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂

      Reply

  2. Hi Kelly, Today I am making your baked beans recipe in my kitchen in Belgrade Serbia! I just scored a jar of molasses from a fellow Canadian friend (a pantry item that you will not find here). Stay tuned! I’ll send you a photo later 🙂
    Keely

    Reply

  3. Hi there!
    I wanted to drop a line to you to say thank you for this old fashioned baked bean recipe! I’ve been looking for a good one for quite awhile. This fits the bill. I grew up in Alberta, far away from your Nova Scotia, but these are like the beans i remember.
    These days i cook recipes from all over the world, but i’m looking forward to making another batch of these and introducing my kids to weenies and beanies! Thanks again.

    Reply

  4. 5 stars
    This is the first time I have ever made molasses beans and I used this recipe which is almost the same as my Mom’s. I took them out of the oven a couple of hours ago and they were a tad dry in my opinion but the overall taste was spot on. I added a cup of cold water to them to make them a bit more saucier which seemed to help. Just had one question for you before I make the recipe again — what type of molasses is the best one to use? There were at least three different kinds on the store shelf and I honestly had no idea on which one to select. I bought Crosby’s Cooking Molasses and that is what I used. I saw in a different recipe that the type of molasses to use is important. The best type for baked beans is apparently Crosby Fancy Molasses (not the cooking kind that I bought). Can you comment on that so I will be wiser next time. Many thanks again Kelly for your excellent recipes. You have excellent tastes and share good recipes that we love!

    Reply

    1. Oh yay, that’s so great, thank you so much for letting me know! You’re right, the beans do thicken after cooking, which I like, but I will make a note to add a bit of water or more bean water for people who may like them a bit looser. Also, I always buy Crosby’s Fancy Molasses because that’s what I grew up with here on the East Coast—I honestly haven’t tried any other brands!😅 Thank you again so much for trying the recipe and for your kind words!🥰

      Reply

  5. 5 stars
    Hi! Love these. Made this recipe for Thanksgiving I sauteed the onion in butter and baked the bacon then crumbled it and then I added cooked 80/20 ground chuck and added more seasonings to taste because the ground chuck needs more it soaks it up so to speak. I had lost my good recipe for baked beans and this is perfect! BTW when I click on the appetizers it doesn’t take me to recipes like the other links am I missing something? Love your blog.

    Reply

  6. We were just talking about how nice a pot of beans would be after the cold snap on the weekend. Looking forward to these very much!

    Reply

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