Rich and hearty Boston Baked Beans cook low and slow in the oven with bacon, molasses, brown sugar, and white beans. Make these baked beans for your next potluck or BBQ, they are the reliable all-season comfort food.

A white dutch oven with Boston baked beans and a wooden spoon to the left.

When it comes to summer picnics, we look forward to a handful of things: blackened hot dogs on the grill, sweet corn on the cob, watermelon, and baked beans. Beans sometimes get a bad rap, but we've always been a fan. From refried beans or black beans in a Mexican dish, kidney beans in chili, cannelini beans in minestrone, garbanzo beans ground into hummus or baked beans during the summer, we loved them all.

Our mom has a barbecued beans dish that she’s famous for – it involves ground beef, bacon, some canned beans, and a from-scratch barbecue sauce. We can’t ever get enough of it when she makes it, but after getting our feet wet soaking and cooking beans from scratch, we wanted to nail down a great baked beans recipe. We're thrilled to have finally done so, and what a keeper this recipe is!

What Are Boston Baked Beans?

Boston Baked Beans are a variety of baked beans typically sweetened with maple syrup or molasses and flavored with salt pork or bacon. This Native American recipe quickly became adopted by the early settlers because many of the ingredients were native to the area.

Their popularity also grew due to the rum production in the area. Boston had a large surplus of molasses (used in making rum) which made sweetening these beans convenient and cheap. Sweet baked beans were often made Saturday nights and left in the brick oven overnight to keep warm. This made a warm meal that didn’t break the sabbath on Sundays.

A white bowl with baked beans and a spoon on a grey counter with beans in another white bowl to the top left and top right.

How to Make Boston Baked Beans

These beans have a wonderfully deep, yet mild, flavor and are tender without being mushy. They’re bean nirvana. Baked in the oven at a low temperature, making these takes a little bit of forethought.

Oven Baked Directions

Prepare for baking: Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position. Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Cook the pork and bacon (#1-#2): Add salt pork and bacon to a large Dutch oven (at least 7 quarts). Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and most fat is rendered, about 7 minutes.

Add onion (#3) and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until onion softens, about 8 minutes.
Bring baked beans to a boil (#4): Add 1/2 cup molasses, brown sugar, mustard, beans, salt, and water to the Dutch oven. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.

Cover and bake: Cover pot and set in oven. Bake until beans are tender, about 4 hours, stirring once after 2 hours.
Remove lid and continue to bake until liquid thickens to syrup consistency, 1 to 1 1/2 hours longer.
Add remaining ingredients: Remove beans from the oven, stir in remaining tablespoon of molasses, vinegar, and additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Slow Cooker Directions

If you will be away during the day, can’t have the oven occupied for that long, or want to let them cook overnight, you could just as easily pop this into a slow cooker. To adapt this recipe for your slow cooker:

Prepare your slow cooker: Line your slow cooker with a slow cooker liner (it makes clean up a breeze) or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Cook pork and bacon: Add salt pork and bacon to a large Dutch oven (at least 7 quarts). Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and most fat is rendered, about 7 minutes.
Add onion and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until onion softens, about 8 minutes.
Transfer to slow cooker: Transfer the salt pork, bacon, and onion to the slow cooker.
Stir in sweeteners, water, and beans: Add 1/2 cup molasses, brown sugar, mustard, beans, salt, and water to the slow cooker.
Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
Add remaining ingredients: After cooking, stir in remaining tablespoon of molasses, vinegar, and additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Note– Don’t be tempted to crank it up to high or rush the cooking process… the beans definitely benefit from the “low and slow” cooking method. Once you taste them, you’ll be infatuated and so glad you were patient!

Storing and Making Ahead

Storing: Cool baked beans entirely and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days in advance.
Making Ahead: You can easily make these beans up to 4 days in advance. Re-heat them in the slow cooker to keep the kitchen cool while you prep other dishes.

Serving Suggestions

These baked beans go evenly with a summer potluck or BBQ. Here are a few of our favorite recipes to serve with these sweet Boston baked beans.

Common questions

Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 5 hours 30 minutes
Total: 5 hours 45 minutes

Ingredients

4 ounces ( 113.4 g ) salt pork, trimmed of rind and cut into ½-inch cubes
2 ounces ( 56.7 g ) bacon, cut into ¼-inch pieces
1 medium onion, finely chopped
½ cup ( 168.5 g ) + 1 tablespoon mild molasses, divided
⅓ cup ( 73.33 g ) light brown sugar
2 tablespoons brown mustard
1 pound ( 453.59 g ) dried small white beans, like great northern beans, rinsed and picked over
1¼ teaspoons ( 1.25 teaspoons ) salt
9 cups ( 2.25 l ) water
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Add salt pork and bacon to a large Dutch oven (at least 7 quarts); cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and most fat is rendered, about 7 minutes. Add onion and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 8 minutes.
Add ½ cup molasses, brown sugar, mustard, beans, 1¼ teaspoons salt, and 9 cups water; increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil. Cover pot and set in oven. Bake until beans are tender, about 4 hours, stirring once after 2 hours.
Remove lid and continue to bake until liquid has thickened to syrupy consistency, 1 to 1½ hours longer. Remove beans from oven; stir in remaining tablespoon of molasses, vinegar, and additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve. (You can make the beans ahead of time, letting them cool to room temperature, and then storing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.)

Notes

Prepare your slow cooker: Line your slow cooker with a slow cooker liner (it makes clean up a breeze).

Cook pork and bacon: Add salt pork and bacon to a large Dutch oven (at least 7 quarts). Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until lightly browned and most fat is rendered about 7 minutes.

Add onion and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until onion softens about 8 minutes.

Transfer to slow cooker: Transfer the salt pork, bacon, and onion to the slow cooker.

Stir in sweeteners, water, and beans: Add 1/2 cup molasses, brown sugar, mustard, beans, salt, and water to the slow cooker.

Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Add remaining ingredients: After cooking, stir in the remaining tablespoon of molasses, vinegar, and additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Photography by Lauren Grant.