Best Southern Baked Beans Recipe! (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to soft baked beans? ›

They were creamy and soft using this technique. The secret to cooking beans is to not add the sauce ingredients, especially the molasses, until the beans are totally cooked. Once the molasses is added the beans seem to no longer cook.

Mixed Chopped Herbs + Breadcrumbs + Cheddar Cheese

Combine breadcrumbs with chopped fresh herbs and seasonings, then sprinkle the top of the beans with the mixture and plenty of grated cheddar cheese. Melt under a broiler until golden brown and crisp.

Brine your beans while soaking them by adding a tablespoon or two of salt to the soaking liquid, a trick from Cool Beans author and bean guru Joe Yonan. It effectively brines the beans, making them both tastier and more evenly cooked as it helps to soften the beans' skins, improving the final texture.

These beans can often take much longer to soften while soaking and cooking, up to twice the time! Baking soda can help significantly since it increases the pH of the water, disintegrating that pectin and allowing beans to soften quicker.

Hot soaking is the preferred method since it reduces cooking time, helps dissolve some of the gas-causing substances in beans, and most consistently produces tender beans. Quick Soak: This is the fastest method. In a large pot, add 6 cups of water for each pound (2 cups) of dry beans.

Once the beans have been properly soaked, it is time to cook. Strain away the soaking liquid and cook the beans with no salt in a flavorful broth with plenty of spices and aromatics or in plain water to keep the flavor of the bean itself as the forefront of the flavor in the finished dish.

If you're soaking your beans, don't shy away from the salt. Skip the soak when cooking thin-skinned beans, like black beans. Use aromatics, like onion, garlic, and herbs, in your cooking liquid—they'll transform any pot of beans into something far more flavorful. Oh, and don't worry about making too many beans at once.

The one tried and true method she taught me to reduce the gassy effect of beans, is this: add a tiny amount of baking soda to the pot half an hour or so before you're ready to serve them to “release” the gasses from them. Be set to stir down the violent reaction. This works no matter how you've seasoned them.

Extra protein: Add diced ham, cooked ground beef, or shredded chicken to the baked beans for an extra boost of protein. Additional vegetables: Include diced green bell pepper, onions, or mushrooms to the recipe for added texture and flavor. Tangy: Replace yellow mustard with Dijon, whole-grain mustard, or dry mustard.

How to make beans taste homemade? ›

Toss drained/rinsed/dried beans with a bit of olive oil (or avocado oil) and your favorite seasonings. You can add crushed whole seeds (coriander, cumin, fennel, mustard, etc.), woodsy herbs (thyme, oregano, rosemary, sage), red pepper flakes, crushed garlic cloves, and of course salt and pepper.

Get mellow with thyme, oregano, and paprika

You can use sweet paprika, spicy paprika, or smoked paprika to suit your tastes. For bean soups, stews, and other cooked dishes, add the herbs and spices early in the cooking process.

Bring cold water to a boil in a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over high heat. Add beans and salt, and return to a simmer; cover. Bake beans in the preheated oven until tender, about 1 hour and 10 minutes, checking after 30 minutes to ensure beans are still covered with water. If necessary, add just enough water to cover.

Before cooking, all dried beans need to be rehydrated by soaking. The 10- to 12-hour overnight soak is the easy and always effective method, but you can quick-soak beans by bringing them to the boil for one minute, then covering the pan and letting them sit for one hour.

Pectin is also essential in vegetables and fruits like potatoes, beans, and quince because it gives them hardness, and recipes are designed to work on the pectin and make the vegetable and fruit softer. There are two ways to help dried beans cook faster and taste better.

I have cooked my beans for over 3 hours after soaking overnight and they are still rock hard. Why? Some beans require more cooking time. You want to cook beans on med to low heat on the stove top or else the high heat will quickly evaporate the liquid.