6 Best Smoked Baked Bean Recipes
Canned baked beans are fine in a pinch, but they don't stand a chance against the homemade version. We've rounded up our 6 Best Smoked Baked Bean Recipes, and every single one starts from scratch and finishes low and slow on the Traeger.
6 Best Smoked Baked Bean Recipes
All six of these recipes use the same basic formula: navy beans or great northern beans, a tangy homemade sauce, and a couple of hours of steady smoke. From there, they branch out. Some stay simple. Others get loaded up with brisket, pulled pork, or three different kinds of meat if you're feeding a hungry crowd.
A few of these call for our OWYD Spicy Pork Rub or Everything Rub, and either one works great in any of the others if you want to switch things up.
Fire up the smoker, grab a can opener, and let's get into it.
Don't have a smoker? You can make these on the stovetop or in the oven, too!
1. Homemade Smoked Baked Beans
This is the recipe we go back to more than any other. Navy beans and great northern beans get coated in a tangy ketchup based sauce with beer, brown sugar, and a little BBQ rub, then the whole pan smokes low and slow until it's thick and bubbly. Leave out the bacon and it's an easy vegetarian side.
Get the Recipe: Homemade Smoked Baked Beans
2. Smoked Baked Beans with Brisket
This was actually the first baked bean recipe on the site, and it's still one of the best ways to use up leftover brisket. Chopped brisket gets folded into the same tangy sauce with great northern beans, then the whole thing smokes until the beans go tender enough to eat as a meal on their own.
Get the Recipe: Smoked Baked Beans with Brisket
3. Smoked Pulled Pork Baked Beans
Stir a couple cups of smoked pulled pork into the base recipe and you've got a side dish hearty enough to be dinner. It's a great way to use up extra pulled pork after a big cook, and it reheats well the next day too. Bring the whole pan to a potluck and watch it disappear.
Get the Recipe: Smoked Pulled Pork Baked Beans
4. Smoked Dr. Pepper Baked Beans
Dr. Pepper takes the place of beer in this sauce, adding a deep sweetness with a little spice that plays well against the vinegar and mustard. The sugar caramelizes as it smokes, so every bean ends up with a glossy, sticky coating. Bacon is optional here, but we never skip it.
Get the Recipe: Smoked Dr. Pepper Baked Beans
5. Traeger Honey BBQ Baked Beans
Honey and brown sugar build a sauce that tastes like it simmered all day, even though the hands on time is minimal. White beans and crumbled bacon go into an 8x8 dish and smoke at 300°F until everything thickens up. Add a sliced jalapeño if you want a little heat mixed in with the sweetness.
Get the Recipe: Traeger Honey BBQ Baked Beans
6. Spicy Cowboy Beans
This is the one to make when regular baked beans feel too tame. Bacon, smoked sausage, ground beef, and chorizo all go in alongside great northern beans, navy beans, and jalapeños, with our Spicy Pork Rub bringing the heat. It's hearty enough to serve as dinner on its own, so make a double batch.
Get the Recipe: Spicy Cowboy Beans
