Spicy Baked Beans

Take canned beans to the next level with these easy Spicy Baked Beans. A zippy, flavorful take on the classic summer potluck dish.

As we prepare to fire up the grill on Memorial Day weekend, I’m sharing a delicious take on a classic BBQ side dish – baked beans. Like my Calico Beans, this is another no-sweat, easy summer side dish recipe that starts with canned beans. Both of these recipes are long time family favorites that I turn to over and over again in the summer grilling season.

These Spicy Baked Beans have plenty of old-fashioned flavor, punched up with bacon, smoked paprika, diced jalapeno, and a little cayenne. The heat level is very easy to control by scaling back on the jalapeno and cayenne, or even omitting them altogether. So, if you’re feeding lots of kiddos, I’d recommend doing just that. But, if you like a little spice in your life, this recipe is for you! Over the years, my boys have grown to love spicy foods and now they can all handle far more heat than their mama.

Canned Beans vs. Dry Beans

These aren’t the soak the dry beans in water overnight and bake them for ten hours until soft, kind of beans. These are the open some cans, throw in some good stuff and voila… beans, kind of beans. And, they are excellent! If you’re looking for a baked bean recipe that calls for dry beans, check out my Baked Beans from Scratch or Instant Pot Baked Beans. All of these methods result in delicious baked beans worthy of serving to guests. So, do what works best for you and your schedule.

Ingredient Notes

• Bacon
• Diced yellow onion
• Minced garlic
• Diced bell pepper – Either green or red bell pepper for color and flavor.
• Jalapeno pepper – Remove the seeds and ribs before dicing the jalapeno if you want a milder result.
• Canned beans – Be sure to use a good brand of basic baked beans with their liquid, like Bush’s Original Baked Beans. The rest of the ingredients add a lot of flavor so you don’t need any of the fancy combinations that are out there. You’ll also need a can of kidney beans and pinto beans, rinsed and drained.
• Ketchup
• Yellow mustard – Good, old-fashioned prepared yellow mustard.
• Brown sugar
• Seasoning – Smoked paprika, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Adjust the amount of cayenne for mildly spicy to very spicy baked beans.

How to Make Spicy Baked Beans

1. Cook the bacon in a Dutch oven until browned and then transfer it to paper towels to drain. Drain all but about 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease from the pot and return it to the heat.
2. Add the onion, garlic, bell pepper, and jalapeno pepper. Cook, stirring, until the onion and peppers are tender.
3. Crumble the bacon and add it to the pot along with all the beans, ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, smoked paprika, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, salt, and pepper.
4. Cover the Dutch oven and bake at 350 degrees F. for one hour.

Alternate Slow Cooker Instructions

Prepare the beans on the stove, as directed and then transfer them to a 6-quart or larger slow cooker. Cook on low for 3 hours at the most, stirring about halfway through the cooking time. Canned beans are already cooked so you want to avoid cooking them longer than 3 hours in a slow cooker or they can take on a mushy texture.

How to Freeze Baked Beans

Transfer the cooked and cooled beans to freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow frozen beans to thaw safely in the refrigerator before reheating.

More Bean Recipes You’ll Love

• Instant Pot Mexican Pinto Beans
• Kielbasa Baked Beans
• Homemade Three Bean Salad
• Easy Red Beans and Rice

This post was originally published on May 22, 2013. It has been updated with new text and images.