Smoked Baked Beans: The Ultimate BBQ Side Dish

Prepare to elevate your barbecue game with these unbelievably flavorful smoked baked beans. Far from your average side dish, this recipe transforms humble beans into a smoky, sweet, and savory masterpiece that will have everyone asking for seconds. We combine three distinct types of beans with crispy bacon, tender sautéed onions, and a rich, homemade sauce, then slow-smoke them to perfection. This unique smoking process infuses every bite with an unparalleled depth of flavor, creating a side dish that’s truly unforgettable and a must-try for any summer cookout or backyard gathering.

Close-up of smoked baked beans in a large cast-iron skillet with a large wooden spoon. — A close-up of our irresistible smoked baked beans, brimming with flavor.

Why These Smoked Baked Beans Are Unforgettable

What makes these smoked baked beans stand out from the crowd? It’s a symphony of flavors and textures designed to complement any barbecue feast. Here’s why this recipe deserves a permanent spot in your culinary rotation:

A Burst of Complex Flavors: These beans aren’t just sweet; they’re a harmonious blend of smoky, sweet, savory, and a touch of tang, all working together to create an incredibly satisfying taste. The smoking process is the secret ingredient, imparting a deep, robust aroma that traditional baked beans simply can’t achieve. Each spoonful offers a delightful journey for your taste buds.
Rich Texture and Hearty Goodness: Featuring a trio of beans—pinto, great northern, and kidney—you get a wonderful variety of textures, from creamy to slightly firmer. The addition of crispy bacon bits and finely chopped, tender onions provides a delightful contrast, adding substance and extra layers of flavor to an already incredible dish. This isn’t just a side; it’s a hearty component of your meal.
The Ultimate BBQ Companion: If you own a smoker, this recipe is an absolute game-changer for your next summer cookout, holiday meal, or casual get-together. It’s surprisingly easy to prepare, allowing you to focus on your main dishes while the smoker works its magic. Your guests will be raving about this side dish, and it’s guaranteed to be the first to disappear from the table.
Versatile Pairing Options: These smoked baked beans are incredibly versatile. They pair beautifully with a wide array of barbecue staples and beyond. Imagine them alongside juicy bacon-wrapped hot dogs, succulent buffalo burgers, a fresh steak salad, or tender grilled beef ribs. Complete your spread with classic sides like a creamy coleslaw or a comforting potato salad for an epic barbecue experience.

Key Ingredients for the Perfect Smoked Baked Beans

Crafting exceptional smoked baked beans starts with selecting the right ingredients. Each component plays a vital role in building the layered flavors and appealing textures that define this dish:

For the Baked Beans:

Bacon: 5-6 slices, chopped. Bacon provides not only a salty, smoky crunch but also renders fat, which is essential for sautéing the onions and garlic, laying a rich foundation for the entire dish. Its savory notes are crucial for balancing the sweetness of the sauce.
Yellow Onion: 1 medium, finely chopped (about 1 cup). Onions add a foundational sweetness and aromatic depth. When slowly cooked in bacon fat, they become tender and release their subtle sugars, caramelizing slightly and enriching the overall flavor profile.
Garlic: 2-3 cloves, minced. Fresh garlic provides a pungent, aromatic kick that complements the savory bacon and sweet onions, adding complexity and warmth to the beans.
Tomato Paste: 3 tablespoons. This concentrated tomato product adds an intense umami depth and a hint of acidity, thickening the sauce and contributing to its rich, robust color and flavor. It acts as a bridge between the savory and sweet elements.
Pinto Beans: 2 15-ounce cans, drained and rinsed. Pinto beans are a classic choice for baked beans, offering a creamy texture and a mild, earthy flavor that readily absorbs the sauce.
Great Northern Beans: 1 15-ounce can, drained and rinsed. These beans are slightly firmer than pinto beans with a delicate, nutty flavor. They contribute to the varied texture, preventing the dish from becoming overly mushy.
Kidney Beans (or Navy Beans): 1 15-ounce can, drained and rinsed. Kidney beans provide a robust, meaty texture and a slightly bolder flavor, adding visual appeal with their darker hue. Navy beans are a great alternative if you prefer a smaller, milder white bean.

For the Homemade Sauce:

The magic of these smoked baked beans lies significantly in their custom-made sauce. This blend achieves the perfect balance of sweet, tangy, and savory, designed to cling to the beans and deepen with the smoke.

Ketchup: ¼ cup. A traditional base, ketchup offers sweetness, tang, and a recognizable tomato flavor that forms the backbone of many classic barbecue sauces.
Brown Sugar: ¼ packed cup. Essential for the signature sweetness of baked beans. Brown sugar adds a deeper, more molasses-like sweetness compared to white sugar, enhancing the caramelization and richness.
Yellow Mustard: 1 tablespoon. Provides a sharp, tangy counterpoint to the sweetness, adding a classic barbecue flavor and a slight piquancy that cuts through the richness.
Apple Cider Vinegar: 2 tablespoons. Its bright, fruity acidity is key to balancing the richness of the bacon and the sweetness of the sugar and molasses, creating a well-rounded and vibrant sauce.
Worcestershire Sauce: 1 tablespoon. A powerhouse of umami, Worcestershire sauce adds a complex, savory depth with notes of anchovy, tamarind, and spices, making the sauce incredibly flavorful.
Molasses: 2 tablespoons. Crucial for that distinct, dark, and deeply sweet flavor profile often associated with authentic baked beans. Molasses provides richness, body, and a beautiful dark hue to the sauce.
Smoked Paprika: 1 teaspoon. While the beans are smoked, an extra dash of smoked paprika enhances that desired smoky flavor, especially in the sauce itself. It also adds a lovely reddish color.
Salt and Freshly Cracked Black Pepper: ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper (more or less to taste). These basic seasonings are vital for enhancing all the other flavors and bringing the sauce into perfect balance. Always taste and adjust!
Water: ½ cup, plus more as needed. Used to thin the sauce to the desired consistency, ensuring it coats the beans beautifully without being too thick or too watery.

Mastering the Smoking Process: Chef’s Essential Tips

To ensure your smoked baked beans turn out absolutely perfect, keep these expert tips in mind. They’ll help you achieve the ideal texture, flavor, and sauciness.

Customize Your Beans: While our recipe calls for pinto, great northern, and kidney beans for a fantastic combination of textures and colors, feel free to get creative! You can absolutely use other canned beans like black beans for an earthier flavor, cannellini beans for a buttery texture, or even more navy beans if you prefer a classic, smaller white bean. Each bean type will subtly alter the final dish, so experiment to find your favorite blend. Just ensure all beans are thoroughly drained and rinsed before adding them to the skillet.
Achieving the Perfect Sauce Consistency: The sauce for these smoked baked beans tends to be quite thick, especially after simmering and smoking. If you prefer a saucier consistency, don’t hesitate to adjust it. After the smoking process is complete and you remove the skillet from the smoker, stir in ½ to 1 cup of hot water or hot chicken broth. The sauce is so robustly flavored that a little extra liquid won’t dilute the taste at all; it will simply make the beans more succulent and luxurious. This trick is also great for reheating leftovers, as baked beans often thicken considerably as they cool. Stirring in some liquid will bring them back to their original glory.
Smoking Temperature and Time: The beauty of smoking is in its flexibility. You can set your smoker anywhere from 225℉ to 250℉. Smoking the beans for 1 ½ hours at this temperature range will infuse them with a pleasant, noticeable smoky flavor without it becoming overpowering. If you desire a more intense smoky profile, feel free to extend the smoking time to 2 to 2 ½ hours. Just remember to stir the beans occasionally (every 30-45 minutes) during the longer smoking period to ensure even cooking and smoke distribution, and to prevent the bottom from scorching. Keep an eye on the sauce level; if it appears to be reducing too much, you can add a splash of warm water or broth during the smoking process.
Choosing Your Smoking Wood: The type of wood you use will subtly influence the smoky flavor. Hickory and mesquite offer strong, robust smoke flavors, perfect for a bold barbecue taste. For a milder, slightly sweeter smoke, try applewood or cherry wood. Experiment to find your personal preference!

Overhead view of smoked baked beans in a large cast-iron skillet with a wooden spoon. — An overhead view of the finished smoked baked beans, ready to be served.

More Delicious Recipes Perfect For A Barbecue

Round out your ultimate barbecue spread with these fantastic recipes that pair beautifully with our smoked baked beans:

Grilled Broccolini
Smoked Potato
Mesquite Grilled Chicken
Smoked Asparagus
Grilled Peaches Recipe with Honey
White Bean Salad
Grilled Beef Ribs
3-Ingredient Banana Pudding

Smoked Baked Beans

Prep:

15

Cook:

1

45

Total:

2

Pinto, great northern, and kidney beans are paired with bacon, onion and a delicious sweet and savory homemade sauce before being smoked for 1 ½ hours.

Cheryl Malik

Print Recipe

8
servings

Ingredients

For the Baked Beans

5-6 slices bacon chopped
1 medium yellow onion finely chopped, about 1 cup
2-3 cloves garlic minced
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 15-ounce cans pinto beans drained and rinsed
1 15-ounce can great northern beans drained and rinsed
1 15-ounce can kidney beans or navy beans, drained and rinsed

For the Sauce

¼ cup ketchup
¼ packed cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon salt more or less to taste
¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper more or less to taste
½ cup water plus more as needed

Equipment

fine mesh strainer or colander
large cast iron skillet (or oven-safe dish)
Wooden spoon
2 small bowls
paper towel
whisk
smoker

Instructions

Set your smoker to preheat to 250℉. This ensures a consistent temperature for optimal smoke infusion.
In a small bowl, combine all the sauce ingredients: ketchup, brown sugar, yellow mustard, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, molasses, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, and ½ cup water. Whisk everything together until the sauce is smooth and well combined. Set this flavorful mixture aside.
Place your large cast iron skillet (or other smoker-safe, oven-safe dish) over medium-high heat. Add the chopped bacon to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until the bacon is almost crispy and has rendered most of its fat. This fat will be crucial for sautéing the aromatics.
Line a small bowl or plate with paper towels. Once the bacon reaches your desired crispiness, use a wooden spoon or slotted spoon to remove it from the skillet and place it on the paper towels to drain excess fat. Set the crispy bacon aside for later. Leave the rendered bacon fat in the skillet.
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the finely chopped yellow onions to the skillet with the bacon fat. Cook the onions, stirring often, for about 6-7 minutes, or until they become translucent and softened. This process mellows their flavor and brings out their natural sweetness.
Once the onions are soft, add the minced garlic and tomato paste to the skillet. Mix the tomato paste thoroughly with the onions and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly. This step helps to deepen the flavor of the tomato paste and remove any raw taste.
Return the cooked bacon bits to the skillet. Then, add the drained and rinsed pinto, great northern, and kidney beans. Pour the prepared sauce over the beans and bacon. Stir everything together gently but thoroughly to ensure all the beans are evenly coated in the rich sauce. Remove the skillet from the heat.
Carefully transfer the skillet to your preheated smoker. Smoke the baked beans for 1 ½ hours. For even smoking and to prevent drying, stir the beans halfway through the smoking process (around the 45-minute mark).
Once smoked, carefully remove the skillet from the smoker. Give the baked beans a final stir. Optional: If you prefer a saucier consistency, add ½ to 1 cup of warm water or chicken broth to the skillet and stir to combine. Serve these incredible smoked baked beans warm with your favorite barbecue mains and sides.

Notes

Make it Gluten-Free: Ensure you use a certified gluten-free Worcestershire sauce, as some brands may contain wheat.
Leftovers: Store any leftover smoked baked beans in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. When reheating, you may want to add a splash of water or broth to restore their saucy consistency.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Smoked Baked Beans

Here are some common questions about making and enjoying these delicious smoked baked beans:

Can I make these baked beans ahead of time?

Absolutely! Smoked baked beans are an excellent make-ahead dish. You can prepare them completely a day or two in advance. Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the oven, adding a bit of warm water or broth if the sauce has thickened too much during cooling.

What if I don’t have a smoker? Can I still make this recipe?

Yes, you can still enjoy a version of these beans, though they won’t have the authentic smoke flavor from a dedicated smoker. To adapt:

Follow all the stovetop instructions (steps 1-7).
Instead of transferring to a smoker, bake the beans in an oven preheated to 300-325°F (150-160°C) for 60-90 minutes, stirring occasionally.
To add a smoky essence, you can use a liquid smoke (a few drops) or increase the amount of smoked paprika in the sauce. Alternatively, you can finish them on a grill over indirect heat for some char and smokiness.

Can I use dried beans instead of canned?

While canned beans are convenient and work perfectly, you can certainly use dried beans. You’ll need to soak and cook them according to package directions before adding them to the recipe. Remember that dried beans typically expand significantly, so adjust quantities accordingly. One 15-ounce can of beans is roughly equivalent to about 1.5 cups of cooked beans (from about 0.5 cups dry beans).

How can I adjust the sweetness or spice level?

For more sweetness: Increase the brown sugar by 1-2 tablespoons, or add a little extra molasses to the sauce mixture. Taste and adjust as you go.
For more spice: Add a pinch of cayenne pepper, a dash of your favorite hot sauce, or a finely minced jalapeño (remove seeds for less heat) when sautéing the onions. A pinch of red pepper flakes also works wonders.

Is it necessary to rinse canned beans?

Yes, it’s highly recommended to drain and thoroughly rinse canned beans. This helps to remove excess sodium and the starchy liquid they are packed in, which can sometimes give the beans an off-flavor or make the sauce cloudy.

Nutrition Information

Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.