Beans are exceptionally good for us and ever since I was a kid, I've been a fan of beans on toast. This is my homemade baked beans recipe for how I like to have them - and it's infinitely better than beans out of a can.
Coming together in about an hour - most of which is hands off time - these beans are perfect for a weekend brunch, or to make ahead of time to enjoy during the week for breakfast or lunch. The recipe is easily scaled - I usually make a double quantity and we have it for lunch during the week.
Ideally, serve the baked beans on a good quality, crunchy sourdough bread - but whatever toast you have will work.
Homemade baked beans ingredients
- Aromatic ingredients include onion, garlic, rosemary and smoked paprika. Fresh rosemary works best, but you can use dried if you'd prefer - just halve the amount that you use.
- Cannellini beans are a versatile white bean, readily available in cans or jars. If you can't find them or want to use another bean, most white beans should work well - I'd suggest swapping for either butter beans or navy/haricot beans. See using other beans for information. I opted to use canned beans out of convenience, but you can also use dried beans if you'd prefer.
- Canned, diced tomatoes are used for the body of the sauce. You could use passata in a pinch. If you use whole tomatoes, make sure you crush and break up the whole tomatoes.
- Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar flavour the sauce. You can substitute the same volume with your favourite BBQ sauce if you'd prefer.
- Chilli powder is optional. If you like a bit of kick to your breakfast, add it. Use more or less, depending on your tastes.
To serve:
- Sourdough or other crunchy toast.
- Pecorino cheese or any other aged firm white cheese, such as cheddar or parmesan.
- A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
- If you added the chilli powder, add a little hot sauce as well.
Step-by-step guide to making baked beans
Prep - preheat the oven to 160°C. Dice the onion and mince the garlic. If you're using fresh rosemary, hold the sprig between your thumb and index finger, then use your thumb and index finger on your other hand to pull the leaves off by sliding your fingers against the direction of their growth. Drain and rinse the cannellini beans.
Cook onion, rosemary, paprika - heat a 10" skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil, onion, rosemary, and smoked paprika (1). Cook, stirring regularly (2), for about 8 minutes until the onion is translucent (3). Reduce heat if needed to avoid browning the onion.
Add garlic and cook for a further minute, stirring well.
Add beans, tomato, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar to the skillet (1) and stir well to combine (2). Increase the heat and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by about half (3).
Bake - cover the beans with a damp sheet of baking paper to prevent them from drying out. To prepare the paper, rinse it under cold water, scrunch it up, then unfold it. Place it directly on top of the beans (1), then put the skillet in the oven. Bake for 40 minutes (2).
Serve - remove from the oven and stir in the chilli powder to taste, if using. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and serve on toasted sourdough bread, topped with grated cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. For an extra kick, add a little hot sauce.
Tips
- The recipe is easily doubled or tripled, so make a large batch and enjoy over a few days, or freeze for another day.
- If you're short on time, you can skip the oven step and simmer the beans on the stove for about 15 minutes. Just keep an eye on the liquid levels and stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
What to serve with baked beans
I like to serve my baked beans over toasted sourdough, topped with a grated firm, aged cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.
This works best with an artisanal bread - but in a pinch, use whichever bread you have on hand.
For the cheese, pecorino works very well - but you could use a nice aged cheddar or parmesan if that's what you have.
Using other beans
If you have trouble finding cannellini beans, other varieties for baked beans include butter beans and navy/haricot beans. Butter beans are the closest match to cannellini beans and have a similar creamy texture, but they are much larger, so you might like to use navy/haricot beans instead. Navy/haricot beans is the variety typically used in canned baked beans.
Using dried beans
You can use dried beans for this recipe. For the default recipe quantity, you'll need to soak about 200g of beans.
- Soak beans overnight, or for a minimum of 8 hours.
- Drain and rinse beans. Place in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to the boil and reduce heat to a simmer and cover.
- Cook - butter beans for about 45-60 minutes, cannellini beans will take longer - around 90 minutes.
While you're cooking the beans, add water as required to ensure they remain covered. Periodically check them for doneness - the times above are a guide because it will vary based on the age and condition of your beans.
Make ahead, reheating and freezing baked beans
This easy baked beans recipe is perfect for meal prep and the recipe works very well for doubling or tripling - so providing you have a large enough skillet or Dutch oven you can make a large batch and enjoy over a few days, or put some in the freezer to enjoy later.
The beans will keep in the freezer for about 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight, or in the microwave.
When kept in the fridge, the beans will last 4-5 days. Portion out how much you need and reheat in the microwave or in a saucepan. If you reheat in a saucepan, do so with a medium low heat. You'll need to add a little water to avoid the beans drying out - keep an eye on it and add more water if they start to catch before they're warmed through.
Add your own touch
- Try different bean varieties or a mix of beans.
- Use flavoured oils, such as truffle or chilli.
- Instead of the Worcestershire and balsamic, add 4 tablespoons of your favourite BBQ sauce.
- Make the beans a little sweeter, by adding some brown sugar or honey, to taste.
- Add some vegetables - diced carrot and capsicum/bell pepper would work well.
- Try using other herbs in addition or replacement of the rosemary; for example thyme or oregano.
- If you have liquid smoke, try adding a little to taste - just before placing the pan in the oven; omit the smoked paprika if using liquid smoke.
Baked beans
| Prep | Cook | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 10 mins | 50 mins | 60 mins |
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 sprig rosemary, leaves picked and chopped (2 tsp) or substitute with 1 tsp dried rosemary - see note 1
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 400g cans of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed or other white bean, see note 2
- 400g can diced tomato
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar a quality, aged vinegar works best
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder optional, or to taste - see note 3
- Crusty sourdough bread
- Cheese I like pecorino; see note 4
- Hot sauce optional
- Prep - preheat the oven to 160°C. Dice the onion and mince the garlic. If you're using fresh rosemary, hold the sprig between your thumb and index finger, then use your thumb and index finger on your other hand to pull the leaves off by sliding your fingers against the direction of their growth. Drain and rinse the cannellini beans.
- Cook onion, rosemary, paprika - heat a 10" skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil, onion, rosemary, and smoked paprika. Cook, stirring regularly, for about 8 minutes until the onion is translucent. Reduce heat if needed to avoid browning the onion.
- Add garlic and cook for a further minute, stirring well.
- Add beans, tomato, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar to the skillet and stir well to combine. Increase the heat and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by about half.
- Bake - cover the beans with a damp sheet of baking/parchment paper to prevent them from drying out. To prepare the paper, rinse it under cold water, scrunch it up, then unfold it. Place it directly on top of the beans, then put the skillet in the oven. Bake for 40 minutes.
- Serve - remove from the oven and stir in the chilli powder to taste, if using. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and serve on toasted sourdough bread, topped with grated cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. For an extra kick, add a little hot sauce.
- Rosemary - I prefer to use fresh rosemary, but using dried will work if that's all you have. If you're using dried rosemary, don't bother slicing it as it's generally fairly small.
- Beans - substitute for any other variety of white bean you might prefer, such as navy or butter beans. If you prefer, you can use dried beans - make sure to follow packet instructions on soaking and cooking.
- Chilli powder - I like a bit of kick to my beans, but feel free to leave this out if you aren't a chilli fan. You can use chilli/red pepper flakes instead, if you'd prefer.
- Cheese - any strong firm cheese will work instead of pecorino; cheddar or parmesan is just as good.
- Scale - this recipe is easily doubled - use a 12" skillet - it's how I normally make it. If you want to make a larger batch, use a large Dutch oven so you can make sure it all fits.
- BBQ Sauce - if you'd prefer, you can substitute the same volume of balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce (4 tbsp total for the default scale) with your favourite BBQ sauce.
- Sweet baked beans - if you prefer your beans to be a little sweet, you can add some brown sugar or honey while you're reducing the tomato before you place it in the oven. Taste while you're adding to hit the sweetness level you're after.
