Bacon & Beans – Our Favorite Dishes & Recipes

Beans and bacon is a staple food in my family and one that is used a lot during camping trips. These hardy recipes are fantastic, crockpot easy and very good. You can add or take out different things, depending on your tastes. I will also include a small little snack at the end that is wonderful any time of the day or night.

Table of Contents

Easy Baked Beans with Bacon

closeup baked beans

Ingredients:

3-4 cans of Pork and Beans
1 lb. of bacon (chopped and cooked)
1 medium yellow (or white) onion – chopped
1/2 cup of molasses (dark)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar (light)
1/4 cup ketchup
2 TBSP of yellow mustard (regular)
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350°F
Dice the bacon and add it to a large skillet over medium-high heat.Cook until crisp. Remove from the pan using a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels.
In a large bowl, combine the beans, molasses, brown sugar, ketchup, mustard and Worcestershire sauce.This is easier to do ahead of time so you can just add the bacon and onion once they are done.
Cook the chopped onions in the pan with the bacon drippings. Sauté until translucent and soft, but not burned.
Add the onions and the bacon to the bean mixture you have already prepared. Mix it well but be careful not to mix it hard, you don’t want the beans to be chopped up.
Pour the beans into a 3-quart baking dish.Bake uncovered for about 45 minutes, or until bubbling.

Recipe inspired by Taste & Tell

White Bean Soup with Bacon

soup in a bowl

Ingredients:

1/2 pound dried Great Northern beans
3 slices thick-cut bacon, about 3 ounces, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced or pushed through a press
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped, about 1 cup
4 cups chicken stock, preferably unsalted or low sodium
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Shaved or grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

****With this soup, as with most bean soups, it’s always a good idea to soak and clean the beans the night before. This cuts down on the cooking time the next day and makes for a much tenderer bean in the process. Picking through the beans, rinsing them and then soaking them in cold water over night is required****

Directions:

Drain the beans and set them aside
Cook the bacon bits until crispy and remove from the pan
Add the chopped onion, celery and garlic to the bacon grease, cook until they are soft and tender
Add the chicken broth (stock), drained beans and bay leaf to the pan; cover the top of the pan half way and simmer for about 2 hours. Just enough to make sure the beans are tender but not falling apart or mushy.
When the beans are tender, remove the bay leaf. To thicken the soup, you can take about a 1/4 cup of beans and puree them, return to the pot and stir. I use corn starch with water (shake it up in a bottle) and add it in. If you don’t have corn starch, you can also use all-purpose flour in the same manner.
Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
Serve with grated parmesan cheese on top

The next recipe is for the people that like a lighter bean, as opposed to the baked bean or pinto bean. This involves fresh green beans and it absolutely wonderful to add to any dinner or lunch! Take a look…

Fresh Green Beans and Bacon

large dish of green beans

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs. fresh green beans, trimmed on the ends
1/2 lb. bacon, chopped
1 sm onion (yellow or white), finely chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup toast pecans (or walnuts)
1 TBSP lemon juice (fresh is best, if you have it)
Large bowl of ice water

Directions:

After trimming the ends of the green beans, toss them in a big pot of boiling, salted water. Cook them until they are a bright green in color, and on the crisp-tender side. This takes about 5 minutes. Drain them and then put them in the large bowl of ice water. This stops the beans from cooking. Leave them in there about 45 seconds, drain and pat them dry.

Cook your bacon pieces until they are crisp, which usually takes about 5-7 minutes. Once the bacon is done, take it out and let the pieces drain off the excess oil. Leave about 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan. Next, add your onion and cook that until it’s tender. Add your garlic and red pepper to the onion; cook until you can smell all the flavors, usually takes about a minute. Add your green beans and pecans, cook this until it’s heated all the way through. This can take up to 5 minutes. Add the bacon bits and lemon juice. Mix it up a bit, until you have a good majority of the ingredients on the green beans. You can then add your salt and pepper, if you need it. Enjoy!

Pork and Beans with Toast

This is a very simple snack which is partly what makes it one of my favorite snacks. My neighbor served to me many years ago, who just happens to be from England. This is a dish that can be eaten at any time, day or night.

Ingredients:

1 can of pork and beans (with bacon bits)
2 slices of butters toast
Fried Egg (this is optional)

Directions:

Warm up the beans, toast the bread (and butter it). Grab your plate, put the toast down first and then add your beans to the top. You can add a fried egg to this as well; it all depends on your taste. Add a little salt and pepper to taste and enjoy. It’s a very simple thing to throw together at the last minute.

As you can see, there are a variety of ways to make beans and bacon. You can pretty much use any bean you like, included lima beans, if that’s your thing. Bacon goes with a lot of different foods. As always, if you find a great recipe that works for you, or you invent one, let us know about it. We love to hear from our fellow cooks in the world.