Grilling, Intermediate, Side Dishes, Spring and Summer

Baked Beans with Bacon and Ground Beef

baked beans topped with bacon in a white casserole dish

These baked beans with bacon and ground beef could be a meal by themselves! Bring them to your next backyard barbecue and everyone will rave.

Baked beans topped with bacon in an oval casserole dish.

A couple years ago I was asked to bring baked beans to a family function. It was then that The Husband's cousin shared with me that baked beans – good baked beans – must contain three ingredients: ground beef, bell pepper, and bacon.

I consulted a friend from church, who is a prolific grill master and makes some of the best dang baked beans I had ever had. He emailed me his recipe, which turns out wasn't really a recipe at all. More of "a little bit of this, a little bit of that." It took me a few times to get the measurements just right.

How to Make Baked Beans with Bacon and Ground Beef

This recipe uses canned beans as its base. If you feel so inclined to make yours from scratch, go right ahead. But trust me, these beans have all the flavor of slow cooked homemade.

First, brown one pound of ground beef until it's no longer pink. Be sure to break the meat up into bite sized chunk with a wooden spoon while you're at it. Once you've cook your meat, strain it from the pan to a paper towel lined plate. But don't drain that leftover grease in the pan.

Use that remaining grease to sauté one diced onion and a diced green bell pepper. Sauté it just until its tender. Then add your hamburger meat back into the pan, along with two large cans of baked beans, mustard, bbq sauce, pancake syrup, mustard, and brown sugar. Stir to combine all the ingredients.

browning ground beef, bell peppers, and onion in a skillet.
Adding beans, barbecue sauce, brown sugar, pancake syrup and mustard to the skillet.
baked beans ingredients stirred together in a skillet.

Spread the beans into the bottom of a 9″ x 12″ x 2″ casserole dish. Layer bacon strips over the top. Place the beans in a 350 degree oven and cook, uncovered for 45 minutes. When you remove the beans from the oven, they will be PIPING HOT! Allow them to cool for at least five minutes before diving right in.

Laying the raw bacon over the baked beans in a white casserole dish.
Hot beans with cooked bacon on top in a white casserole dish.

Storage, Freezing and Reheating:

Storage. Allow baked beans to cool completely, then cover with a lid or plastic wrap before placing them in the refrigerator. Consume within four days.

Freezing. These bean freeze beautifully! I usually freeze then unbaked, but you can just as easily freeze them baked. If I know I'm going to freeze them, I assemble the beans in a disposable casserole dish so I'm not tying up one of my good dishes indefinitely. Cover the beans with aluminum foil. Consume within three months.

Reheating. If frozen, you will need to allow the beans the thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Simply remove the foil or plastic wrap from the top and follow the cooking instructions listed in the recipe.

baked beans topped with bacon in a white casserole dish

Serve Baked Beans With:

  • Oven Baked Barbecue Baked Chicken
  • Pepper Jack Stuffed Burgers
  • Mashed Potato Casserole

Barbecue Baked Beans with Bacon and Ground Beef

Bring this recipe for baked beans with bacon and ground beef to your next barbecue. It's loaded with ground beef and topped with yummy bacon strips.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings 8 people

Calories 239 kcal

  • 1 pound ground hamburger meat
  • 1 medium yellow onion diced
  • 1 medium green bell pepper diced
  • 2 28 oz. cans original flavor baked beans
  • 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • ¼ cup barbecue sauce
  • ¼ cup pancake syrup
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 7 strips uncooked bacon

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  • Brown the hamburger meat in a large skillet over medium high heat. Break meat into pieces using a wooden spoon and cook until meat is no longer pink, about 8-10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove hamburger from the pan and set aside. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the grease and return the skillet to the heat.

  • Add the onion and bell pepper. Sauté, stirring often, until onion and bell pepper are tender, about 8-10 minutes.

  • Return the hamburger meat back to the skillet. Add the can of baked beans, mustard, brown sugar, barbecue sauce, pancake syrup, salt and pepper. Stir until ingredients are combined and mixture is heated through.

  • Pour beans into a 9 x 12 x 2 inch baking dish. Lay the bacon strips over the top.

  • Bake for 40-45 minutes or until bacon is browned and the beans are bubbling.

Storage. Allow baked beans to cool completely, then cover with a lid or plastic wrap before placing them in the refrigerator. Consume within four days.

Freezing. These bean freeze beautifully! I usually freeze then unbaked, but you can just as easily freeze them baked. If I know I'm going to freeze them, I assemble the beans in a disposable casserole dish so I'm not tying up one of my good dishes indefinitely. Cover the beans with aluminum foil. Consume within three months.

Reheating. If frozen, you will need to allow the beans the thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Simply remove the foil or plastic wrap from the top and follow the cooking instructions listed in the recipe.

Serving: 1 cup | Calories: 239 kcal | Carbohydrates: 54 g | Protein: 12 g | Fat: 0.9 g | Saturated Fat: 0.2 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3 g | Sodium: 871 mg | Potassium: 569 mg | Fiber: 10 g | Sugar: 20 g | Vitamin A: 275 IU | Calcium: 66 mg | Iron: 3.1 mg