Baked beans. They sound kinda old fashioned, don’t they? They definitely remind me of growing up and although they weren’t really a staple at my house, they always made an appearance at family gatherings. The baked beans I remember though, came straight out of a can, onto the stove and on to our plates.
This simple recipe skips the sugar typically found in traditional baked beans and relies only on molasses to sweeten it naturally instead. It only takes a minute to throw together and when it comes out of the oven it’s a delicious, sweet and savoury flavour sensation!
MY LATEST VIDEOSI’d recommend enjoying this as a healthy dip, added to burritos or scooped on top of a big, fresh salad. We ate them first as a dip for a Sunday afternoon snack and I used the leftovers in salads for the next few days.
PrintEasy Vegan Baked Beans
These vegan baked beans only take a minute to throw together and when they comes out of the oven they’re a delicious, sweet and savoury flavour sensation!
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4-6
- Category: Snack, Side
- Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients
- 2 – 19 oz cans pinto or black beans, well rinsed
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 1 – 6 oz can tomato paste
- 2 tbsp molasses
- 1 white onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp dry mustard
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Add all ingredients to a large baking dish and mix well.
- Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.
- Enjoy on their own, as a healthy chip dip or add to burritos or salad.
I’ve been feeling a little bad that I’m still cooking with canned beans when I could be using dried and cooking them myself. Canned beans are just such a convenient source of protein in a plant-based diet. I can quickly throw them on a salad, into soup, stew or chili, mash them, blend them and even use them in desserts. Oh, and HUMMUS! I can’t forget hummus!
This article provides a good comparison between canned and dried beans. Nutritionally, they’re quite similar however canned beans contain added salt so are much, much high in sodium than their dried counterparts. I try to rinse canned beans really well which helps to get rid of some of the sodium, but not all of it. This article notes that canned beans also cost about three times more than dried beans, but do keep in mind dried beans do take hours to cook. So it’s cost or convenience I guess but we’re still talking in cents because beans are really inexpensive to begin with. I always cook my own lentils so maybe it’s about time I made the switch with beans.
What do you think? Do you cook with dried beans or canned?
I also don’t know much about sprouting beans?? Can anyone fill me in on that?
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Baked beans from a can were my childhood too! Until I made my own vegan/gf baked beans….so much FRESHER and perfectly delish!
Ramona
If you want to be able to buy dry beans………so much cheaper and have them ready quick….get a pressure cooker! Perfect every time.
Vanessa @ VeganFamilyRecipes.com
Yum these look good. I love soaking and cooking dried beans…actually I don’t love having to that but they just taste so much better. I do usually have some canned beans around too because, like you said, it’s just so much faster. Great recipe. I’ll have to try it out 🙂
★★★★★
The Vegan 8
These look so good Deryn! I loved baked beans growing up…omg, because I love bbq. This looks like such a wonderful and simple recipe and so much healthier! I use both dry and canned beans depending on the recipe. I love the flavor and texture of dry beans that are cooked so much more than canned, but bottom line, I sometimes need something quick and most readers respond to the fast recipes more than the ones with slow cooked I’ve found.
Alex Caspero MA,RD (@delishknowledge)
YUM! These look awesome! Bet they would be great for the upcoming Superbowl! Love the idea of enjoying these with corn chips
Amy @ Thoroughly Nourished Life
We didn’t really do baked beans as kids (Mum is not a fan) but as an adult I love them! I keep a stock in my drawer at work for emergency lunch supplies and my boyfriend and I have ‘bean night’ once a fortnight. I love this homemade version and it’s vegan too, which is perfect.
I usually use canned beans too, and sometimes I try to cook up a batch of dried beans. For the number of cans of beans I go through each week it probably would save me a lot of money if I cooked my own. Goal for 2015 perhaps?
Mariah
I always soak and cook my own beans. I do them in mass quantities and then portion them out into 1.5 cup baggies and freeze them. Whenever a recipe calls for a can of beans I just grab a bag from the freezer, run it under warm water for a minute to break them up and toss them in the recipe! It’s so easy! I’ll usually soak them overnight and boil them on a Saturday morning. when I’ll be home for a couple hours at least.
C. Fruity
Kind of reminds me of Chili! Looks like a winner to me!
Allan
I love this recipe, a refreshing variation on something I try often. I would recommend a good fresh salsa to compliment this as the fresh crispness ans spice of a good salsa really adds a refreshing edge.
★★★★
Kendra
I’m so excited to try this recipe tomorrow. I’m the only vegetarian in my family, so whenever I go to family gatherings I make sure that my dish is something will actually eat, because there have been times when literally EVERYTHING had meat in it of some kind (bacon is thrown into everything in my family!) A lot of people thing vegetarian recipes are “weird” or tasteless, but I’m sure none of them will be able to resist this.
★★★★★
Teresa
Hey! I’m not great about cooking my own beans and tend to rely on the convenience of canned bean. I’m usually just not on the ball enough to plan for cooking them from scratch! I’d like to start cooking more dried beans, though. 🙂
Deborah
Hi,
I’m cooking for a diabetic. Do you think I could leave out the molasses or perhaps replace it with 2 Tablespoons of unsweetened applesauce or perhaps 2 Tablespoons of pumpkin puree?
Also, do you know how many cups of beans are in a 19 oz can of beans? I cook my dried beans and freeze them for future use…
Thanks!!
Bexy
Sounds delish, “Happy Baked Beans on Toast Day” (25th Dec). A simple peaceful tradition started a few years ago here in the UK by one of my adult children, as an alternative to the avarice, stress and waste created by mainstream traditions (kept going by films and the media, for retail). Enjoy simple pleasures, for to live a simple life helps others to simply live.
★★★★★
Deryn
Love it, thanks for sharing.