Cowboy Beans

This cowboy beans recipe is exactly what you need for all of your summer barbecues! 

I have a confession to make.

When I was a child, I did not like beans. I mean, let’s be honest. It’s not that I disliked the taste of them. I actually had never tasted them. They just looked kinda gross, if you asked me.

So, I didn’t try them. I just decided I hated them and I lived a sad life without beans.

The one exception was baked beans. I mean, you literally can’t go wrong with baked beans when you’re a kid. They’re sweet deliciousness. Like dessert for dinner!

My dad loves cowboy beans and I’d eat those anytime he made them. Cowboy beans are basically just baked beans with the addition of MEAT. Because cowboys like meat. Obviously.

So, as part of my partnership with Hurst’s Beans this year, I wanted to bring you a recipe for cowboy beans! This is a stovetop version and it’s seriously simple to make.

I used Hurst’s Slow Cooker Bacon & Beans for this one. It’s a mix of pinto beans and Great Northern beans, which is a great combo. The seasoning packet that comes with the beans give these a great boost of flavor. I know these are called slow cooker beans, but I like to make this one on the stove top.

If you’ve never cooked with dried beans or just believe that canned are as good, please give this recipe a try!

Dried beans are so economical and they really just taste better than canned, in my opinion. I mean, canned is fine when you need a shortcut. I’m not hatin’. But I do love dried beans when I have the time to let them cook. The flavor is always phenomenal and I feel very accomplished turning hard little rocks into tender perfection. 😉

You’re going to love this hearty cowboy beans recipe!

I have experimented a lot with soaking beans vs. not soaking beans. Both work, and I’d never hesitate to cook unsoaked beans when I’m in a pinch and decide that I absolutely must have some taco chili or pulled pork and pinto beans. If I know I’m making beans, though, I like to give them a soak overnight. It just helps ensure they’ll come out extra creamy and perfect.

This recipe calls for soaking and it’s totally worth it for the creamy goodness you’ll get.

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Recipe

Cowboy Beans

These cowboy beans make for a hearty dinner that any hungry cowboy or cowgirl would love. Loaded with beef and beans in a sweet and savory sauce, it's hard to go wrong here.

4 from 2 votes

Print Pin

Prep10 minutes minutes

Cook1 hour hour

Total1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Serves 12

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 pound thick sliced bacon
• ▢ 1 pound ground beef
• ▢ 1 medium onion diced
• ▢ 1 small jalapeno minced
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 1 tablespoon chili powder
• ▢ 2 teaspoons salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cracked pepper
• ▢ 45 ounces canned baked beans see notes
• ▢ 15 ounces canned pork and beans
• ▢ ¼ cup ketchup
• ▢ 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
• ▢ 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• ▢ 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
• ▢ 1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• ▢ 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

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Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Dice the bacon into bite-sized pieces and place in a 4-6 quart dutch oven over medium heat. Fry the bacon until crisp, stirring often, and remove from the pan with a slotted spoon.
• Drain off about half of the bacon grease and then add the beef to the pot. Brown the beef in the bacon grease, crumbling the meat up as it cooks.
• Once the beef is about halfway cooked through, add the onion, jalapeno, and garlic and continue cooking until the beef is cooked through.
• Drain any excess grease from the pot.
• Add half of the bacon to the pot with the beef and sprinkle on the chili powder, salt, and pepper. Stir to coat in the seasonings.
• Add the canned beans, ketchup, barbecue sauce, brown sugar, mustard, worcestershire sauce, and vinegar to the pot and stir well to combine.
• Sprinkle the remaining bacon over the top and place in the oven. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.
• Serve hot.

Tips & Notes:

Spice: This recipe isn’t very spicy as written, but you can keep it more mild by removing the seeds and membranes from the jalapeno or leaving it out entirely. For more spice, add more jalapeno.

Canned Beans: We like to use a variety of canned baked beans and usually grab 2 20-ish ounce cans of different varieties and just mix and match. Anywhere between 40 to 50 ounces of beans will be perfect for this amount of seasoning/sauce.

Our preferred beans are Bush’s Grilling Beans, but any variety you love will work. Do not drain off the sauce. We use pork and beans that are in a tomato sauce. Do not drain the sauce.

BBQ Sauce: Any variety of barbecue sauce is fine. We usually go for a thick, sweet sauce, like Sweet Baby Ray’s or our homemade bourbon BBQ sauce.

Sweetness: Before transferring the beans to the oven, taste and add additional brown sugar if you like sweeter beans.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 432kcal (22%)| Carbohydrates: 35g (12%)| Protein: 19g (38%)| Fat: 25g (38%)| Saturated Fat: 9g (56%)| Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g| Monounsaturated Fat: 11g| Trans Fat: 1g| Cholesterol: 62mg (21%)| Sodium: 1383mg (60%)| Potassium: 690mg (20%)| Fiber: 8g (33%)| Sugar: 5g (6%)| Vitamin A: 260IU (5%)| Vitamin C: 6mg (7%)| Calcium: 98mg (10%)| Iron: 4mg (22%)

Author: Karly Campbell

Course:Side Dish

Cuisine:American

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