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Slow Cooker New England Baked Beans

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With a few simple ingredients and time, you can make a delicious, slow cooked New England baked beans dinner. Skip the can and simmer your own homemade baked beans in your crock pot or slow cooker.

With a few simple ingredients and time, you can make a delicious, slow cooked New England baked beans dinner. Skip the can and simmer your own homemade baked beans in your crock pot or slow cooker.

Just about every culture has their version of a baked bean dish.

The Native Americans taught the early settlers how to bake beans in clay pots in the ground. They cooked the beans with maple syrup and pieces of venison or bear meat to add flavor.

The custom of serving baked beans for Saturday dinner originates from Puritan times. Preparation for baked beans dinners began on Friday by sorting and soaking the beans. On Saturday, the beans and ingredients were added to a bean pot and placed inside the oven to cook all day. Baked beans were served for Saturday’s supper and again on Sunday while the family observed the Sabbath.

Logging camps relied on baked beans as a nutritious dense, inexpensive food to feed their workers who labored deep in the woods for months at a time. The cooks would prepare the baked beans in a cast iron Dutch oven and bake them in bean hole in the ground just like the Native Americans did.

Today baked beans are still served at church suppers, potluck dinners, family gatherings, and fundraisers. There are many variations of baked beans throughout different areas and even among members of the same family. Almost every family has a recipe with a secret ingredient or two.

This traditional New England Baked Beans recipe is made from simple ingredients and tastes delicious. Use your crockpot and let it simmer all day.
Here in New England, molasses and maple syrup are common sweeteners used in making baked beans. In the 18th century, New England was one of the largest rum producers in the world. The rum was created from imported molasses, a byproduct of making sugar cane. Molasses was less expensive than sugar, and the sweet syrup found its way in many foods of New England, including baked beans.

Common supermarket types of beans that are perfect for baked beans are great northern and white navy pea beans. These beans are bland and absorb the delicious flavors of the molasses, salt pork, and other seasonings. There are also numerous locally grown varieties that are favorites, including Great Northern, Jacob’s Cattle, Marafax, Soldier, and Yellow-Eye beans. Every type of bean as a unique size, flavor, and texture.

Some beans require a longer cooking time depending on the type of bean and if they have been on the shelf for a while. The key is to allow plenty of time to cook the baked beans until they are caramelized and sweet. Sometimes, I cook baked beans during the weekend to reheat for a mid-week meal. That way I don’t have to worry if they will be finished by dinnertime.

Cook the beans until they are tender, then cook a few hours more and the sauce will transform to a dark brown, thick, and sweet flavor.

How to Make Baked Beans in a Slow Cooker

ingredients for baked beans

Sort through the dry beans and pick out stones or damaged beans. Rinse the beans well and place them in the slow cooker crock. Add enough water to cover the dried beans about 2-inches, about 6 cups of water. Cover and soak the beans overnight.

adding water to the dried beans in a slowcooker crock

The following morning, drain the beans and rinse well. Combine all the ingredients and about 4 cups of fresh water in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8-12 hours.

adding the ingredients for baked beans to the slow cooker crock

Begin checking at 8 hours, stir, and continue cooking until the baked beans are tender and the sauce forms a caramelized, rich, and thick stew.

stirring the baked beans and showing a close-up on a spoon

With a few simple ingredients and time, you can make a delicious, slow cooked New England baked beans dinner.
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5 from 4 votes

Slow Cooker New England Baked Beans

Skip the can and simmer your own homemade New England baked beans in your crock pot or slow cooker. With a few simple ingredients and time, you can make a delicious, slow cooked New England baked beans dinner.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword slow cooker baked beans
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 hours
Total Time 10 hours 15 minutes
Servings 10
Calories 295kcal
Author Grow a Good Life

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Sort through the dry beans and pick out stones or damaged beans. Rinse the beans well and place them in the slow cooker crock. 
  • Add enough water to cover the dried beans about 2-inches, about 6 cups. Cover and soak the beans overnight.
  • The following morning, drain the beans and rinse well. Combine all the ingredients and 4 cups of water in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8-12 hours. 
  • Begin checking the beans at 8 hours, stir, and continue cooking until the baked beans are tender and the sauce forms a caramelized, rich, and thick stew. Makes 8-10 servings.

Nutrition

Calories: 295kcal

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This traditional New England Baked Beans recipe is made from simple ingredients and tastes delicious. Use your crockpot and let it simmer all day.

7 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This is a foolproof recipe! I have a bean pot for the oven, but have not had consistent results. I make these a day ahead of time, they thicken and are much better the next day. They take 10-12 hours on low depending on the beans. I do make a few changes to make them more traditional Maine beans – brown sugar instead of cane, 1 – 2 tbls of mustard powder. And I leave the onion in quarters (way easier and traditional up here). I use different beans, the ones in the pot today are soldier beans, my favorite. Thanks for revolutionizing my bean making!

  2. 5 stars
    I made these today. Usually im all about baking them in the oven but the crockpot is just as good. I soaked them for about 15 hours before starting them this morning. I have had them on high for 8 hours and there just now getting soft, they taste good tho. Will see how they do tonight with dinner.

    Im suprised you get to skip the boil with baking soda but im willing to try. Idk how long they would’ve taken me if id cooked them on low, definitely not 8-12 hours but thanks for a new crockpot recipes

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