Baked Beans from Scratch

Baked Beans from Scratch: Step by Step

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1. Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onion for 6 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and tomato purée for 1 minute.

   Mark done Start 6 min timer

2. Add the tomatoes, paprika, sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, beans, water and salt and bring to the boil.

   Mark done

3. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 25 minutes, stirring now and then, until thick.

   Mark done Start 25 min timer

4. Taste and adjust the sugar, vinegar or salt.

   Mark done

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Things to Watch For

1. Rinse the beans before they go in.
2. Simmer without a lid so the sauce thickens.
3. Taste at the end and adjust the sweetness and sharpness.
4. Add a splash of water if the sauce gets too thick.

Ingredient Swaps

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

The Short Version

Salt the sauce lightly and let it simmer. That is the short version of how this recipe works, and the reason homemade beans beat the tin. A tin of sauce is made to taste of a lot; here you can decide how sweet, smoky and sharp it turns out.

The base is onion and garlic, softened in oil, then tomato purée and tinned tomatoes. Add paprika for smokiness, brown sugar for sweetness and vinegar for brightness. Taste near the end and adjust. Sweetness, acidity and salt need to balance, and each batch of tomatoes is different.

Tinned haricot beans are already cooked, so they need only enough time to absorb the sauce. Simmer uncovered so the sauce thickens.

The beans improve overnight. If they are for toast, a thick sauce stays on the bread rather than soaking it. Make a big batch and freeze it in portions. Homemade beans cost far less than the tinned kind and can be adjusted to your taste.

What to Serve It With

Toast · Jacket potatoes · Sausages · Fried egg

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Air Fryer Jacket Potato, Braised Red Cabbage, Bread Rolls.

Storing Leftovers

Keeps in the fridge for 5 days. Freezes well for up to 3 months.

The Numbers per Serving

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.

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