Baked Beans Molasses Dish (Printable)
Tender navy beans slow-baked in rich molasses sauce with smoky and sweet notes for a hearty, flavorful dish.
# What You'll Need:
→ Beans
01 - 2 cups dried navy beans (or 4 cups canned navy beans, drained and rinsed)
→ Sauce
02 - 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
03 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
04 - 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
05 - 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
06 - 1/4 cup ketchup
07 - 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
08 - 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
09 - 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
10 - 1 teaspoon salt
11 - 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
12 - 2 cups water (or low-sodium vegetable broth)
13 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (optional; substitute with oil for vegan option)
→ Optional Add-ins
14 - 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
15 - 1/2 cup diced smoked tempeh or vegetarian bacon
# How To Make:
01 - If using dried beans, rinse thoroughly and soak overnight in plenty of cold water. Drain, then simmer in fresh water for 1 hour until just tender. Drain and set aside.
02 - Set oven temperature to 325°F.
03 - In a large oven-safe Dutch oven or casserole dish, melt butter over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Incorporate minced garlic and sauté for 1 additional minute.
04 - Stir in molasses, brown sugar, ketchup, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper. Mix thoroughly to combine.
05 - Incorporate cooked or canned beans along with water or vegetable broth. Stir the mixture evenly.
06 - Add chili flakes and/or diced smoked tempeh or vegetarian bacon if desired. Stir to incorporate these optional ingredients.
07 - Cover the dish and bake in the preheated oven for 2 hours, stirring once halfway through. If the sauce thickens excessively, add a splash of water. For a thicker consistency, uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes.
08 - Taste the beans and adjust seasoning as needed. Serve hot as an accompaniment or main dish.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- That perfect sweet-savory balance keeps people reaching for seconds—it's the kind of dish that disappears before anything else on the table
- Once you get them in the oven, you're basically free for two and a half hours, making this the ultimate set-it-and-forget-it comfort food
- This recipe transforms humble dried beans into something so rich and complex that even meat-eaters forget they're vegetarian
02 -
- Never skip soaking your dried beans overnight—rushing this step leads to uneven cooking and some hard beans hiding in your pot, and that disappoints everyone at the table
- If your sauce seems thin after two hours, don't panic—just uncover the pot for the last bit of baking and let it reduce down. Patience in these final minutes transforms the whole dish
- Taste and adjust the seasoning at the end, not during—the flavors develop and deepen as everything bakes together, and what seemed under-seasoned halfway through will be perfect at the end
03 -
- Use an oven thermometer to make sure your oven is really at 325°F—ovens lie all the time, and an oven that runs hot will evaporate your sauce too quickly
- Don't skip the molasses—that dark, mineral sweetness is the whole point, and no amount of brown sugar can replace it