BBQ Baked Beans Recipe

What Goes In

• 4 tbsp barbecue sauce
• 4 tbsp ketchup
• 4 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• 1 tsp granulated garlic
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 lbs bratwurst, casings removed
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 (28-ounce) cans baked beans
• 2 (15-ounce) cans pinto beans, drained
• 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained
• 1 (10-ounce) can Ro-Tel Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, drained
• 4 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces

Set Up

Heat oven to 350F with rack in the center.

You need a 13×9-inch metal pan – ceramic won’t hold the volume. Trust me.

Make the Sauce

In a large bowl, whisk together barbecue sauce, ketchup, water, mustard, vinegar, liquid smoke, garlic, and cayenne. Set aside.

Brown the Meat

Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add bratwurst and break it up as it cooks. Let the fat render out, ~5 minutes.

Add onions and keep cooking ~15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want both the sausage and onions nicely browned. This browning is where the flavor lives.

Assemble

Scrape the bratwurst mixture into your sauce bowl. Add all the beans and tomatoes. Stir well.

Pour into your metal pan. Set it on a rimmed baking sheet – catches spills. Scatter bacon pieces on top.

Bake

Bake ~1.5 hours until bubbling at the edges and the bacon has rendered.

Let it rest 15 minutes before serving. It’s lava hot straight from the oven.

Make Ahead

After mixing everything, you can cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours.

Bake from cold for ~1.75 hours instead.

Bush’s Original baked beans work best. The bratwurst makes this way better than regular baked beans – more flavor than ground beef. That liquid smoke is non-negotiable.

BBQ Baked Beans

Potluck gold. People ask for the recipe every time. It's basically three kinds of beans with bratwurst instead of ground beef – that's the game changer.

Pin Recipe Print Recipe

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Resting Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 tbsp barbecue sauce
• ▢ 4 tbsp ketchup
• ▢ 4 tbsp water
• ▢ 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• ▢ 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 1 tsp liquid smoke
• ▢ 1 tsp granulated garlic
• ▢ 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• ▢ 2 lbs bratwurst casings removed
• ▢ 2 onions chopped
• ▢ 2 28-ounce cans baked beans
• ▢ 2 15-ounce cans pinto beans, drained
• ▢ 2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained
• ▢ 1 10-ounce can Ro-Tel Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, drained
• ▢ 4 slices thick-cut bacon cut into 1-inch pieces

Instructions

• Whisk together barbecue sauce, ketchup, water, mustard, vinegar, liquid smoke, garlic, and cayenne in large bowl.
• Brown bratwurst (casings removed) in skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, breaking up meat.
• Add onions, cook 15 minutes until meat and onions are well browned.
• Mix browned meat mixture with sauce, all beans, and drained tomatoes.
• Transfer to 13×9 metal pan on rimmed baking sheet.
• Top with bacon pieces.
• Bake at 350F for 1.5 hours until bubbling and bacon is rendered.
• Rest 15 minutes before serving.