Recipe: Brown Sugar and Bacon Baked Beans

Adapted from the recipe by Amanda Batcher, www.thechunkychef.com.

As the author wrote about this recipe, “These baked beans are semi-homemade and the perfect blend of sweet, savory and smoky. Topped with delicious bacon, they’re sure to be a hit!”

Start to finish: 2 hours 20 minutes (20 minutes active)

Servings: 8

Ingredients:

54- ounce can pork and beans or equivalent number of smaller cans (Bush’s Best preferred)
10 slices bacon
2 tablespoons bacon grease or butter
1 yellow onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
4 tablespoons ketchup
1/4 cup molasses
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons dry mustard

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and set rack to the lower-middle rack position.
2. Cook bacon about halfway through in a stovetop frying pan, reserving 2 tablespoons of bacon grease. Set bacon aside to drain on paper towels.
3. In a deep skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of bacon grease or butter over medium heat. Add diced onion and green bell pepper to skillet and sauté until softened.
4. Add beans, ketchup, molasses, brown sugar, vinegar and mustard to the skillet and combine well. Let simmer a minute or so.
5. While the beans are simmering, grease a 13×9 baking dish. Dice bacon.
6. Pour beans into the prepared dish and place bacon on top.
7. Bake 2 to 3 hours, depending on your desired consistency.
8. Let the beans sit 5 minutes before serving.

The Raven’s Circle would like to feature our readers’ favorite recipes! To submit, visit ciri.com/recipe.