Smoky Slow Cooker Baked Beans (You won’t miss the meat!)

cooked beans in sauce spilling over the side of purple bowl

4.96 from 49 votes

Smoky Slow Cooker Baked Beans (You won’t miss the meat!)

Homemade baked beans slowly cooked to absorb all the delicious smoky, savoury sauce. Loaded with so much flavour, you'll never miss the meat!

Prep Time10

Cook Time8

Total Time8 10

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Canadian

Servings: servings

Calories: 336cal

Equipment

Slow Cooker

Ingredients

450 grams dried navy beans soaked overnight or 10-12 hours *see notes for quick soak method
1 small yellow onion finely chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
2.5 cups low sodium vegetable broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste or ketchup
⅓ cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
½ teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper for flavour, not heat

Instructions

Drain and rinse your beans. Then add them, along with all remaining ingredients to your crock pot. Mix very well to get everything combined.
Cook on low setting for 8 hours, or on high for 4-5 hours. **see notes

Notes

Soak the beans before cooking for 10-12 hours up to 24 hours. The water should be at least 2 inches above the bean line to allow for expansion.

Add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda to your soaking water to help soften the beans even further. Plus this has also been said to help rid beans of their gassy causing effects.

Very finely chop your onion and garlic. The smaller the pieces, the more the flavours will spread around to every single bean.

Don't open the lid of your slow cooker for at least 2 hours. You want to keep the heat in there. So make sure you give everything a very good stir before you start cooking them.

Towards the end of cooking, stir very well and taste and adjust for seasoning if needed.

Leftovers keep refrigerated for up to 5 days and frozen for up to 2 months.

*If you forgot the soak the beans, add them to a pot filled with water and cover with a lid. Bring to a boil and turn off the heat and let them soak for 1 hour.

**Slow cookers vary greatly. If your beans start drying up before they're soft, add more broth or water, mix well and continue cooking. Don't go overboard. Just add ¼-1/2 cup at a time as needed. The beans are done when they are soft and creamy and the sauce is very thick.

Nutrition