These slow cooker baked beans are full of that classic sweet, smoky flavor you love, and they couldn't be easier to make! They’re perfect for cookouts, potlucks, holidays, or anytime you want a hands-off side dish that everyone will go back for seconds of.
I LOVE baked beans, and I already have what I consider the best vegan baked beans recipe ever. The only catch? It’s a little involved. Between standing over the stove to caramelize onions and a trip to the liquor store, it can be a bit much for a side dish. That’s exactly why I created this slow cooker baked beans recipe. It delivers the same classic sweet, smoky flavor, with a fraction of the effort.
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My slow cooker is my secret weapon when I want to simplify a favorite recipe. I’ve used it for everything from slow cooker vegetarian chili to slow cooker black bean soup to slow cooker butternut squash soup, and it turns out the slow cooker isn’t just for soup. It’s perfect for baked beans too. For this version, I adapted my original recipe by skipping the booze and caramelized onions and swapping canned beans for dried. Dried beans take longer to cook, but they also have a better texture — and since the slow cooker does all the work, time isn’t an issue.
This is a great side dish to make when you're preparing a big dinner. Let the beans simmer away all day in the slow cooker while you work on whatever else needs to be done. They'll be the star of the show and nobody would guess how simple they were to make!
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Dried great northern beans. I grew up eating baked beans made from great northern beans, so that's what I use. Small white beans or navy beans can also be used.
- Water.
- Onion.
- Garlic.
- Molasses. Use unsulfured molasses, which is the common variety found in the baking aisle. Grandma's and Brer Rabbit are a couple popular brands. Don't use blackstrap or robust molasses.
- Brown sugar. We're using organic brown sugar to keep the recipe vegan. Conventional brown sugar is often processed using animal bone char.
- Spices. You'll need mild chili powder and smoked paprika. Both are super common and can be found in the spice aisle of most grocery stores.
- Liquid smoke. Look for this near the barbecue sauce at your grocery store.
- White vinegar.
- Yellow mustard.
- Vegan Worcestershire sauce. Most Worcestershire sauce is made with anchovy paste, so be careful here. You can use my homemade vegan Worcestershire sauce, or a store-bought vegan brand like Annie's, Whole Foods, or Edward & Sons.
- Soy sauce. Tamari or liquid aminos can be substituted if needed.
- Salt.
How They're Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Soak the beans. Cover your beans very generously with water and let them soak overnight (or for at least eight hours). The beans will expand to two or three times their volume, so be sure to account for that and use plenty of water.
Step 2: Cook the beans. Add your soaked beans, water, onion, garlic, tomato paste, molasses, brown sugar, spices, and liquid smoke to the slow cooker. Cover the pot and let the mixture cook for 3 ½ to 4 hours on high, or 7 to 8 hours on low. Once the beans are soft and the sauce is thick, you can move on to the next step.
Step 3: Add seasonings. Stir in the vinegar, mustard, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce, then let the beans cook for 20 or 30 minutes more. You can add water if the sauce seems too thick, or let it cook with the lid off if it seems too thin.
Tip: Don't be tempted to add these last few seasonings too early. Ingredients that are very acidic or salty can prevent beans from fully cooking, which is why we're adding them last.
Step 4: Season with salt. Finish your baked beans with some salt. I like to use a teaspoon, but you can give them a taste and add just as much as you like.
Step 5: Serve. Your slow cooker baked beans are done! Keep them warm in the slow cooker until you're ready to enjoy them.
Variations
- Spicy baked beans. Like a little heat in your beans? Add some cayenne pepper or your favorite hot sauce.
- Maple baked beans. Swap out the brown sugar with pure maple syrup.
- Caramelized onion baked beans. If you loved my other vegan baked beans recipe and want to include caramelized onions in this one, go for it! To cut down on the work the day of serving, keep in mind that caramelized onions can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for three days or in the freezer for three months.
- Boozy baked beans. This is another enhancement from my other recipe. To include whiskey in this one, just stir in ¼ cup during step 3, but make sure to let the beans cook with the lid off for the last 20 to 30 minutes for the whiskey to reduce. You can stir in some water if the sauce gets too thick.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yep! Simply use gluten-free tamari instead of soy sauce, and make sure your Worcestershire sauce is gluten-free.
I'm sure you can with some adjustments, although I haven't tried it myself with this particular recipe. My recommendation if you'd like to try is to reduce the water to 1 cup. Add all ingredients except for the beans, and let the sauce cook for 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low. Add 3 cans of drained and rinsed beans, then let everything cook for 30 to 60 minutes more. Uncover the pot if the sauce seems too thin.
Leftover baked beans will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3 days or in the freezer for about 3 months.
What to Serve with Slow Cooker Baked Beans
Round your meal out with one or more of these delicious dishes!
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker Baked Beans
Equipment
- 1 Slow cooker (6-quart capacity or larger)
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried great northern beans
- 3 cups water
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- â…“ cup tomato paste
- â…“ cup unsulfured molasses
- ¼ cup organic brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons mild chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar
- 3 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoons vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Instructions
- Place the dried beans into a large bowl and cover them generously with water. Make sure the water level is two to three times the height of the beans. Let the beans soak for 8 hours or overnight.
- Drain the beans and transfer them to a slow cooker (6-quart capacity or larger). Add 3 cups of water, along with the onion, garlic, tomato paste, molasses, brown sugar, chili powder, smoked paprika, and liquid smoke. Stir well to combine the ingredients. Cover the slow cooker and cook the mixture on high for 3 ½ to 4 hours, or on low for 7 to 8 hours, until the beans are tender and the sauce has thickened (Note 1).
- Stir in the vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and soy sauce. Cover the slow cooker again and let the mixture cook for another 20 to 30 minutes (Note 2).
- Turn off the heat and season the beans with 1 teaspoon of salt, or to taste.
- Serve.
Notes
- There's a lot of variation among slow cookers, so the cook times may vary. Keep a close eye on it the first time you make this recipe.
- If the sauce is still a bit runny, you can leave the lid off for all or part of this final stretch of cook time to allow it to reduce. If it seems too thick, simply thin it with some water and keep the pot covered.
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These beans taste and smell great! When I read the recipe, I was hesitant to add molasses to the beans early in the cooking process, but followed the recipe... and regretted it. My beans were hard after 9 hours on low in the slow cooker.
A word of caution: wait until the beans are soft before adding molasses or vinegar!
Thanks for the feedback! This recipe has worked well for me as written, with the vinegar added later. Keep in mind that bean age can make a big difference — older dried beans may stay firm even after long slow-cooker cooking. In that case, adding the molasses once the beans are tender is a good solution.