Homestyle Vegan Baked Beans (Slow Cooker Classic!)
Make hearty and flavorful Homestyle Vegan Baked Beans in your slow cooker! This easy recipe features tender navy beans in a rich, smoky-sweet molasses and brown sugar sauce.
Ingredients
(Original recipe yields 6 servings)
Beans:
- ▢ 1 pound dried navy beans
- ▢ Water (for soaking and boiling, plus 2 cups for slow cooker)
Sauce & Aromatics:
- ▢ 1 medium onion, chopped
- ▢ 1/2 cup molasses
- ▢ 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ketchup
- ▢ 2 teaspoons ground mustard
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste, adjust after cooking)
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- ▢ 2 cups water (to be added with sauce ingredients to slow cooker)
Garnish (Optional):
- ▢ Fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
1. Soak and Prepare Beans:
- Sort and Rinse: First, spread the 1 pound of dried navy beans on a clean surface and sort through them, removing any small stones, debris, or discolored beans. Rinse the sorted beans thoroughly under cold running water.
- Overnight Soak: Place the rinsed beans in a large saucepan or bowl. Add enough cold water to cover the beans by at least 2 inches (they will expand). Cover the pot/bowl and let the beans soak overnight at room temperature, or for at least 6-8 hours.
- Drain and Rinse (Post-Soak): After soaking, drain the beans well in a colander, discarding the soaking liquid. Rinse the beans again under cold water.
2. Par-Boil the Beans:
- Return the drained and rinsed beans to the large saucepan. Add fresh cold water to cover the beans by at least 2 inches.
- Place the saucepan over high heat and bring the water to a rolling boil.
- Once boiling, let the beans boil vigorously for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, drain the beans well in a colander, discarding this boiling liquid. Rinse the beans one last time.
3. Prepare Sauce and Slow Cooker:
- Grease the insert of your 3-quart slow cooker.
- Chop the medium onion.
- In a small or medium bowl, combine the remaining 11 sauce ingredients: the chopped onion, molasses, packed brown sugar, ketchup, ground mustard, optional liquid smoke, salt, pepper, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, and the 2 cups of fresh water. Stir well until the sugar and spices are mostly dissolved and everything is well combined.
4. Combine Beans and Sauce in Slow Cooker:
- Transfer the par-boiled and drained navy beans to the greased slow cooker.
- Pour the prepared sauce mixture evenly over the beans in the slow cooker.
- Stir gently to ensure the beans are well coated with the sauce.
5. Slow Cook the Baked Beans:
- Cover the slow cooker securely with its lid.
- Cook on the LOW setting for 9-10 hours, or until the beans are very tender and the sauce has thickened to your liking. (Stir once or twice during the long cooking time if you’re around, but it’s generally not necessary).
6. Serve:
- Once the beans are tender and the sauce is rich and thick, turn off the slow cooker.
- Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt or pepper if needed.
- Serve the Homestyle Vegan Baked Beans hot. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley, if desired. Enjoy!
Find it online: https://www.eatswithsoul.com/homestyle-vegan-baked-beans/