What do you get when you combine baked beans, ground beef, crispy bacon strips, and lots of flavorful seasonings? This easy baked beans with ground beef recipe that’s out of this world!
In the South, we love to add our own spin to traditional recipes. Today, we’re talking about baked beans. Now, if you head to the UK you’ll regularly get a small side serving of baked beans with breakfast. But this easy recipe for Southern baked beans with ground beef is a delicious main dish around here.
It’s one of the easiest Southern meals to make, as all you have to do is stir the ingredients together in a bowl. You can use a skillet or a 9×13 pan if you like. So, what ingredients do we combine to make baked beans? Besides the baked beans and ground beef, we’ve got navy beans, onion, and flavorful seasonings like barbecue sauce, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. This gives the baked beans a really delicious barbecue flavoring that will have you wanting seconds!
Once you mix the ingredients together, pop them into a baking dish, add a layer of bacon strips, and bake! It will be ready in under an hour. Now, I’ve included some serving suggestions below, but seeing as this is a Southern baked beans recipe, you can’t go wrong with a serving of homemade cornbread.
Alright, who’s ready to get baking and make this baked beans and beef casserole? I know I am!
Recipe Ingredients
- Ground beef (cooked and drained)
- Baked beans (any kind you want)
- Navy beans
- Onion
- Barbecue sauce
- Mustard
- Worcestershire sauce
- Bacon (we use turkey bacon)
- Salt and pepper
How to Make Baked Beans With Ground Beef
Now I have my ground beef already cooked and in the freezer but if yours isn’t you wanna go ahead and cook that before this step.
Place beans (liquid and all) and ground beef in a large bowl.
Chop up your onion and add it and the barbecue sauce in the mix.
Next the Worcestershire sauce too.
Then add the mustard, salt and pepper.
Stir it all together really well.
Prepare your skillet or 9×13 baking dish with vegetable oil or spray.
Pour your bean mixture into the prepared pan.
Top with 3-4 strips of uncooked bacon.
Place this in the oven at 350 for 45 to 60 minutes.
During that time your husband, who has repeatedly stated that he does not like baked beans, will ask you “Man, what are you cooking? That smells good!”. When you tell him it is baked beans he will say “Oh, really?” and look at you in disbelief. This scenario will repeat itself every ten minutes or so until the beans are done and then your husband will magically appear in the kitchen with a bowl and a spoon. At least that is how it goes down at my house.
Enjoy!
Storage
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat them in the microwave or on the stovetop.
- You can also freeze leftovers for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before reheating in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Recipe Notes
- Here are some variations to make this homemade baked beans recipe work for you and your family:
- Add a cup of chopped green or red bell pepper.
- Use Dijon mustard or spicy brown mustard instead of yellow mustard.
- Substitute the ground beef for ground turkey, breakfast sausage, or spicy sausage.
- Add more spice with a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes.
- Just before they’re done, sprinkle some shredded cheddar cheese on top and bake until melted.
- Use a combination of ketchup and barbecue sauce, or sweet barbecue sauce instead (like Sweet Baby Ray’s Original Barbecue Sauce).
- For added sweetness, add 1/4 cup of brown sugar or molasses.
- Add a garnish of freshly chopped chives or parsley.
- Substitute the navy beans for any other bean variety, like black beans, pinto beans, or kidney beans.
- The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools, so let it sit for a few minutes before serving.
Recipe FAQs
How do you serve baked beans with ground beef?
If serving it as a main meal, I recommend serving it with cornbread, homemade dinner rolls, or homemade biscuits to soak up the sauce.
However, it also works great as a side dish at a cookout, tailgate party, picnic, potluck, or even a holiday dinner. For a cookout, serve it alongside a pulled pork sandwich, hamburgers, grilled chicken tenders, breaded pork chops, or hot dogs. For the holidays, it tastes so good with baked ham.
Can you cook baked beans in the slow cooker?
You can make baked beans in the crockpot. The only difference is that I’d pre-cook the bacon and chop it up before adding the bacon bits and the remaining ingredients to your crockpot. Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours or on high for 2 to 3 hours.
Can I leave out the ground beef?
Yes, you can! If you remove the ground beef you’ve basically got a delicious baked bean casserole.
Check out these other bean-tastic recipes:
Cheesy Beef and Bean Burritos (Freezer Recipe)
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos
Ingredients
- 28 ounce baked beans do not drain
- 30 ounce navy beans (or bean of your choice), do not drain, approximately 2 cans
- 1 pound ground beef cooked and drained
- 1 onion small, chopped
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 ounces turkey bacon uncooked, 3-4 slices
Instructions
- Prepare your skillet or spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Stir together all ingredients except for the bacon.28 ounce baked beans, 30 ounce navy beans, 1 pound ground beef, 1 onion, 1 cup barbecue sauce, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons yellow mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Spoon into the oven safe prepared skillet or baking dish and top with strips of uncooked bacon. Place in a 350-degree oven for 45-60 minutes.4 ounces turkey bacon
Nutrition
Get rich quick … Count your blessings!
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The recipe sounds good and the final product looks good, but does anyone else think that the uncooked bacon pictured, doesn’t look very much like bacon?
That’s turkey bacon but you can use regular bacon if you like.
I made this tonight with hot water cornbread and hub loved it and asked me to fix it again soon. Thanks for our delicious supper!
I love nicknames as well! In fact, after my sil’s first visit to our family get together, someone asked him our names. He said,”I don’t know their real names, but there was a Wannie, a Tata, NeeNee, Jeggie, Sissy, Hop etc etc!”
My 3 grandchildren are Ella Grace, Mary Wilkes (Aka Dub) and Henry. I call them Gracie Googenheimer, Dubbie Doolittle and Henry Higginbotham!
I do a very similar recipe, except I drain at least one of the navy/northern beans and add some Bourbon.
The nickname everyone knows me by is Sherry. Not many people outside family even know my real name, which is Sharian. My beloved maternal grandparents and uncle called me Shebby. If my daughter had given me time to think about it, that is what I would have had my grandbabies call me. But, Nana has become the nickname I love the best, right next to Mama. My brother calls me Sis. Going back to early internet days, when everyone used a nickname, my internet friends still call me Rosie, from my middle name Rose. I love them all and the people who use them.
My Mother did NOT approve of nicknames. So we were Alma Ruth, Mildred Rebecca, Patricia Ann and Frances Marie. Sometimes, when we were out of earshot of Mother, Daddy would call me Sissis Jody. When I wondered why, he would tell about this awfully stubborn mule his brother and he had tried to use to plow the fields when they came home from WWII. They might get one or two rows plowed a day and that was IT! That stubborn mule was Sissis Jody. And I was evidently stubborn enough to warrant that name!