These baked beans bring the sweet-smoky barbecue flavor I want at a cookout, with bacon on top and no overnight soak. Canned pork and beans keep the prep practical.

A brief stovetop simmer builds flavor before the beans bake uncovered. The sauce thickens as it rests, so I can bring the pan to the table without last-minute fuss.

A shallow white bowl of baked beans topped with bacon, with the baking dish and spice jars behind it. — I often serve baked beans beside burgers at a cookout, but this bowl feels just as at home next to Thanksgiving turkey or Christmas ham.

Read Before You Start

Budget your time – it’s worth it! These beans bake uncovered for 55 to 60 minutes, then rest for 20 minutes before serving. I plan around that rest because the sauce is looser straight from the oven and thickens as the pan sits. I use those 20 minutes to get the rest of the meal to the table.

Ingredients for baked beans arranged on a counter, including pork and beans, bacon, onion, barbecue sauce, ketchup, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. — I start with canned pork and beans, then build the barbecue sauce with pantry staples.

The Beans and Their Sauce

I use four 14-ounce cans of pork and beans, 56 ounces total. Before mixing, I remove ½ cup of the can liquid so the sauce has less excess liquid to cook off.

If 14-ounce cans aren’t available at your local grocery store, two 28-ounce cans of Bush’s baked beans matches the total weight. Different brands will have different sauces, so purchase based on your personal preference.

Don’t Skip These Steps

I cook the bacon first, leave about a tablespoon of its drippings in the pan, and soften the onion in that smoky fat.
The beans and sauce simmer together in the skillet for 5 minutes before I move everything to the baking dish.
I stir in about two-thirds of the bacon and scatter the rest over the top. The bacon underneath seasons the sauce; the exposed pieces crisp in the oven and stay easy to spot on the finished beans.

Recipe Test: August 2026

This recipe was originally published on March 25, 2021, and was last tested by Pam Springs on August 13, 2026.

I wanted to cut the original ½ cup of brown sugar without losing the beans’ barbecue flavor. Two tablespoons tasted right with the ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire, and bacon, so I kept that amount in the recipe.

A white casserole dish of baked beans with browned edges and a wooden spoon, with a bowl of beans and bacon pieces alongside.

Serving and Storage

I set these beans beside burgers, hot dogs, or barbecue at a cookout; they also fit perfectly alongside holiday ham. For a heartier dish on weeknights, I make Baked Beans with Ground Beef.

I find you can refrigerate leftovers in a covered container for about three days. The next-day batch will hold its texture and tastes just as good. Add a splash only if the sauce looks thicker than you want but it’s generally not needed.

Recipe for Baked Beans

4.97 from 32 votes

Oven-baked pork and beans with bacon, barbecue sauce, and a less-sweet brown sugar sauce. This cookout-ready side serves eight.

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1 15

Total Time 1 45

Servings servings

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Ingredients

1 pound bacon, divided (16 ounces)
1 medium white onion, diced
4 cans pork & beans (four 14-ounce cans)
¼ cup ketchup
½ cup BBQ sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
In a large (12 inch) frying pan over medium heat, cook the chopped bacon, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
Remove the cooked bacon from the frying pan and chop it into small pieces. Set the bacon aside for now. Leave about 1 tablespoon of bacon grease in the frying pan and discard the rest of the grease.
Cook onion in the same frying pan over medium-high heat until tender (about 5 minutes).
Open the cans of beans and remove ½-cup of the liquid that came out of the cans.
Add the beans, ketchup, BBQ sauce, brown sugar, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and ⅔ of the bacon to the frying pan with the onions, stir all ingredients well to mix and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.
Place the entire mixture into the prepared casserole dish.
Sprinkle the remaining ⅓ of bacon over the top of the dish.
Place the baking dish into the preheated oven and bake uncovered for 55-60 minutes. Let it sit for 20 minutes before serving to give the sauce a chance to thicken a bit.
Serve hot or warm.