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Meat, Americas

Baked beans with ham and brown bread

Baked beans with ham and brown bread is a slow baked dish of white beans, salt pork, and a sweet savory sauce, served with pan fried ham and buttered bread. For 4 people, it takes 4.5 hours total, including 3 hours in the oven, rated easy, at €2.20 per serving. The key to success is soaking the beans overnight and watching the sauce so it stays syrupy, never dry.

This is a sugar shack kind of dish, white beans simmering for hours in the oven in a syrupy sauce, with ham and bread on the side.

Baked beans with ham and brown bread
Total time
4 h 30
Difficulty
Easy
Cost per person
€2.20
Calories per person
570 kcalcalculated by Kiloach, your weight coach
Season
Winter, Fall
The kids
They generally like it

Baked beans with ham means white beans simmered for hours in a thick molasses sauce, with chunks of salt pork melting right into it. The result is tender and slightly sweet, with that distinctive smoky flavor from the pork or bacon. Buttered brown bread is there for mopping up the sauce, and the pan fried ham adds a salty note that balances the sweetness.

This is a Sunday kind of dish, or one for a day when you're home, since the oven runs for hours and the beans need soaking the night before. Kids usually love it, especially with bread for dipping, and it feeds a whole family without costing much. Mon Chou suggests it on cold fall and winter days, when a slow simmered dish feels right.

The ingredients

4 people

Pantry

  • dried white beansoften in the pantry 400 g
  • molasses or maple syrup 4 tbsp
  • brown sugaroften in the pantry 2 tbsp
  • mustardoften in the pantry 1 tbsp
  • tomato pasteoften in the pantry 1 tbsp
  • saltoften in the pantry 1 pinch
  • pepperoften in the pantry 1 pinch

Butcher

  • salt pork or smoked bacon 200 g

Dairy

  • ham slices 4 slices
  • butter 30 g

Fruits and vegetables

  • onion 1

Bakery

  • country bread 8 slices

Allergens Gluten

The step by step recipe

  1. The night before, soak the beans in a large bowl of cold water.

    Discard the soaking water, it contains what makes beans ferment.

  2. Drain the beans, cover with fresh water, and simmer gently. 45 min

    Don't salt the water, salt toughens the bean skins.

  3. In a Dutch oven, mix the beans with the chopped onion, molasses, brown sugar, mustard, and tomato paste, then place the salt pork in the center.

    Save a bit of the cooking water in case you need to add moisture later.

  4. Cover and bake at 150°C, checking from time to time that there's still liquid. 3 h

    Add a splash of hot water if it starts sticking, the sauce should stay syrupy.

  5. Reheat the ham in a pan with the butter, butter the bread, and serve with the beans.

    Cut the salt pork into pieces before serving, so anyone who doesn't want it can easily remove it.

Our tips to get it right

  • Pick white beans from the most recent harvest if you can, since old dried beans cook unevenly and can stay tough even after hours in the oven.
  • Check the liquid level roughly every 45 minutes while baking, the sauce should always coat the beans without drowning them.
  • Taste the sauce before baking and adjust the brown sugar or mustard to your liking, it's easier to fix the sweet and savory balance at that stage.

The variations

  • Swap the molasses for maple syrup only, for a milder, less intense flavor.
  • For a vegetarian version, skip the salt pork and ham, use vegetable broth instead of water, and add a touch of smoked paprika to keep that smoky note.
  • For a quicker version, use canned white beans, rinsed and drained, which cuts the oven time down to about 1 hour.

What to serve it with

  • Extra brown bread for dipping
  • A well dressed green salad
  • Pickled red cabbage

Storage

Baked beans keep for 3 days in the fridge in a sealed container. They freeze well for up to 2 months in portions. Reheat gently over low heat with a splash of water to bring back the syrupy sauce.

Questions about this dish

Can you cook baked beans without soaking them first?

It's possible, but cooking will take longer and the beans may turn out unevenly tender. An overnight soak remains the best way to get beans that are tender all the way through.

Can this dish be made ahead of time?

Yes, it actually tastes better made the day before, since the sauce thickens and the flavors blend further. Reheat gently in the oven or on the stove before serving.

What can replace salt pork in this recipe?

Smoked bacon works very well and gives a similar flavor. You can also use smoked lardons if you can't find a whole piece.

Why does the sauce need to stay syrupy during baking?

A sauce that dries out too much makes the beans stick to the bottom of the pot and lose their tenderness. Adding a splash of hot water during cooking keeps the expected soft texture.

How long does it take to make baked beans with ham and brown bread?

Count 4 h 30 in total, prep and cooking included. The recipe is rated “easy”.

How many calories are in baked beans with ham and brown bread?

About 570 kcal per serving, for a recipe meant for 4 people. Calories are calculated by Kiloach, your weight coach, the app that partners with Mon Chou.

How much does baked beans with ham and brown bread cost?

About €2.20 per serving, or €8.80 for 4 people, based on average supermarket prices.

What allergens does this recipe contain?

This recipe contains gluten. Always check the labels of the products you buy.

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