COOK: BBQ Beans with Little Smokies
- Ingredients for BBQ Beans
- Kitchen Equipment Needed
- How to Make BBQ Beans with Little Smokies
- BBQ Baked Beans with Little Smokies
These BBQ baked beans with Little Smokies will be a hit at your next summer BBQ or buffet. They’re packed with rich, smoky barbeque flavor… bacon bits, bite-sized smoked sausages, molasses, brown sugar, and a sweet BBQ sauce.
You can make these in your Instant Pot, crock pot, or a dutch oven on the stove top or in the oven. I like to use my Instant Pot, which is super convenient, doesn’t heat up the kitchen, and can keep these hot for serving anywhere you can plug it in! But if you don’t have one, don’t worry… you can still make these in your slow cooker or in a dutch oven.
You can serve these BBQ beans as a hearty side dish, or an easy comfort food dinner. I like to pair them with a piping hot wedge of buttermilk cornbread and creamy cool coleslaw for a simple supper, or as a side dish with grilled burgers, smoked ribs, or summer sweet corn. They’re also great on a game-day buffet with wings, chips, and your favorite dips.
Ingredients for BBQ Beans
Beans:
I like to use my home-canned navy beans in molasses sauce for this recipe, but you can use plain navy or white kidney beans, pintos, or your favorite canned baked beans.
You can also use dried navy beans that have been soaked overnight (or see my post on canning dried beans for a quick-soak method), drained, topped up with water to cover, and simmered just until tender.
Pork:
Smoky bacon adds richness and a ton of flavor, and the smoked cocktail sausages (Little Smokies, or your favorite brand) are meaty, delicious, and packed with protein.
BBQ Sauce:
You can use your favorite commercial BBQ sauce, or a homemade one. I used my zesty peach BBQ sauce which is extra tangy and adds a bit of heat and fruity flavor.
Onion:
Use chopped yellow, red, or white onion, or sweet onions for a mellower flavor.
Brown Sugar:
You can use light or dark brown sugar in these. Pack the sugar firmly and level off the measuring cup.
Molasses:
I use blackstrap molasses, which has a ton of flavor, as well as being rich in minerals and micronutrients and slightly less sweetness than regular molasses, but you can use what you have in your pantry.
Seasonings:
I like to add powdered yellow mustard, garlic powder, and a splash of Worcestershire sauce. Note that most brands of Worcestershire have anchovy (it’s where the umami flavor in this sauce comes from)… if this is an issue for you, omit or use a brand that doesn’t have it.
Kitchen Equipment Needed
Instant Pot, crock pot, or dutch oven:
I use an 8 quart Instant Pot for this recipe, but you can use a 6 quart Instant Pot, a dutch oven, or covered sauce pot with a heavy bottom.
cutting board and chef’s knife:
You’ll want a clean cutting board and a sharp knife to dice the onion and the bacon.
How to Make BBQ Beans with Little Smokies
prep ingredients:
- Slice off the root and top of the onion, halve through the root end, and peel.
- Dice the onion by slicing perpendicular towards the root end (without cutting all the way to the base) and then again horizontally across the first cuts.
- Cut the bacon slices in half lengthwise, stack them, and then slice thinly into small pieces.
saute bacon & onion:
- Use the saute setting on your Instant Pot or heat a dutch oven over medium heat.
- Saute the bacon first, stirring until the fat begins to render.
- Add the diced onion to the pan. Stir and saute until the onion is translucent and beginning to brown.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and mustard powder.
- Add the smoked sausages, and saute briefly, lightly browning them.
add beans & sauce:
- If you are using a crock pot, turn off the heat under the skillet, and transfer the sauteed onion & pork mixture and sausages to your crock pot.
- Add the brown sugar, molasses, and BBQ sauce. Stir and heat until the brown sugar dissolves.
- Pour in the canned beans, and fold the mixture together, stirring to mix the sauce, beans, and sausages.
pressure cook or slow cook:
- If you are using an Instant Pot, you can do a quick pressure cook on these to bring all the flavors together quickly, or slow cook them like using a crock pot. Either way, lock on the lid, close the steam valve, and choose your setting.
- To pressure-cook, use a low or normal manual setting, and set for about 12 minutes. You can do a natural release, or a quick-release if you are in a hurry. If you are not serving these right away, stir, close the lid, and use the slow-cook setting on low-medium to keep the beans hot.
- To slow cook, select the normal setting (or medium on most crock pots) and cook for several hours until the flavors have come together and you are ready to serve.
- Stove-top/dutch-oven directions: Cover the pot over medium-low to low heat, stirring regularly and watching so that the beans do not scorch. Cook for 20-45 minutes, or until the onions have dissolved into the sauce and the flavors are mellow. You can serve this sooner, but it improves with a bit of time to simmer.
- You can also transfer the pot to the oven, cover, and bake at 350-375F for 30-45 minutes, until the pot is bubbling throughout.
BBQ Baked Beans with Little Smokies
Equipment
- 1 Instant pot, crock pot, or dutch oven
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon diced
- ½ cup diced onion 4 oz
- 24 oz cocktail sausages (little smokies)
- 8 cups canned or cooked navy beans or baked beans 2 quarts
- 1 cup peach BBQ sauce (substitute your favorite bbq sauce)
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- 3 tbsp molasses
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tsp garlic powder
Instructions
prep ingredients:
- Slice off the root and top of the onion, halve through the root end, and peel.
- Dice the onion by slicing perpendicular towards the root end (without cutting all the way to the base) and then again horizontally across the first cuts.
- Cut the bacon slices in half lengthwise, stack them, and then slice thinly into small pieces.
saute bacon, onion, and sausages:
- Use the saute setting on your Instant Pot or heat a dutch oven over medium heat.
- Saute the bacon first, stirring until the fat begins to render.
- Add the diced onion to the pan. Stir and saute until the onion is translucent and beginning to brown.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and mustard powder.
- Add the smoked sausages, and saute briefly, lightly browning them.
add beans & sauce:
- If you are using a crock pot, turn off the heat under the skillet, and transfer the sauteed onion & pork mixture and sausages to your crock pot.
- Add the brown sugar, molasses, and BBQ sauce. Stir and heat until the brown sugar dissolves.
- Pour in the canned beans, and fold the mixture together, stirring to mix the sauce, beans, and sausages.
pressure cook or slow cook:
- If you are using an Instant Pot, you can do a quick pressure cook on these to bring all the flavors together quickly, or slow cook them like using a crock pot. Either way, lock on the lid, close the steam valve, and choose your setting.
- To pressure-cook, use a low or normal manual setting, and set for about 12 minutes. You can do a natural release, or a quick-release if you are in a hurry. If you are not serving these right away, stir, close the lid, and use the slow-cook setting on low-medium to keep the beans hot.
- To slow cook, select the normal setting (or medium on most crock pots) and cook for several hours until the flavors have come together and you are ready to serve.
- Stove-top/dutch-oven directions: Cover the pot over medium-low to low heat, stirring regularly and watching so that the beans do not scorch. Cook for 20-45 minutes, or until the onions have dissolved into the sauce and the flavors are mellow. You can serve this sooner, but it improves with a bit of time to simmer.
- You can also transfer the pot to the oven, cover, and bake at 350-375F for 30-45 minutes, until the pot is bubbling throughout.
Nutrition
Liked this? Try these recipes!
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- Triple Pickled Pepper Pasta Salad with Pepperoni and Chicken (or Chickpeas)
- Millions of Peaches, Peaches for Free (and a Spicy Peach BBQ Sauce Canning Recipe)
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