6 Ways with Baked Beans

6 Ways with Something Extra / Quick Meals from the Pantry

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Baked beans must have been the original fast food, and they remain the ultimate comfort food. They can be heated and served as they come on toast, either for breakfast, with a fried egg on the side if you’re extra hungry, or as a quick meal or snack through the day. They can even be served on Avocado Toast.

baked_beansCanned baked beans have a long history. While slow cooked beans were a staple in European cooking, they were also prized in Native American cuisine, especially amongst the north-eastern tribes. They baked navy beans in earthenware pots with maple syrup and, sometimes, venison meat and even bear fat. It’s believed that they taught this recipe to the Puritan colonists and through them it became an American favourite. Baked beans were first canned around the 1860s, but it was the Pennsylvania-based HJ Heinz Company that started mass production of canned baked beans in 1895.

While they often come with added salt and sugar, baked beans are still a good source of protein, fibre, B vitamins and minerals. All in all, then, they make a useful standby vegetable. For our purposes they also have the added benefit of coming in a small (130 or 140gm) single-serve sized can.

But let’s be honest. They can be a little dull, can’t they?  Have you ever looked at a can of baked beans in your cupboard and thought, ‘Yes, but…’? Well, sigh no more. I’ve come up with 6 ways you can get all the benefits of baked beans, and then some.

To find more recipes that feature canned beans and which can be adapted for baked beans, see the entry Standby Veg: Canned Four-Bean-Mix.

 

Recipes:

Baked Beans with Rice and Bacon

Ranch House Beans and Egg

Tomato, Bean and Vegetable Soup

Bean and Potato Curry

Chilli Beans

Couscous with Baked Beans

 

Baked Beans with Rice and Bacon

  • 1 x 130gm can baked beans
  • 1 tbsp. chopped onion
  • 2 tbsp. diced bacon
  • 3 tbsp. rice
  • Shredded Parmesan cheese
  • Olive oil

 

  1. In a small saucepan sauté onion in olive oil
  2. Add diced bacon and sauté
  3. Add rice and sauté until translucent
  4. Add ½ cup water and bring to the boil
  5. Simmer for 10 minutes
  6. Stir in baked beans and simmer for a further 5 minutes, stirring often and adding a little water if required
  7. Remove from heat and stir through a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese

 

Ranch House Beans and Egg

  • 1 x 130gm can baked beans
  • ½ cup diced tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp. chopped onion
  • Garlic and chilli (optional)
  • 2 tbsp. diced bacon (optional)
  • 1 egg
  • Basil and pepper
  • ¼ cup shredded mozzarella (optional)
  • Shredded Parmesan cheese
  • Olive or canola oil

 

  1. Sauté onion with garlic and chilli (optional) in a frying pan with a lid
  2. Add diced bacon and sauté (optional)
  3. Add diced tomatoes with basil and pepper and simmer for 3 minutes
  4. Add baked beans and simmer for a further 3 minutes stirring often
  5. Break egg over the mixture
  6. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella and/or Parmesan cheese
  7. Cover and cook over a low heat for a further 3–5 minutes

Variation: omit egg and skip Step 5

 

Tomato, Bean and Vegetable Soup

  • ½ cup diced tomatoes
  • ½ cup frozen mixed vegetables (or coleslaw mix)
  • 1 x 130gm can baked beans
  • Garlic and chilli (optional)
  • Pepper, basil and dried onion
  • 1 tsp. chicken stock powder

 

  1. Liquidise the diced tomatoes in the small cup of a bullet blender with herbs and spices
  2. Place in a saucepan and bring to the boil
  3. Add ½ cup boiling water with stock powder
  4. Return to the boil and add vegetables and simmer for 10 minutes
  5. Add baked beans with additional water if necessary
  6. Simmer until vegetables are tender

 

Bean and Potato Curry

  • 1 small potato, peeled and diced
  • 1 x 130gm can baked beans
  • 1 tbsp. chopped onion
  • ¼ cup diced tomatoes
  • ½ tsp. chicken stock powder
  • 2 tsp. lemon juice
  • Mild curry powder
  • Chilli, ginger and pepper
  • Canola oil

 

  1. In a small saucepan sauté onions with spices
  2. Add potato and sauté to heat through
  3. Add tomatoes with stock powder and lemon juice and sauté to reduce
  4. Add ½ cup boiling water
  5. Simmer until potato is almost cooked through (20–30 minutes) adding more water as required
  6. Add baked beans and simmer until potato is tender

Variation: substitute ½ cup cubed sweet potato for the potato and at Step 5 simmer for 10–15 minutes

 

Chilli Beans

  • 2 tbsp. chopped onion
  • ¼ cup red capsicum
  • ¼ cup carrot and/or celery chopped
  • ½ cup diced tomatoes
  • 1 x 130gm can baked beans
  • Chilli and garlic
  • Pepper, parsley, basil and oregano
  • 1 tsp. soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp. rice or 2 tbsp. small macaroni
  • Olive oil

 

  1. In a small saucepan sauté onion with spices
  2. Add vegetables and sauté
  3. Add baked beans and heat through
  4. Add diced tomatoes with soy sauce and herbs
  5. Add ¾ cup water, bring to the boil
  6. Add rice or macaroni and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally

 

Couscous with Baked Beans

  • 1 x 130gm can baked beans
  • ¼ cup red capsicum, chopped
  • Garlic, dried onion, chilli, basil and pepper
  • ½ cup diced tomatoes
  • ¼ cup instant couscous
  • Olive oil

 

  1. In a small saucepan sauté capsicum with garlic, chilli and pepper until wilted
  2. Add diced tomatoes with basil and dried onion and simmer for 5 minutes
  3. Add beans and sauté until heated through
  4. Add ½ cup water and simmer for a further 5 minutes
  5. Add couscous and stir until all the liquid is absorbed

Variation: substitute 3 tbsp. rice for the couscous, add at Step 4 and simmer for 15 minutes

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