BBQ Baked Beans

BBQ baked beans are soft, creamy beans with a caramelized top, cooked on the grill in a covered baking dish until the edges brown and the sauce thickens. The grill’s gentle heat and smoke flavor the beans while keeping them from drying out, and a short sear at the end gives the top a crisp crust.

Ingredients for BBQ Baked Beans

Canned beans are the base, cooked just enough to warm through and absorb flavor. BBQ sauce brings sweetness and smoke, while bacon adds salt and richness. Onion cooks down into the sauce and deepens the taste. Brown sugar and apple cider vinegar balance sweet and sharp. Butter makes the sauce silky, and salt and black pepper round out the seasoning.

Why This BBQ Baked Beans Works

On the grill, beans cook slowly in a covered dish, which lets the sauce reduce and cling to each bean without the beans turning to mush. The gentle, even heat is gentler than a hot oven and gives you time to build flavor.

Cooking bacon first and rendering its fat flavors the whole pot, then the onions cook in that fat until soft. The beans go in with BBQ sauce, brown sugar, and vinegar, and the grill’s covered environment steams them gently while the sauce thickens.

At the end, you move the beans to direct heat briefly to caramelize the top. This gives you the contrast of a crisp, dark edge against a creamy, soft interior.

Mistakes To Avoid

Cooking the beans uncovered on direct heat dries them out and turns them mealy. The grill’s direct flame is too hot and cooks the sauce away before the beans soften and the flavors marry. Cook covered over indirect heat the whole time, then sear at the end for crust.

Using fresh onions without cooking them first leaves them raw and harsh. Dice them small and let them soften in the bacon fat for 3 to 4 minutes so they dissolve into the sauce and sweeten it.

Draining the canned beans too thoroughly removes starch that helps the sauce cling and thicken. Rinse them if you want to cut sodium, but do not drain them bone-dry. Use them with a little of their liquid still clinging.

Forgetting to stir the beans halfway through cooking causes the bottom to stick and the top to stay pale. Stir once after 30 minutes so they cook evenly and the sauce coats every bean.

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Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon, diced
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced small
• 3 cans (15 ounces each) pinto beans, rinsed
• 1 cup BBQ sauce
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Step-by-step Instructions

1. Preheat your grill to 350°F (175°C) for indirect heat, with one side of the grill off or set to low.
2. Cook the diced bacon in a skillet over medium heat on your grill or stovetop until it is brown and crisp, about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often. Drain off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat.
3. Add the diced onion to the same skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring, until it is soft and starting to turn golden, about 4 minutes.
4. Pour the onions and bacon fat into your grill-safe baking dish. Add the rinsed beans, BBQ sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, butter, salt, and black pepper. Stir until everything is combined and the butter is melted.
5. Place the baking dish on the indirect heat side of the grill and cover the grill. Cook for 60 minutes, stirring once after 30 minutes, until the sauce thickens and coats the beans.
6. Move the baking dish to direct heat and cook uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring once, until the top begins to brown and caramelize at the edges.
7. Stir in the crumbled bacon, taste for salt and pepper, and serve hot from the grill.