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Baked Beans with Ground Beef Recipe

A Dutch oven filled with ground beef and white beans in sauce.

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This recipe for baked beans with ground beef is made with seasoned ground beef and simple homemade baked beans. You can serve it as a main dish or hearty side dish. 

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons molasses
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon or stone-ground mustard
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 1/2 cup water
  • 2 15-oz cans white beans, drained (or 3 cups cooked beans)

Instructions

  1. In a Dutch oven or wide saute pan, warm the oil over medium heat. Saute the onion until soft and lightly browned, 8 minutes. 
  2. Add the hamburger meat and cook until no longer pink, 8 minutes. While the meat cooks, break it up with a spatula. When the meat is cooked, you can drain off excess grease if you want (optional).
  3. Season the meat with salt, pepper, smoked paprika and garlic powder. 
  4. Add the tomato paste and mix really well. Cook 1 to 2 minutes more. 
  5. In a medium bowl, mix together the ketchup,molasses, brown sugar, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Stir in the water. 
  6. Pour the sauce over the meat. Bring to a gentle simmer. 
  7. Add the beans. Mix well.  
  8. Simmer vigorously for 10 minutes without a lid, stirring occasionally. When you turn off the heat, the sauce should be slightly thicker and have a consistency similar to BBQ sauce. 

Notes

You can use any variety of canned white beans to make this recipe. Navy beans are smaller and firmer and hold their shape well. Great Northern and Cannellini are larger and softer.

This dish will stay fresh for up to 4 days if kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 

Optional Ingredients

Green bell pepper: A chopped green bell pepper adds crunch, color and flavor. 
Bacon: Adding crumbled bacon (or using bacon fat to saute the hamburger meat and onion) adds salty, savory flavor. 
Apple cider vinegar: If you like tangy baked beans, then add 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar to the sauce.