These thick, sweet & smoky slow cooked vegan baked beans need a little initial prep then you can leave them to do their thing while you do yours. You will be rewarded with a comforting & delicious pot of the most amazing baked beans with rich, deep & complex flavours.
Step away from that can of baked beans and make these Vegan Baked Beans instead. Just do it…..you will not be disappointed. They are totally awesome and I should know as I have eaten rather a lot of them in the past few months while trying to get this recipe just right. By making them you will not only be treating yourself to a delicious, nutritious meal, you will also be helping to support International Year Of Pulses.
INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE PULSE
2016 is International Year Of The Pulse as declared by the United Nations in 2013. The idea is to put pulses on the map as a primary source of protein and essential nutrients. Awareness of pulses will be increased globally and hopefully it will help to show that there is life after animal protein and decrease people’s reliance on the cruel and barbaric meat and dairy trades. Pulses too can help improve the sustainability of agriculture. Read more about this and get more information on pulses in general by visiting Pulse Canada.
So in honour of Year Of The Pulse I bring you my Vegan Baked Beans. These beans can be cooked in a slow cooker, on the stove top or in the oven so you can choose the method that suits you best. Any way you do it they take a while to develop their rich, complex, smoky flavour but this is all hands off time.
After a bit of initial prep , these Vegan Baked Beans simmer slowly for hours and hours until they are rich, thick, sweet and smoky. They have the most amazing complex flavour and the smell in the house while they are cooking is so good!
PERFECT FOR BATCH COOKING
This recipe makes a lot but reheats perfectly and will keep for up to five days in the fridge. The flavours continue to develop over this time and just get better and better. They also freeze very well for a convenient no effort dinner at a later date.
HOW TO SERVE MY VEGAN BAKED BEANS
I love to bake a potato in the oven until it is crispy on the outside and soft and sweet on the inside, cut it in half, dollop on a bit of my Easy Vegan Butter, sprinkle with nutritional yeast (I love the Bob’s Red Mill brand) and mash it into the flesh a bit with a fork, then top with my thick, delicious Vegan Baked Beans. So, so good!
You can also serve them with some fresh bread or in the traditional English way, on toast. They also make a great side dish especially when they accompany my Bubble & Squeak Patties. A great dinner for getting lots of nutrition into unsuspecting children!
However you are going to serve them do it soon as I am sure you will love them! Let me know what you think by leaving feedback in the comments below. You can also share your pictures to my Facebook page or on Instagram or Twitter. Just be sure to tag me @avirtualvegan so I don’t miss them.
Vegan Barbecue Baked Beans
Ingredients
- 300g | 1.5 cups cups of small dried white beans , soaked overnight (measured before soaking - see recipe note if you forget to soak them) navy or great northern beans work best. If you don't have dried you may use 4.5 cups of drained canned beans
- 1 large onion , chopped finely
- 3 large cloves of garlic , chopped finely
- 28oz | 793g | 3 cups canned crushed tomatoes (see recipe note)
- 60mls | ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 80mls | 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
- 1 heaping tablespoon mustard (any wet variety)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 large bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes or powder (to give flavour not heat)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 heaping tablespoon smoked paprika , OR liquid smoke, (see recipe notes for advice on amounts) DO NOT use both. They both give good results.
- 240mls | 1 cup of water
Instructions
- First you need to cook your soaked beans (see recipe notes if you forgot to soak them) Drain off the soaking water, cover with fresh water and bring to a boil then simmer until the beans are just tender. 60 - 90 minutes should do it. If you are using canned beans skip this step. Once the beans have cooked, drain them and then continue onto the steps below depending on your cooking method.
Slow Cooker Method
- Add all of the ingredients to your slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours (I have left them for up to 10 hours in my crock-pot , or on high for 5 hours. Remember that all slow cookers are slightly different so I would suggest that you make sure you are semi around for the last couple of hours of cooking just in case your slow cooker runs hotter)
Stove Top or Oven Method
- Saute onions and garlic until transparent.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and cook over a medium heat until just starting to bubble.
- Turn down to low, cover and cook for around 3 hours or until the beans are very soft and the sauce is thick and rich. Check them often and stir to make sure they aren't sticking to the bottom or drying out. If they are just add a few drops of water to bring them back to the consistency you want.
- If baking in the oven once a simmer has been reached transfer to a covered oven proof dish and bake in a preheated oven on 300 ° F for 3 - 4 hours or until the beans are soft and the sauce is thick and rich. Again check every hour or so to make sure they are ok and not drying out.
Long time vegan, creator of A Virtual Vegan & author of the book 
Thomas says
This recipe is good but I and others found it not well suited to be served at a barbecue. I made two recipes, one more traditional and this one. I always taste my seasoning mix before stirring it in. This mix tasted outstanding. Like really amazing but the other one not so much. However, after cooking, these tasted more like something that belonged on pasta. The recipe was followed to the letter and they were good but didn’t have the baked bean flavor they should have. The other dish was good but got way better the next day. However, we plan to use this in a few layered dishes that will likely be quite tasty
Denise says
Could these also be made in an Instant Pot? I’m now addicted to pressure cooking (set it, forget it, but faster than the crock pot)! I work quite a lot of hours, so the faster, the better for me.
Denise
Melanie McDonald says
I am actually testing them in my Instant Pot for the 4th time later today. They taste great but I’m having issues getting the beans creamy. I think pre-cooking them is going to be necessary which is a shame because I wanted to avoid that. But if you do pre-cook them, they should be ok and all of the ingredients can stay the same. I’m not sure on timings yet though so that will be a bit of an experiment if you give them a try! Watch this space for a fully tested and perfect Instant pot version soon!
Denise says
Thank you!
Vegan Cook says
I’m making this. I’m using dry Pinto beans. I halved the recipe. I soaked the beans overnight. It might be wiser, to soak the beans in a fridge, than letting them sit for hours on a counter. The beans were very plump. I pre cooked them after soaking, and the beans were slitting after only a half hour. If using a crockpot, I don’t think the pre cooking on a stove is needed. Just cook the beans and ingredients straight in the crockpot, but add the vinagar and tomatoes in the last half hour of cooking. I accidentally put in a half cup too much of water, so the whole thing was soupy. So, I ended up reducing the liquid off by cooking the whole thing in one of those Pampered Chef, plastic steamer pots., because it was the fastest way to get it at a temperature to turn the extra water into steam, and reduce it without taking forever in the crockpot, or simmering on the stove, where it might bubble over or burn. It took about 30 minutes in the microwave to reduce the water to a sauce. Otherwise, it’s a great list of old school home cooking, wholesome ingredients and herbs. I might just go from soak to microwave pot next time, or straight from soak to the crockpot. Cooking precooked beans in a crockpot for quadruple + hours, might turn the pre cooked beans to mush.
Karen says
I have been looking for a vegan baked bean recipe that isn’t bland and this one is perfect! I only had big butter beans and used those. They were unbelievable and even my non-vegan husband couldn’t get enough. Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe!
Melanie McDonald says
I’m so pleased you both enjoyed the recipe Karen!
Kate says
These are amazing. I can’t believe I made baked beans that tasted so good! I followed the recipe exactly using the stove top method and wouldn’t change a thing. Thanks so much!
Melanie McDonald says
That’s awesome Kate. I’m really pleased you enjoyed them!
Denise says
Thanks so much for yet another brilliant recipe. I used tinned beans as I only decided to make this recipe 3 hrs before my daughter and her fiancé visited and I I decided to rustle up something for lunch. I was going to put it in the oven until I realised the dish wouldn’t fit in the along with your chocolate chip banana bread (2nd time making that and again a huge succes) so I threw the bean mix into the slow cooker. I used a mixture of borlotti, haricot and falgelot beans (just what I had in the cupboard) and voila the best tasting beans i’ve ever had. Because the beans were already pre-cooked it didn’t need as long to cook as your instructions. Two days later and the taste has intensified and become even more delicious.
A Virtual Vegan says
Best tasting beans ever?? I’ll take that. Thank you! I love that you made these beans, the mac and cheese bites and the choc chip banana bread! Ha ha. You were busy!
Jason says
Made this recipe with a couple of major alterations, using pomegranate molasses instead of blackstrap and adding a tin of patted dry young green jackfruit (was going for pulled pork kinda thing). I added a little extra Dijon mustard and liquid smoke. Me and my girlfriend found it too sweet, such a shame because everything else about it was great. Next time we will try less maple syrup and maybe try with blackstrap. I wonder if the smoke also contributes to sweetness?
Anthony says
Dude. Why are you even leaving a 3 star comment if you changed the recipe?
Hannah says
This is one of the best things I have EVER tasted! I have only been vegan a week but recipes like this make me feel like this is achievable and that this is going to be a delicious and abundant rather than a restrictive life! Thank you times a million. Going to make this for family and friends to convince them too!! X
A Virtual Vegan says
That makes me so happy Hannah. If I can’t make it taste as good as it’s non-vegan version then it doesn’t show up here so you should be pretty safe with my recipes. I am all about the FLAVOR! There is no going without here. Good luck to you on your vegan journey and I’m so pleased I can help make it easier!
Rhonda R Dore says
These are just about the most delicious baked beans I’ve ever had, vegan or not. Because… Texas… I added a tad more chile powder, and not only are they smoky and sweet, they have a just-right little afterburn. Thank you so much for this recipe!
A Virtual Vegan says
That makes me so happy Rhonda. Thank you!
Angela W Broyles says
This is really good! Perfect as written!
A Virtual Vegan says
Good to hear. Thank you Angela!