Smoked Baked Beans

The perfect balance of sweet, smoky, and spicy flavors, these smoked baked beans are a backyard BBQ side dish you can count on. One bite will have your friends and family raving about the best baked beans they've ever tasted!

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Southern

Keyword: baked beans, smoked

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 3

Total Time: 3 10

Servings:

Calories: 257kcal

Author: imma

Ingredients

4-6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut in 3-4 pieces
1 medium onion, diced
½ jalapeno, diced
½ bell pepper, diced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 15-ounce can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 15-ounce cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
½ cup ketchup
1 tablespoon mustard
4 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons molasses
¾ cup barbecue sauce
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
pepper (to taste)

Instructions

Fry bacon in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Don't cook the bacon until it's crispy because it will finish cooking in the smoker. Remove and set aside. This can be done on the stovetop or smoker.
In the same skillet using the bacon dripping, sauté the onion, jalapeno, bell pepper, and garlic until soft and translucent.
Add the kidney and pinto beans to the skillet, along with the apple cider vinegar, ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, molasses, barbecue sauce, Cajun seasoning, and pepper. Stir everything until well combined.
Place the partially cooked bacon on top of the beans.
Place the skillet in the pellet grill or on a charcoal grill and smoke for 2-3 hours or until the beans' flavors have melded together. Check the liquid level: If the beans start drying out, add more barbecue sauce or water to keep them moist.
Serve hot, and enjoy your delicious smoked baked beans!

Notes

You can saute the raw ingredients on the stovetop or cook them in your smoker. Either way works.
Check the liquid level often. If the beans start drying out, add more barbecue sauce or water to keep them moist.
Choose smoking wood that complements the flavor of the beans. Fruitwoods like apple or cherry or mild woods like oak work well for smoked beans. Avoid strong, overpowering woods like mesquite.
Baked beans smoked on a pellet grill are super easy because you can set it and forget it. But you can soak wood chips and smoke them over indirect heat in your charcoal grill.
Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.

Nutrition