The ABSOLUTE BEST Grandma Brown's Baked Beans Recipe

This Grandma Brown's baked beans recipe is loaded with all the same savory, hearty, and meaty deliciousness as the original kind. It combines perfectly cooked navy beans with savory ham and a dash of brown sugar to make smooth, creamy beans that are totally addictive. Oh, and best of all, it's so, so easy to make. In fact, you'll only need to invest 5 minutes of prep time to whip up these baked beans!

The Best Grandma Brown Baked Beans

If you've never had Grandma Browns baked beans before, you're in for one of the most delicious baked bean recipes ever! The original Grandma Brown's baked beans are a Northeast staple that comes in a can, and they're known for being slightly sweet and savory with a flavor like no other. 

Anyway, since I think they're so delicious, I did my best to recreate their canned beans with this baked beans recipe. Spoiler alert, I think I nailed it! The beans are perfectly tender with that iconic flavor, and some diced ham takes everything to another level. 

Plus, in addition to tasting great, they're also so easy to whip up. All you have to do is cook the beans, let them soak overnight, then toss them into a baking dish with the rest of your ingredients and bake 'em.

Sounds pretty easy, right? Well, that's because it is!

As I mentioned, the entire recipe only involves about 5 minutes of active cooking time. The rest of your time spent making these Grandma Brown baked beans is just letting them bake. That means you'll have plenty of time to whip something up to go with 'em - like these sweet potato patties, these copycat Texas Roadhouse rolls, or these honey glazed carrots.

Ingredients

The ingredient list for these baked beans is pretty darn simple. Honestly, you might have the majority of them on hand already! 

Anyway, here's what you'll need to make this Grandma's baked beans recipe:

• ½ lb. navy beans
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 oz. cooked ham, chopped (or bacon)
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 bay leaf

Pretty simple stuff, right?

By the way, if you end up with any extra navy beans, then I definitely suggest you try this ham and beans recipe next. It's a great way to use up any leftover ham from this recipe too!

How To Make Grandma Browns Baked Beans

Again, this recipe for baked beans is really as simple as it gets.

As I said before, almost all of the time spent making them is hands-off.  Honestly, you barely have to do a thing! 

So, let's stop wasting time and get cooking!

Step 1: Soak The Beans

First things first, you'll want to take out a large saucepot and add 4 cups of water and baking soda to it. Then you can add the beans to the pot, bring everything to a boil, and cook the beans for 10 minutes.

When the time is up, you can remove the pot from the heat and let the beans sit in the water overnight, so they can soften.

Step 2: Assemble The Baked Beans

In the morning, you'll want to preheat your oven to 300°F and rinse the soaked beans. Once rinsed, you can add them to any oven-proof dish with a lid. Then, you can follow this by adding the brown sugar, ham, onions, and just enough water to cover the beans.

Lastly, you can season everything with a dash of salt, mix it all together, and add a bay leaf on top.

Step 3: Bake The Beans

Now that everything is in the baking dish, you can put it in the oven and bake the beans for 5 hours. Just make sure that you set a timer to check the beans every hour or so and add water as needed to prevent them from drying out. The beans should be thick and creamy when they're finished cooking. 

Finally, when your baked beans are done, you can serve them warm and enjoy!

How To Store Grandma Browns Baked Beans

This recipe for Grandma Brown's baked beans makes 4 servings, so it makes for the perfect hearty side dish for a big family dinner. If you're lucky, you might even end up with leftovers!

Speaking of leftovers, if you have them, you can store your leftover baked beans in the fridge for about 3-5 days in an airtight container.

How To Reheat Grandma Browns Baked Beans

When you're ready to dive into your baked beans again, they're definitely best reheated.

So, to reheat your baked beans, I suggest putting them back in a baking dish and heating them at 350°F for about 10 minutes - or until the beans reach your desired temperature.

Alternatively, if you want to reheat a single serving, you can microwave the baked beans in 20-second intervals, stirring between each one, until they're fully reheated.

FAQs About This Grandma Brown's Baked Beans Recipe

Did they stop making Grandma Browns baked beans?

As of late, they have stopped making Grandma Brown's baked beans. So to get those delicious baked beans, you'll just have to make this recipe instead! Honestly though, I think my recipe is even better than the beans you could buy at the store. So it's not a problem you can't get them anymore. 

How do you make canned baked beans taste better?

You can make canned baked beans taste better by adding additional ingredients. Things like bacon, onion, chili peppers, jalapenos, molasses, or even BBQ sauce are all great places to start. 

Wrapping It Up

Well, that's how to make Grandma Brown's baked beans.

There's just something so comforting about a giant bowl of these hearty baked beans. They're a little savory, slightly sweet, and jam-packed with flavor.

This recipe really transforms boring food like beans into something extraordinary. I know it might sound like a stretch, but after you get one taste of 'em, you'll see what I mean.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this Grandma Brown's baked beans recipe as much as I/we do.

As always, if you give this recipe a try, be sure to leave a comment below and let us know how it went!

More Bean Recipes

If you enjoyed this Grandma Brown's baked beans recipe, we have a ton of other easy bean recipes on the blog that you can try next!

Here are some of our most popular ones:

• Baked beans with ground beef
• Charro beans
• Chipotle black beans
• Butter beans
• Great northern beans

Oh, and for even more deliciousness, be sure to follow us on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. We post new recipes every day!

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