My Smoky and Sweet Vegetarian Crock Pot Baked Beans are scratch-made, packed with protein and flavor!
Hello! Hello!
Since I don't eat traditional meat cookout dishes, it's always the side dishes that have been memorable for me at a party. For some reason, I've always enjoyed Baked Beans... as long as the version being served isn't laced with pork :-). If they are homemade they can be quite a treat!
With that in mind, if you are hosting any last summer cookouts or getting ready for a a fabulous football spread (ahhhh Florida football starts THIS weekend!) my Crock Pot Vegetarian Baked Beans are the way to go! They are a great addition to any party spread really.
And since they are made in the Crock Pot you can keep the rest of your oven empty for other dishes you want to make. OR just not turn it on at all if it's still pretty toasty where you live.
I had originally made these babies many moons ago for my good friend Sara's surprise Birthday party. They were a hit!
Memories.....
The smoky and sweet comes from adding some chipolte in adobe sauce AND just a little brown sugar to get that traditional sweet taste.
If you don't want to add brown sugar you can sub coconut sugar, maple syrup, honey or leave it out. It's not a lot of sugar, so I'm ok with the addition. I like the way the flavors play off each other and brown sugar is such a traditional flavor in baked beans.
You might also notice I mixed up the beans! Instead of doing just traditional white beans I added some red kidney beans and black beans. Since this is a Crock Pot Vegetarian Baked Beans version without the traditional meat flavoring, I wanted to add a little more umf to the recipe.
I also started out my version with dried beans, but they do take a LONG time to cook and you must plan ahead to soak them the night before. If you are short on time or just don't want to deal with it, you can easily substitute canned beans. You will need to reduce the cooking time. I'll put some notes about that in the actual recipe.
Either way, these babies are pretty tasty! Don't be surprised if you find yourself going back for more.
Enjoy!
Smoky & Sweet Vegetarian Crock Pot Baked Beans
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried navy beans
- ½ pound dried black beans
- ½ pound dried red kidney beans
- 1 onion, diced
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup grainy mustard
- 1 teaspoon adobo sauce and 1-2 minced chipotle peppers from the same can, More if you like spicy food
- 1 14.5 ounce can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 14.5 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 6 ounce can tomato paste
- 2 cups water, you may need to add more
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
Instructions
- The night before you want to make these rinse, drain and sort through the beans. Pick out any that don't look right. Put the beans in a large bowl and cover in water allowing an extra 3-4 inches of water on top. The beans will need lots of water and room to expand. This water is separate from the water in the recipe. Soak for at least 10 hours.
- In the morning, drain the beans.
- Add all of the ingredients to the Crock Pot, including the 2 cups of water, and cook for 8-10 hours on high. Stir occasionally if you are home. Check consistency of beans and add more water if it's too thick or the beans aren't getting soft enough.
Notes
You can also substitute canned beans for the dried, just leave out the soaking step and cook for 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 on low.
Nutrition
Like it? I’d love it if you could pin this to your favorite Pinterest board! Thank you so much for the support.
Want more Vegetarian Crock Pot?
Crock Pot Vegetarian Taco Soup
Crock Pot Vegetarian White Bean Soup
Crock Pot Cauliflower Cheddar Soup
Easy Crock Pot Black Bean Soup
Crock Pot Vegetarian Mexican Quinoa Bake
Crock Pot Vegetarian Baked Beans
This is another flash back Running in a Skirt recipe! It was originally published in August of 2013 and got a makeover in August of 2016 including new photos, text and a printable recipe. The pictures were embarrassingly bad, but the recipe was good. I'm so glad to get to share it with you in a more presentable way. 🙂
Or check out my Crock Pot page for dozens of other options!
Thanks for stopping by today! Come back tomorrow for the Best of the Blogs Linkup!
I’m linking up with: Meatless Monday with Sarah and Deborah, Meatless Monday with Annmarie and Rachel, Delicious Dish Tuesday, What’s Cookin’ Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday with Miz Helen, FoodFriDIY, Foodie Friday, and the Weekend Potluck. Thanks so much ladies for the link up parties!
Your turn!
Ever cooked beans from scratch?
Mary Ellen @ VNutrition says
Ooooh yum! Like you said, perfect for cookouts or BBQs! Love the addition of the chipotle in adobe sauce! Plus the crock pot idea is genius b/c we won't have to stand around for cooking!
Thanks so much for linking up with us for #HealthyVeganFridays! I’m Pinning and sharing!
JulieWunder says
Thanks Mary Ellen! Hope you are having a good weekend.
Life Diet Health says
These look so delicious! I actually made something similar last week when the UK weather changed overnight! Love all your photos - and don't all you girlies look fab! 🙂 Thanks for sharing at Healthy Vegan Fridays 🙂
JulieWunder says
Thank you so much!!! I really appreciate that!
Kimmythevegan says
Ha - this is funny timing to see this recipe today. My mom was just talking about how she made baked beans for a family get together today and she made a comment about how it's not something I would eat. I told her I love baked beans and how they are easy to veganize and she made a noise as if I'm "ruining" it by making it vegan. I'm going to make this for her the next time I see her and she will LOVE them =D
JulieWunder says
Awwww jeesh! Sometimes the veggie versions of these dishes are better! You've got to try my chili next week too. My hubby loves it more than meat chili.
Farrah says
Hooray! I am all about crockpot recipes lately, and these look delicious! <3 Can't wait to try em' out! (Hooray for protein!)
JulieWunder says
Yes! Super yummy!
janet @ the taste space says
Oh yum, I love the picture with all the dried beans! I definitely have to give this a chance because I adore all things with beans. 🙂
JulieWunder says
Me too! Thanks Janet!
Edye says
As a vegetarian who loves baked beans, I deeply appreciate this recipe, Julie! Hope you have a great weekend <3
JulieWunder says
Thanks Edye! I hope you enjoy them!
Michelle says
These beans look amazing!
My father is very particular about his beans!
I'll have to try these and see if he is amazed as I think he will be!
Thanks
Michelle
JulieWunder says
Thanks Michelle! I hope you guys enjoy them.
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says
I am so ready for all the autumn bean recipes to start rolling in. This is pretty much how we make our baked beans and here in the UK we eat them on toast for breakfast.
JulieWunder says
Ohhhh cool! I bet that would be good!
Emily says
I'm totally totally loving how you made this into a delicious side dish with all the wonderful chipotle flavor .... My stomach does like some beans, and it's especially good when they are cooked for a long time. I've never tried beans in the crockpot; I need to do something like this with our dried beans! Thank you Julie. <3
JulieWunder says
Thanks Emily! I hope you have a great weekend!
Deborah @ Confessions of a mother runner says
I fell in love with baked beans this summer too so good!
JulieWunder says
So good! Hope you are having a good weekend!
Blane Sherer says
There sure are multiple different ways to prepare
different versions of " baked beans ".
It's a staple side dish for sure.
Dan Steadman says
Surprise? We got my dad good for his 60th...him and I have the same b-day, and around the time of his 60th, me and my wife were due for our third child. Knowing if me and my mom planned for it to be my party and made it a surprise dad would see right through it, we decided to make it a 'baby shower' to throw him off, we had everyone there and had dad and my brother go and get the BBQ, and have my brother keep him away for a while so we could take the baby shower decorations down and change the cake and decorations to a Happy 60th birthday party...it worked like a charm and he was totally surprised (and even teared up a little)
Annette Cocke says
Julie, this looks great - and easy. In our neighborhood we have a Labor Day party and everyone brings a dish. I never know what to bring. This would be a great dish for this event. I can't wait to try it. I'm originally from New Orleans and fix dried beans a lot. My favorite is red beans and rice. You must try it sometime - it's easy. As a matter of fact, I cook it sometimes vegatarian style but it doesn't come out as good. Maybe you can give me some ideas. Annette
Lori L. Clark says
Omit the Worcestershire sauce to make it truly vegetarian. There are anchovies in that!
JulieWunder says
ahhh! I had no idea! I eat fish & seafood so that's not a problem... but I don't want to label it wrong! Thank you!