World’s Best Baked Beans

This recipe comes from one of those fund raising cookbooks — a familiar thing in many American circles. Do you have a few on your bookshelf? I have them from churches, our old squadron wives group, and this one is from my sister-in-law’s high school class. They made a cookbook several years ago and used it to raise funds for their upcoming reunion. This simple recipe for very meaty baked beans in my favorite in the book. Thanks to the 1973 class of Belle Vernon Area High School for sharing.

I’ve never served this without getting at least one request for the recipe. it makes a huge amount, so it’s something you’ll want to prepare when you have many mouths to feed. I have frozen leftovers and been happy with the result when they were thawed and reheated in case you need that option.

I have taken this to potluck dinners as a side dish. For my December graduation party (many years ago), I made this as a main dish on a blustery winter day and served it with cornbread. It’s hearty enough to be a meal in itself.

Tomorrow, this very American looking Polish pottery is going to work for lunch. It was decided today that we were due for a “Hot Dog Day.” It will be an almost impromptu potluck. Top notch hot dogs with all kinds of toppings, and that calls for top notch meaty baked beans on the side.

I was so excited about going back to work. In case you’re wondering, I’m still enjoying it. The days fly by very quickly, and that’s always a good sign. It is, however, adding a lot more structure to my days than I’ve had for several years. And yes, sometimes it feels like all I do is work and sleep, but we’re adding a hitch and a bike carrier to our car, so there will soon be some bike rides along the river (which is always a large dry riverbed unless we’ve just had a VERY heavy rain).

It’s sad to say there is no safe way of getting from our home to the bike path on our bikes, so we have to drive there. I miss the days of being able to zip across Poznań on our bikes without traveling on a road. Bikes paths along the sidewalks, through the parks and forest will get you “almost” anywhere in POZ.

Enough reminiscing! I know you’ll have to wait for the right time to try these baked beans, but let me know how it goes.

Smacznego!

World’s Best Baked Beans

• Prep Time: 45 mins
• Cook Time: 90 mins
• Total Time: 2 hours 15 mins
• Yield: 6 quarts 1x
• Category: Side or Main
• Cuisine: American

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Description

A hearty meaty baked bean recipe that will feed a crowd!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 pound sweet (mild) Italian sausage
• 1 pound hot Italian sausage
• 1 pound Polish sausage
• 1 pound pepperoni
• 1 can green beans, drained
• 1 can yellow wax beans, drained
• 1 can Lima beans, drained
• 1 can baked beans
• 1 can kidney beans
• 1 can chili beans
• 1 can tomato soup
• 1 can tomato paste
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 bottle of barbecue sauce
• 1 pound of bacon, precook end and cut up

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325
2. Brown the Italian sausages. Mine were links and I squirted them out of the casings to brown them as if they were bulk sausage
3. Slice and half or quarter the Polish sausage and pepperoni add to the Italian sausage for the last few minutes of cooking. Just enough to cook out some of the fat
4. Drain the meats on paper towels
5. In a very large mixing bowl or a Dutch oven combine all of the beans, soup, tomato paste, and brown sugar until well combined
6. Add the cooked sausages
7. If mixing in a bowl, transfer to a large baking dish
8. Spread the barbecue sauce over the top as if you were frosting a cake
9. Top with the bacon pieces
10. Bake for 1 1/2 hours

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Notes

If you’re not in the US, here are some substitutions you can make. The tomato soup should be condensed. If you’re using ready to serve, simmer to reduce the volume by half. If your butcher doesn’t carry Italian sausage or American Polish sausage, substitute your personal favorites, a little spicy is fine. The pepperoni is a sausage, not a pepper. Cooked lardons will substitute nicely for the bacon. Exact proportions and measurements aren’t necessary. It’s very flexible!

Lois Britton

An accountant by trade and a food blogger since 2009, Lois Britton fell in love with Polish cuisine during the years she lived in Poznań, Poland. As the creator of PolishHousewife.com,  she loves connecting readers with traditional Polish recipes. Lois has a graduate certificate in Food Writing and Photography from the University of South Florida. She is the author of The Polish Housewife Cookbook, available on Amazon and on her website.