Smoked Baked Beans

This is the side dish you didn’t know you needed. Tuck it in with the smoker whenever you’re smoking your main dish, and they’ll quietly cook away. They have smoky bacon, sweet and savory sauce, and a hint of heat. The important thing to remember with smoker recipes is to have patience! They need time to absorb the smoke flavor.

This is a great side dish to throw in alongside your smaller entrees like pork tenderloin. It’s a great use of space, and these are sooooo simple.

Ingredients and Tools You’ll Need

If you don’t have one or two of the seasonings, that’s fine, but don’t leave too much out. If you don’t have a smoker, bake the beans in a 300°F oven for 1.5-2 hours, stirring occasionally. To mimic the smoked flavor, add 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke.

I like to use a 9×9 square disposable baking pan (called a “poultry pan” at the grocery store) and mix all the ingredients right inside. Makes it all so much easier.

This makes enough for 8 large servings. If you’d like to double or triple this recipe, you can make adjustments in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Equipment

• Smoker
• Large skillet
• aluminum baking pan (or cast iron skillet, Dutch oven, or any other oven-safe pan)

Ingredients

• 6 cans of pork and beans, undrained
• 6 slices of thick-cut bacon, diced
• 1 medium green bell pepper, diced
• 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• ½ cup BBQ sauce, your favorite kind
• ⅓ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional for heat

How to Make Smoked Baked Beans

If the beans start to look dry during smoking, add a splash of water or apple cider vinegar to keep them moist.

Step One: Cook Bacon And Veggies

First things first – get your smoker going at 250°F. I always use hickory chips because they give the BEST flavor, but you can use whatever you’ve got.

Grab your biggest skillet and cook up that bacon until it’s nice and crispy. Don’t throw away that bacon fat though – we’re using it! Just leave about 2 tablespoons in the pan and set your bacon aside.

Toss all those diced peppers and onions into that bacon fat and let them get soft and golden. Takes about 5-7 minutes, and your kitchen will smell amazing.

Step Two: Assemble

Here’s where I save myself some dishes – I use one of those disposable 9×9 pans (they call them poultry pans at the store) and mix EVERYTHING right in there. Beans, veggies, bacon, all the sauces and spices. Just dump it all in and stir it up.

Step Three: Smoke

Pop that pan right into your smoker – no cover needed. Let it smoke for about 3 hours, but give it a stir halfway through. You’ll know they’re done when they’re thick, dark, and bubbling like crazy.

Storing & Serving

Store your leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze them for up to 3 months. Warm them up on the stovetop over medium heat, stirring occasionally, or in the microwave until they are heated through.

Have these for game day or a regular weeknight.

• Serve with grilled chicken and a simple green salad.
• Make these pulled beef sliders for game day to go with your beans.
• If you’re making the beans in the smoker, you might as well do smoked chicken wings too.

Questions and Troubleshooting

More Ways To Cook Beans

These are an easy, cheap, and filling side dish.

• If you don’t have a smoker, you can make these cast iron skillet baked beans.
• Get your dried beans ready to go by pressure canning pinto beans.
• Crockpot barbecue beans are sweet and smoky, and always a hit.
• These homemade butter beans (a.k.a. lima beans) are super simple and full of flavor.

Printable Recipe