How To Make Home-Baked Beans

Why would you bother making baked beans when the tinned variety are so cheap and only take about 30 seconds to warm up in the microwave? Well for a start, home-cooked baked beans are something altogether different, and I’m not suggesting you cook them all the time – or even most of the time – but every now and then it’s worth making them yourself simply because they taste good and are at least as cost-effective as tinned beans, especially if you make full use of the oven by cooking a casserole, a pot roast, or some barbecue beans at the same time. Both bean recipes make good vegetarian pizza toppings as well as being perfect with sausages, burgers, chicken, or even cheese on toast. This recipe is as basic as it gets but you can also add grated carrots or replace half the quantity of tomato juice with beer for a bit of variety.

1. Step 1:

   Soak the beans in plenty of cold water overnight.

2. Step 2:

   Drain the beans, put them in a very large saucepan with enough fresh, cold water to cover and bring to the boil over a high heat. (Cover the saucepan with a lid to speed the process up.)

3. Step 3:

   Once the water’s boiling, remove the lid, turn the heat down and simmer the beans for 25–30 minutes.

4. Step 4:

   Meanwhile, warm some olive oil in another large pan and fry the chopped onions, adding the treacle, mustard and tomato juice as soon as the onions are soft and bringing the liquid to the boil.

5. Step 5:

   Drain the beans and put them in a very large ovenproof casserole dish with the onion and tomato mixture, cover with a lid and cook in a low, preheated oven, Gas Mark 2–3 (160–170°C) for 2–3 hours or until the beans are just soft. (Home-cooked baked beans have a bit more bite than tinned beans so don’t expect them to have exactly the same soft, squishy texture.)

6. If you don’t have tomato juice, whiz two tins of chopped or plum tomatoes in a blender or food processor: 2 tins make just over 1 pint (approximately 500 ml) of juice.