Easy Homestyle Barbecue Beans with Bacon

These barbecue beans are a delicious side dish and can easily be turned into a vegetarian main dish by omitting the bacon. These beans are pressure cooked and then slow cooked to perfection.

Ingredients (makes 10-3/4 cup servings or 16-1/2 cup servings)

• Bacon- leave this out if opting to make this a vegetarian dish.
• Shallot- or any kind of onion is fine, whatever you have on hand.
• Red bell pepper
• Green bell pepper
• Garlic
• Dried Great Northern beans
• Water
• Avocado oil or other neutral oil
• Barbecue sauce- I love Stubb’s Original BBQ
• Dark brown sugar- Brown sugar can also be swapped for maple syrup or honey.
• Beer- preferably an amber ale or stout. You can play around with the flavors here. Dark stouts add rich coffee notes. Lighter amber ales contribute more subtle caramel tones. If you prefer to go non-alcoholic here, you can substitute with beef broth or vegetable broth.
• Stone-ground mustard
• Sea salt
• Smoked paprika- regular paprika will work as well but the smoked paprika adds a nice smoky taste to these beans.
• Ground cumin

Equipment/Tools

• Instant Pot
• Colander/strainer
• Knife
• Cutting board

Tips and Recipe Notes

These beans actually taste even better the next day, so consider making them ahead of time and reheating when needed.

When using dried beans, make sure that they’re fully cooked before adding the acidic ingredients like BBQ sauce and tomato paste, as acidity can prevent beans from softening properly.

Short on time? If you prefer to skip the pressure cooker, you can make this in a regular slow cooker or simmer in a pot on the stove. Swap 1 pound dried Great Northern beans for 4 (15-ounce) cans.

Dry beans vs. canned beans

I prefer to use dried beans for this recipe for the following reasons:

• Canned beans are higher in sodium
• Dried beans are easier on the stomach. Rinsing away the water that the beans are cooked in rids the beans of some of the carbohydrates that contribute to gassiness.
• Dried beans are higher in fiber and have double the magnesium and potassium of canned beans.

How to Make Barbecue Beans

Step 1: Cook bacon slices in an Instant Pot on “Sauté” mode over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pot; crumble and set aside.

Step 2: Add onion, bell peppers, and garlic to drippings in pot; sauté 2 minutes. Remove onion mixture from Instant Pot, set aside. 

Step 3: Sort and rinse beans. Combine beans and 4 cups water in Instant Pot. Close lid securely. Pressure cook on high for 1 minute. Manually release steam valve. Pour beans into strainer and rinse with cold water. 

Step 4: Combine beans, 6 cups water, and oil in Instant Pot. Close lid securely. Pressure cook on high for 7 minutes. Manually release steam valve. Rinse beans and return to cooker. 

Step 5: Using your Instant Pot’s “Slow-cook” function, slow-cook beans and remaining ingredients on medium heat for 1.5 to 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. 

Storage

Store beans in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.