Calico Baked Beans

(Hint: Not your run-of-the-mill baked beans)

Calico Baked Beans kicks ordinary baked beans up a notch! It's a favorite and potlucks and picnics.

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My mom got this recipe for Calico Baked Beans decades ago from a dear friend of hers in Michigan. Next time you're thinking of making homemade baked beans, try this recipe. We believe it's the best baked beans recipe ever! It's got the added extras of ground beef and bacon!

The dish is a favorite at potlucks and picnics. Calico Baked Beans kicks ordinary baked beans up a notch! Instead of all white beans, this dish also includes kidney beans and lima beans. Hence, "calico" or multi-colored beans. The amount of sauce is just right, so that the beans, ground beef and bacon aren't swimming in a sauce that overpowers the flavors of the star ingredients.

History of Baked Beans

According to Wikipedia, chef and food historian Walter Staib says baked beans have their roots as a Native American dish well before it was known to Western cultures. The Native Americans put beans, maple sugar and bear fat (!) in earthenware pots and cooked them in pits lined with hot rocks, cooking them slowly over a long period of time. The colonists adopted the dish, using molasses or sugar in place of the maple syrup. They swapped out the bear fat for bacon or ham. And instead of pits lined with hot rocks, they simmered the dish in large cast iron pots over a fire.

Baked Beans Today

Many cooks still soak dried beans overnight and cook the beans with all its ingredients the next day, long and slow. Modern conveniences such as canned beans and slow cookers have made preparation much simpler. Generally, the dish is flavored using ingredients that make it both sweet and savory - the hallmark the dish.

Calico Baked Beans take advantage of today's modern conveniences, too. Canned beans shorten the cooking time drastically. We'll add some jarred barbecue sauce and mix up some ingredients to add to the dish to turn up the heat just a touch. Then we'll pop it in the oven to heat it through and let all those flavors meld together.

What to serve with Calico Baked Beans

Serve them as a side dish to go with all manner of dishes, from burgers and steaks to your favorite grilled meats, whether it's beef, pork or chicken.

Can I prep ahead of time?

Yes, you sure can. Simply prep the dish as if you were going to pop it into the oven, then cover and refrigerator for up to one day. Bring the dish to room temp before putting in the oven.

How to store Calico Baked Beans

The best way to store baked beans is to refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to seven days. If you want to store them longer, put them in Ziploc-style freezer storage bags and remove as much of the air as possible. Then freeze for up to six months. Freeze them flattened out in the bag to speed up thawing and make organizing your freezer easier.

How to make Calico Baked Beans

INGREDIENTS

• 12 ounces bacon fried and crumbled (not finely)
• ½ pound ground beef
• 1 cup onion chopped
• 28 ounce canned white beans (navy beans) drained
• 16 ounce canned lima (butter) beans drained
• 16 ounce canned red kidney beans drained
• ½ cup barbeque sauce (your favorite)
• ½ cup ketchup
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar or ½ white sugar and 1 tablespoon molasses
• 2 Tbsp yellow mustard
• 2 Tbsp molasses
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp chili powder or more if you want more heat

INSTRUCTIONS 

• Fry the bacon crisp, drain, let it cool and cut or crumble into roughly ½-inch pieces.
• In a large skillet, cook the beef and onion until the meat is brown and the onion is tender. Drain.
• Preheat the oven to 350℉
• Transfer the beef-onion to a greased 2½ quarter baking dish, and add the bacon.
• Add all the beans to the baking dish.
• In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and mix well, then stir into the beef and bean mixture, mixing well so all ingredients are coated evenly with the sauce.
• Bake for 45 minutes covered, then another 15 minutes uncovered.

Loved Baked Beans? Here's more great picnic and cookout side dishes

• Bacon Dill Potato Salad
• Mexican Street Corn Salad
• Costa Rica Tuna and Pasta Shells Salad
• Curried Chicken Waldorf Salad

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