Slow Cooker Baked Beans with Molasses

June 11, 2016   7 Comments

These slow cooker baked beans with molasses are vegetarian and will outperform any can of baked beans.

This recipe makes seven cups of beans and you can bring it in your slow cooker so the beans remain warm. I love these as a side for anything at a BBQ because they go so well with hot dogs, corn, coleslaw – you name it.

Beans, of course, are loved by vegetarians and your gluten-free crowd. Because I added molasses this is also a kid pleaser.

Don’t tell anyone this, but these beans are high in manganese, magnesium, potassium, selenium, thiamin, and vitamin B6. You get a lot of bang for your calorie buck with beans.

If you want to work with canned beans try my Chipotle Copycat Black Beans or

Black Bean Blender Brownies. They are both ridiculously easy.

There is one ingredient in these slow cooker baked beans that many of you will not have in your pantry. Liquid smoke can be found next to the barbecue sauces in the grocery store and NO – it is not like adding cigarettes to your beans.

Liquid smoke is made by channeling smoke from smoldering wood chips into a vapor. They remove the tars and resins and you get a smoke-flavored liquid that tastes really good and isn’t that different from other types of flavorings (like vanilla which is the essence of vanilla beans). Look for Wright’s Liquid Smoke – it doesn’t have additives such as salt, vinegar, or molasses and retails for $1.99 a bottle.

The liquid smoke adds back the flavor that you would have added had you used some pork fat or a ham hock - and it works! I use a ham hock for kidney beans in my book and it is super tasty (but obviously not vegetarian).

I did not soak the beans before I put them in the slow cooker and the texture was perfect. I believe with smaller beans it isn’t as necessary to soak them. If you do soak them, the cooking time will be shortened. Keep an eye on them so they don’t get too mushy.

What do you bring to BBQ's?

Slow Cooker Baked Beans with Molasses Recipe

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Makes 7 cups

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Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 pound dried pinto beans, rinsed
1 teaspoon liquid smoke such as Wright’s Liquid Smoke
5 cups water

1 cup ketchup
¼ cup molasses
¼ cup Dijon mustard
¼ cup cider vinegar

Instructions

Put onion, chili powder, pinto beans, liquid smoke, and water into a 6 quart slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours or until the beans are tender. Drain the beans and put them back into the slow cooker. Add the ketchup, molasses, mustard, and cider vinegar and mix until blended. Heat on low for 20 minutes or until bubbling.

Nutrition Facts

A ½ cup serving is 154 calories, 0.7 g fat, 0.0 g saturated fat, 30.1 g carbohydrates, 8.2 g sugar, 7.5 g protein, 5.5 g fiber, 252 mg sodium, 2 SmartPts

Points values are calculated by Snack Girl and are provided for information only. See all Snack Girl Recipes

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