Crock Pot Baked Beans With Bacon and Beef

crock pot beef and beans in a bowl
Diana Rattray
Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 7 hrs
Total: 7 hrs 20 mins
Servings: 8 servings

Baked beans are a staple side dish for cookouts and tailgating, whether straight from the can or homemade. This recipe takes baked beans to a whole new level, boasting not only bacon but also ground beef, making it worthy of taking center stage. These baked beans are not only hearty and delicious, they're also easy to make, using a variety of canned beans and the slow cooker.

Although the first steps require sautéing the bacon and ground beef on the stovetop, the recipe is finished by adding all of the ingredients to the crock pot and letting the mixture cook for several hours. The combination of onion, molasses, brown sugar, ketchup, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce flavor the cans of pork and beans, kidney beans, and lima beans, along with the meat and bacon.

This recipe is best when it includes the pork and beans, but feel free to use your own favorite beans in place of the kidney and lima beans; pinto beans, Great Northern beans, navy beans, and black beans are good alternatives.

A handful of cheddar cheese on top or even a dollop of sour cream are a nice finishing touch. Serve these crock pot baked beans with bacon and beef alongside hamburgers and hotdogs, or barbecue ribs or chicken. They can also be the main dish with creamy coleslaw or a fresh green salad as well as cornbread or crusty rolls.

Ingredients

  • 8 to 10 strips bacon, diced

  • 1 pound lean ground beef

  • 1 medium onion, chopped

  • 1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

  • 1/2 cup ketchup

  • 1/4 cup molasses

  • 1 tablespoon prepared mustard, regular or Dijon-style

  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

  • 2 (16-ounce) cans pork and beans in tomato sauce, undrained

  • 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, undrained

  • 1 (15-ounce) can lima beans, drained

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Cook the diced bacon in a large skillet until lightly browned. Remove from the skillet and drain on paper towels.

  3. Discard the bacon drippings in the skillet; add the ground beef and onion and cook until the meat is no longer pink and the onions are translucent.

  4. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked beef and onion to a 3 1/2- to 5-quart slow cooker, draining off any excess fat. Add the cooked diced bacon along with the remaining ingredients; mix to blend.

  5. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

  6. Serve hot and enjoy.

Tip

Since you don't need the extra fat in this recipe, like you do when cooking a hamburger, it is a good use for lean ground beef. Packages of ground beef are labeled with a ratio of meat to fat, starting with the highest fat content at 73/27 to the leanest at 96/4. The way the percentage of fat is calculated is somewhat complicated, but all you need to know is that for this recipe, a leaner ground beef is optimal.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
505 Calories
14g Fat
63g Carbs
34g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 505
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 14g 18%
Saturated Fat 5g 26%
Cholesterol 73mg 24%
Sodium 1096mg 48%
Total Carbohydrate 63g 23%
Dietary Fiber 13g 45%
Total Sugars 22g
Protein 34g
Vitamin C 4mg 22%
Calcium 133mg 10%
Iron 6mg 36%
Potassium 1303mg 28%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)