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Baked beans are a backyard BBQ staple, but cowboy beans take this simple side to the next level. Hearty, creamy beans are cooked with bacon, ground beef, aromatics, and pickled jalapeños in a sweet, slightly spicy, and tangy sauce. Baked beans are usually thought of as a side dish, but the addition of meat and bacon makes this dish filling enough to eat as a main. If you bring this to the summer potluck, be prepared to have folks mob you for the recipe.
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- Yields:
- 12 - 15 serving(s)
- Prep Time:
- 15 mins
- Total Time:
- 1 hr 10 mins
- Cal/Serv:
- 357
Ingredients
- 4 oz.
bacon, chopped into 1/2" pieces
- 1
large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 4
cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2 c.
chopped jarred roasted red bell peppers
- 1/4 c.
chopped pickled jalapeños
- 1 lb.
lean ground beef
- 2 tsp.
taco seasoning
Kosher salt
- 2
(14-oz.) cans pinto beans, drained, rinsed
- 1
(14-oz.) can black beans, drained, rinsed
- 1
(14-oz.) can small red beans or dark red kidney beans, drained, rinsed
- 1 1/2 c.
low-sodium beef broth or water
- 1 c.
store-bought orhomemade BBQ sauce
- 1/2 c.
ketchup
- 1/4 c.
apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsp.
Dijon or spicy brown mustard
- 2 Tbsp.
molasses
- 1 Tbsp.
hot sauce
Directions
- Step1In a cold large Dutch oven or heavy pot, cook bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 9 to 11 minutes. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, roasted peppers, and jalapeños and cook, stirring, until garlic is fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Step2Push onion mixture to one side of pot. To the other side of the pot, add ground beef and taco seasoning; season with salt. Break up beef with a wooden spoon and cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink, 5 to 6 minutes. Stir to combine with onion mixture.
- Step3Add pinto beans, black beans, red beans, broth, BBQ sauce, ketchup, vinegar, mustard, molasses, and hot sauce. Stir to combine, cover, and cook 15 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until flavors have melded and sauce is thickened, about 15 minutes more; season with more taco seasoning and salt, if needed.
How To Make Cowboy Beans
Ingredients
- Bacon: Bacon is a classic addition to baked beans, so it’s only right to add to a batch to cowboy beans as well. Cooking the aromatics in rendered fat helps double down on the bacon flavor throughout each bite.
- Yellow Onion & Garlic: Mild yellow onion and garlic are versatile aromatics that create a flavor base for the cowboy beans. Yellow onions will cook down the best, but you can swap in red or white onions based on what you have in your pantry.
- Roasted Red Bell Peppers: Instead of roasting my own peppers for an added bit of charred sweetness, I reached for a jar of roasted red bell peppers.
- Pickled Jalapeños: This is one of my favorite shortcut ingredients from the grocery store. The pickling tames the heat a bit, making these perfect for adjusting the heat to suit your taste. Add more if you like things extra hot!
- Ground Beef: The ground beef is what really sets cowboy beans apart from regular baked beans. It brings a savory, beefy flavor to the beans while making this dish extra filling.
- Taco Seasoning: Taco seasoning blends can vary, but it usually consists of salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, chili powder, paprika, and oregano. A bit of this to your cowboy beans will add the kind of savory, earthy heat that southwestern food is none for. You can use a store-bought blend of try our homemade taco seasoning.
- Beans: I went with a combination of pinto, black, and red beans for this recipe. The oldest recipes for cowboy beans almost always include pinto beans but ultimately, the combination of beans is totally up to your taste. Starchy beans like red kidney, great northern, cannellini, and navy are all great options for this recipe.
- Beef Broth: When making dishes that require a lot of liquid, I’ll always reach for an option that has the potential to add more flavor. Adding beef broth here will boost the beefy flavor from the ground beef, but of course, you can use concentrated beef bouillon dissolved in water or if you’re totally out of beef broth, water will work just fine.
- BBQ Sauce: A thick, sweet, tangy, and slightly spicy BBQ sauce is what brings most of the flavor to cowboy beans. Go for a store-bought or homemade Kansas City-style BBQ sauce instead of a thin, vinegary Carolina BBQ sauce.
- Ketchup: Adding ketchup to the sauce will boost the umami factor in this dish.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Cowboy beans are quite hearty and can be difficult to eat if the flavors aren't balanced. Adding a splash of acid in the form of apple cider vinegar will help cut through the meaty beef and bacon and the sweet and spicy sauce.
- Dijon Mustard: This dish is all about blending bold flavors and although I originally wanted this dish to have yellow mustard, it doesn’t have the same spicy punch as Dijon mustard. Spicy brown mustard is also a great option.
- Molasses: In addition to a little bit of sweetness, the bitterness in molasses will add depth of flavor to the beans. If you’re out of molasses, you can swap in dark brown sugar.
- Hot Sauce: A few splashes of your favorite hot sauce will add some extra heat to balance out the sweetness of the molasses.
Full list of ingredients and directions can be found in the recipe above.
Recipe Tips
- What kind of beans go in cowboy beans? The best beans for cowboy beans are pinto beans and kidney beans because those are the kinds of beans cowboys actually ate! While they may not have prepared them the way we now prepare cowboy beans, they certainly used stewed beans as a source of protein because dried beans were so easy to transport. Along with the pinto beans, I also added black beans to the mix because I love their texture and meaty flavor.
- What kind of meat is in cowboy beans? Cowboy beans are made with ground beef and bacon, but you can also swap in ground pork, ground chicken, or even ground turkey to suit your taste. You can also swap in your favorite plant-based ground meat and plant-based sausage crumbles to make this vegan.
Cowboy Beans Variations
Baked Beans
Boston Baked Beans
Slow-Cooker Coca-Cola® BBQ Beans
Storage
This recipe makes a large batch, so you’ll likely find yourself with leftovers. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, thaw overnight in the refrigerator or run the container under warm water until the beans can be removed from their container. Place beans in a covered saucepan over low heat and rewarm until warmed through.
Made This?
Let me know how it went in the comments below!
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