Hearty Baked Beans with Bacon

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon, or more to taste
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, or more to taste, diced
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 (15 ounce) cans pork and beans
• 1 (16 ounce) can light red kidney beans
• 1 (16 ounce) can butter beans
• 1 cup ketchup
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon liquid smoke

Step 1

Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat, turning it every now and then until it’s nice and crispy, about 10 to 12 minutes. Once it’s done, transfer the bacon to some paper towels to drain, but keep the bacon grease in the skillet. When the bacon has cooled, crumble it into bite-sized pieces.

Step 2

Add the chopped onion to the bacon grease and cook over medium heat until the onion softens, which should take around 5 minutes. Toss in the garlic and cook for another minute until you can really smell it. Then, transfer this onion and garlic mixture, along with all that flavorful bacon grease, into your slow cooker.

Step 3

Using the same skillet, brown the ground beef over medium-high heat until it’s fully cooked and crumbly, about 5 to 7 minutes. Once browned, add the beef to the slow cooker.

Step 4

Now, pour in the pork and beans, kidney beans, butter beans, ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and a splash of liquid smoke. Give everything a good stir to combine.

Step 5

Cover and let it cook on low for about 4 hours. When it’s ready, sprinkle the crumbled bacon on top before serving. Enjoy!