BBQ Baked Beans with Maple and Cranberries

This BBQ Baked Beans Recipe is bold and smoky, with a hint of sweet it will be a big hit at your next cookout.  To make it easy we start with canned beans, adding sweet and tangy BBQ sauce, maple syrup, brown sugar, cranberries and rosemary to bring in the homemade flavor. 

BBQ Baked Beans For Two

Two for dinner?  Use any of the following oven safe bowls to bake your beans.

• 2 Large Ramekins (5 inches diameter - each holds 2 cups)
• A small dutch oven (2 - 3 quarts)
• Any small oven safe dish (1.7 quarts)

A reminder to enter the number of servings in the recipe card.  The ingredient measurements will adjust automatically!   

What The OT42 Community Is Saying

These are the best baked beans I have ever had - Greg P

I ate these for lunch the next day...they are that good - Chris O

Share your OT42 moment.  Snap a pic and click here⇒  Share your OT42 Moment.  Every Month, I will share with you all what the OT42 community is eating and drinking!

BBQ Baked Beans Recipe Inspiration

This recipe came from our local grocery store, who made and sold their own BBQ grilling sauces.  Along with their maple rosemary grilling sauce came a recipe to make baked beans using canned baked beans. I was intrigued by the flavor combination of maple and rosemary in baked beans.

So I gave it a try.  It instantly went into my “keeper” recipe box. 

A couple of years ago, they stopped making the maple rosemary grilling sauce. 

So, the experiment began.  Could I replicate it using a bottled BBQ sauce as the base?  The answer – a resounding yes!!!. 

I have made this three times with three different BBQ sauces, each with a smoky, sweet and tangy profile, and each a success. 

How To Make Canned Baked Beans Taste Homemade

Most of us do not have the know-how, the time or energy to make baked beans from scratch.  Yet, opening a can feels like cheating and bit of a compromise.

So, to make canned baked beans taste homemade we will add maple syrup, brown sugar, dried tart cranberries, red onion and a sprig of rosemary.

Recipe Ingredients & Possible Substitutions

Canned Baked Beans

My grandmother always used canned Campbell’s pork and beans, a brand that has been around for over 100 years.    But once I started doing my own grocery shopping, I discovered Bush’s Baked Beans.

My first choice is Bush’s Original Recipe, as I think the beans have more flavor than other brands. But in a pinch you could use any canned baked bean.

Ingredients To Boost The Homemade Taste

Smoky, sweet, tangy BBQ sauce:  Buy any brand that describes the flavor as “smoky, sweet and tangy” on the label.

Brown Sugar: Brown sugar, made from sugar cane, has the caramel notes, but lacks maple notes. It provides more of a caramel molasses flavor that we associate with baked beans.  If you don't have any, just double the maple syrup.

Maple Syrup: Has a complex flavor with notes of vanilla, cinnamon and even hazelnut, giving a homemade taste to the beans. If you don’t have maple syrup on hand, you can double the brown sugar.  If interested in understanding more about the flavor profiles and health benefits, I found this article on maple syrup vs brown sugar a good resource.

Red Onion: Red onions yield a more mellow flavor after cooking.  Unfortunately, cooking washes out their bright color. Yellow onion could also work in this recipe.

Dried Cranberries: Dried tart cranberries help round out the smoky BBQ and sweet of the brown sugar and maple syrup.

Rosemary: Sprigs of fresh rosemary compliment the sweet of the maple syrup and the tart of the dried cranberries.

Bacon:  For meat lovers, you can add bacon on the top, or you can leave it out to keep it vegetarian. 

Lastly, if you make the BBQ Baked Beans Recipe with Maple Syrup and Cranberries, be sure to leave a comment and give this recipe a rating! 

And of course, don’t forget to tag us on Instagram.  @Ourtable4_2 or use #OurTable42. 

For more BBQ Sides Recipes check out the Salads and Sides recipe page.