Cowboy Baked Beans

Close up square overhead shot of cowboy baked beans in a white dish.

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5 from 4 votes

Serve these easy cowboy beans as a side dish at your next cookout, or as a dinner entrée with a skillet of cornbread!

Course Dinner, Side

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword cowboy baked beans, cowboy baked beans recipe, cowboy baked beans with ground beef, cowboy beans

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 50

Resting Time 10

Total Time 1 15

Servings people (as a side dish)

Calories 396kcal

Author Blair Lonergan

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, diced (about 1 cup total)
1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 (15 ounce) cans pork and beans
¾ cup ketchup
½ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Optional garnish: chopped fresh parsley or sliced green onions

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 2 to 3-quart baking dish or spray with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. Heat a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the beef, onion, and bell pepper; cook until the meat is no longer pink, about 5 to 7 minutes. Drain off the excess grease.
Stir in the pork and beans, ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Simmer the mixture for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Transfer the beef and beans to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the bacon on top.
Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the cover; continue baking for 10 more minutes. The total cooking time may vary. For really soft, broken-down beans or a thicker sauce, you might like to leave the dish in the oven a little bit longer. The beans and sauce will continue to thicken as they cool, so don’t worry if it looks a little bit soupy when it first comes out of the oven.
Let the dish rest for 10 minutes, then serve. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley or sliced green onions if desired.

Notes

Alternate slow cooker method: Brown the beef and vegetables on the stovetop, as instructed. Simmer with the other ingredients for 5 minutes, and then transfer the mixture to a Crock Pot. Do not add the bacon yet. Cover and cook on HIGH for 1-2 hours or on LOW for 3-4 hours. Remove the cover during the final 30 minutes, sprinkle the bacon on top, and continue cooking without the lid to allow the sauce to thicken slightly.

Nutrition