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Amish Baked Beans made from Scratch

These homemade, from-scratch Amish Baked Beans are just like Grandma’s old-fashioned baked beans. They’re delicious during the summer for backyard cookouts and barbecues, but they’re also perfect for those chilly days when it’s nice to have a little extra heat given off from cooking something delicious in the oven. I start with dried beans and slow cook them for hours until they are perfectly tender and bathed in a rich and hearty sauce that is just a little smoky and a little sweet. And although beans baked made from scratch take a little more time than starting with canned beans, the preparation is simple, and the end result is so delicious it makes it worth the extra time. And if you love homestyle side dishes, check out my recipe for homemade Squash Casserole.

Plate with Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwich, Coleslaw, and Amish Baked Beans

If you’re wondering what makes these homemade baked beans Amish, it’s simply because my recipe is (slightly) adapted from a recipe found in a little printed booklet of old Amish recipes that I have in my cookbook collection (it’s dated 1980 so it’s definitely in a vintage recipe). So I’m giving credit where it is due by calling these Amish Baked Beans. And also, being originally from PA, I can tell you that when it comes to hearty comfort food, the Amish are experts. This is the kind of recipe that you can trust is stick-to-your-ribs home cooking.

I like to serve my beans alongside any kind of smoked or roasted meat. They are also delicious with burgers, meatloaf, or braised sausages. But truly, these beans are so hearty, you could skip the meat altogether and eat them with some crusty bread or brown bread, and some greens like spinach or Swiss chard. You can even dress them up a little with a dollop of homemade chow-chow or a drizzle of maple syrup.

Homemade From Scratch Amish Baked Beans

Cook’s Tips:

  • I find that my enameled cast iron Dutch oven is the perfect vessel for baking these beans. If you don’t own a Dutch oven, however, you can cook the beans and brown the onions and bacon in any large pot, and then transfer the whole mixture to a baking or casserole dish to bake in the oven.
  • This recipe takes about 4 hours in the oven, but the baking time might be a little more or less due to factors such as the age of the dried beans, the variety of beans, the hardness of your water, and how hot your oven runs. I like to check my beans every hour or so just to see how they are coming along, and to add a little more water or reserved cooking liquid if they are looking dry. I like to keep the beans looking nice and saucy for most of their time in the oven.
  • Towards the end of the baking time, when the beans have been in the oven for about 3 hours, I set the lid slightly ajar on the pot, so that the liquid reduces down to a rich, thick sauce. If your beans are already reduced, you can just leave the lid fully on the pot.
  • The baked beans are finished after about 4 hours in the oven, or whenever they are tender and the sauce is rich and thick. You will just need to use your judgment and decide when they are done to your liking.

If you try this recipe for Amish Homemade Baked Beans, I hope you love it. And follow me on FacebookPinterest, and Instagram so you don’t miss a post. 

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Pin Amish Baked Beans

Amish Baked Beans


  • Author: My Homemade Roots
  • Total Time: 12 hours
  • Yield: 10 Servings 1x

Description

These homemade, from-scratch Amish Baked Beans are just like Grandma’s old-fashioned baked beans. Dried beans are slow-cooked in the oven until they’re perfectly tender and bathed in a savory and lightly sweet sauce.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 pound dried navy or great northern beans
  • 6 cups water (plus water for soaking)
  • ½ pound bacon, diced
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • ⅓ cup molasses
  • ⅓ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup ketchup
  • 2 teaspoons dry mustard
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 3 cups liquid reserved from cooking beans

Instructions

  1. Place dried beans into a shallow pan and sort through them, picking out any broken beans, stones, or other debris. Pour sorted beans into a colander and rinse under cold running water.
  2. Place rinsed beans into a large bowl and cover with 2-3 inches of cold water. Cover bowl and allow beans to soak overnight.
  3. After an overnight soak, drain beans and add them along with 6 cups of water to a Dutch oven or other large, oven-safe pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer beans for 30 minutes, or until beans are just barely tender. Drain beans through a colander set over a large bowl to reserve cooking liquid. Set drained beans and cooking liquid aside.
  4. To the same pot, add onions and bacon. Cook over medium heat until onions are soft and bacon is lightly crisp. Return the beans to the pot with the onions and bacon along with the remaining ingredients. Stir in 3 cups of reserved cooking liquid (if you don’t have 3 cups of cooking liquid, add enough water to make up the difference.).
  5. Cover pot with a tight-fitting lid (or transfer to a baking dish and cover tightly with aluminum foil) and bake for 4 hours at 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Check occasionally and add more water if necessary to keep beans moist. If after 3 hours the beans look too soupy, remove the lid slightly to allow steam to escape and continue to bake for 1 hour, or until reduced to your desired consistency.
  6. Taste before serving and season with additional salt and pepper, if necessary.
  • Prep Time: 12 hours
  • Inactive Time: 0 hours
  • Cook Time: 0 hours

Keywords: Amish recipes, Amish side dishes, side dishes, homemade baked beans, baked beans from scratch

 

23 Comments

  • Judy
    January 5, 2020 at 12:29 pm

    You don’t say, but I assume to bake at 350. Is that right? I usually start with pork & beans but I’m making a real effort to use less processed foods. I’ll be making these very soon!

    Reply
    • Melissa
      January 5, 2020 at 4:38 pm

      Oops! Sorry about that – I’ve updated the recipe to include the temperature. I actually like to bake mine in a low oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for about 4 hours, or until the beans are tender. If you make them, let me know how they turn out!

      Reply
      • Judy
        February 2, 2020 at 2:59 pm

        Thank you for the answer, I’m actually making them for the 2nd time as I type this. My family loved them and I love making them.

        Reply
        • Melissa
          February 3, 2020 at 6:21 pm

          I am so that happy you and your family enjoyed the recipe! I hope you come back and visit for more recipes! ☺

          Reply
  • Jane H Boice
    July 4, 2020 at 7:53 pm

    I made these beans for 4th of July today, and they are delicious! Will make again, and again. Great recipe!

    Reply
    • Melissa
      July 6, 2020 at 4:32 pm

      I am so happy you liked the recipe! I hope you stop back again soon for more recipes. Have a great week!

      Reply
  • Miz Helen
    June 3, 2021 at 4:08 pm

    Your Amish Baked Beans look like a summer picnic must, they look delicious! We are featuring your awesome post on Full Plate Thursday, 539 this week. Thanks so much for sharing it with us and hope you will come back soon!
    Miz Helen

    Reply
    • Melissa
      June 4, 2021 at 3:54 pm

      Thank you for the feature, Miz Helen! Hope you have a great weekend!

      Reply
  • Brian Brucker
    June 11, 2021 at 5:14 pm

    Hello was wondering how I should cook the beans if I’m using canned… I live in Germany and unfortunately I cannot find dried butter beans. Thanks!

    Reply
  • Melissa
    June 11, 2021 at 10:16 pm

    Hi Brian. I think I would use 6-7 cups of canned beans, un-drained in place of dried beans. Start with step #4 but don’t add any additional liquid (or maybe just a few ounces of water if it looks too dry.) Add in the rest of the ingredients and cover and bake for 45-minutes to an hour. I hope that helps!

    Reply
  • Audrey
    September 13, 2021 at 5:07 pm

    We have been trying to recreate child hood favorite recipes so we are going to give this version of baked beans a whirl along with some smoked pork. I saw the recipe mentions homemade chow chow (which I remember my grandparents serving). I was wondering if you have a recipe for that? I didn’t find one in my search of the site and would love to try it with the baked beans and pork this coming weekend! Great site, thanks for taking time to share your recipes with us!

    Reply
    • Melissa
      September 16, 2021 at 6:30 pm

      I actually do have a Chow Chow recipe! I’ve been getting a lot of requests for it recently, so I am going to try and get it up on the blog soon – hopefully, by this weekend.

      Reply
  • Julie
    November 5, 2021 at 8:13 pm

    Seems like an awful lot of time to have the oven on just for beans.

    Reply
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    April 13, 2022 at 1:43 pm

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  • Barbara Mitchem
    April 12, 2023 at 10:04 pm

    This was my first try at making baked beans from scratch. They were perfect! Even though I read the recipe wrong and baked them for 3 hours instead of 4! I know now that extra hour will only enhance that lovely flavor more! Thank you for a great easy recipe! Loved these!

    Reply
    • Melissa
      April 26, 2023 at 8:38 pm

      I so happy you liked the recipe! Thanks for letting me know!

      Reply
  • Kirtika saha
    April 18, 2023 at 6:07 am

    Damn! It’s looks so delicious and yummy recipe. I will definitely try this home. Thanks for sharing us.

    Reply
  • Tammy finden
    July 29, 2023 at 9:25 pm

    Wondering if this recipe can be pressure canned? Maybe tripling everything for more pint jars

    Reply
    • Melissa
      August 10, 2023 at 3:08 pm

      I’m really not sure as I haven’t tried it. If you try it, come back and let us know how they turned out.

      Reply
  • Michele Van Reet
    August 1, 2023 at 3:31 am

    I made this recipe substituting maple syrup for the molasses. It was perfection and I am making another round for camping.

    Reply
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