These Traeger Baked Beans are the perfect side dish for your next BBQ. The beans are smokey and spicy with a touch of heat! These smoked beans only take a few minutes to prepare, and then the smoker does the rest!
Say goodbye to canned baked beans, as they are typically full of sugar and lack the savory flavors of these smoky baked beans.
I never really got into baked beans until we moved to Texas, and now they are a classic side dish at all of our BBQs! I’ve tested this recipe on the stovetop, in the oven, and finally on the Traeger. While all methods turned out wonderfully, the baked smoker version takes the cake!
I’m telling you, there's something special about making using the Traeger—The beans take on this amazingly rich, smoky flavor that you just can't get any other way.
If you are looking for more easy Traeger recipes check out my Smoked Cream Cheese, Smoked Hot Dogs, and Smoked Burger recipes.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Endless Versatility: These smoked baked beans can be served as an epic side dish or hearty main, complementing everything from smoked meats to veggie burgers.
- Convenience: You can prep them ahead of time, then throw them on the smoker alongside your meats!
- Crowd-Pleasing: The perfect balance of savory, sweet, tangy, and smoke in this recipe creates an addictively delicious flavor that will have everyone going back for seconds (and thirds!).
Ingredients
- Bacon: You will want to make sure you purchase good quality uncured bacon. Read the labels and make sure the type of bacon is organic, pasture-raised, and does not contain any added sugar.
- Onion
- Bell Pepper: I like using both green and red bell pepper for this recipe, but you can use whatever you have on hand.
- Jalapeno: If you don’t like the heat of jalapeno, you can totally leave it out.
- Garlic
- Tomato Paste
- Honey: Raw organic honey is going to be your best choice!
- Coconut Aminos: If you don’t have coconut aminos, you can use Worcestershire sauce. Just know it contains gluten, so if you are gluten-free, stick to the coconut aminos.
- Mustard: You can use yellow mustard or Dijon mustard. Whatever you have on hand is just fine. In a pinch, you could also use dry mustard powder as well.
- Barbecue Sauce: Many BBQ sauces are packed with sugar. Opt for a brand like Primal Kitchen, which has no added sugar. You can use the classic or the Carolina Gold flavor, both work well for this recipe.
- Ketchup: Ketchup is another ingredient where you will tend to see a lot of unnecessary sugars added. Once again, I use Primal Kitchen's ketchup, since they do not add sugar.
- Paprika
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Pinto Beans: Look for organic pinto beans in water. There should be no other ingredients added!
- Water: Filtered plain water
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions And Variations
- Sweet Sauce: While this is a low sugar baked beans recipe that utilizes honey as the sweetener, you can certainly use maple syrup instead. You can also adjust the amount of honey you add to make the baked beans sweeter if you like.
- Mix Up The Meat: Baked beans with bacon is classic, you could also swap out the bacon for pulled pork, pork belly, or even brisket.
- Baked Bean Blends: Try mixing in other canned beans like kidney, navy beans, or black beans along with the pinto beans.
- Vegetarian: You can make these by omitting the meat and using smoked mushrooms, jackfruit, or smoked tofu crumbles for protein.
- Experiment With The Flavors: Feel free to add a pinch of chili powder, onion powder, or garlic powder to your smoked beans.
How To Make Smoked Baked Beans
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Step 1. Preheat your pellet smoker to 250 degrees f with the lid closed.
Step 2. Cut your bacon into bite-sized pieces and add to a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
Once the bacon pieces are just shy of crispy, remove the bacon and place the bacon pieces on a paper towel. If you have an excessive amount of bacon grease you can strain the fat from the pan, but leave 2-3 tablespoons of bacon fat as it will provide so much extra flavor to the dish.
Step 3. Lower the temperature to medium heat and add the diced onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno. Cook for 10-12 minutes until the veggies soften.
Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 30-60 seconds, stirring everything together.
Step 4. Remove the pan from the heat and add the honey, coconut aminos, mustard, barbecue sauce, ketchup, paprika, and apple cider vinegar. Stir everything together to combine.
Step 5. Wash and drain your pinto beans and add them to the sauce along with the ½ cup water, and the cooked bacon. Stir everything to combine.
Step 6. Place your cast iron pan directly on the grill grates of your pellet grill and smoke for 2-2.5 hours. You will want to stir every 45-60 minutes until the beans are thick and saucy and have developed a deep smokey flavor.
Expert Tips And Notes
- Stir Frequently: Make sure you stir your beans every 30 minutes or so. This will help distribute the sauce and make sure they don't dry out.
- Grill Temperature: The temperature on pellet grills can vary depending on the weather. You may need to adjust the cooking time.
- High-Quality Ingredients: Use the highest quality ingredients that you can. Organic beans, unsweetened ketchup, uncured organic bacon, and wild organic honey will serve you well.
What To Eat With Baked Beans
- Smoked Meats: Tender smoked ribs, pulled pork, brisket, or sausage links make for fantastic protein pairings.
- Burgers or Hot Dogs: Serve these Traeger Smoked Baked beans as a side dish to juicy burgers or hot dogs.
- Cornbread: Fresh-baked cornbread or corn muffins are a classic side to soak up the delicious bean juices.
- Coleslaw: The crisp, tangy flavor of coleslaw helps cut through the richness of the beans.
- Potato Salad: A creamy, mustardy potato salad complements the smoky-sweet beans.
- Grilled Veggies: Charred vegetables like corn on the cob, zucchini, or asparagus add color and freshness.
- Mac & Cheese: Incredibly indulgent but delicious with the gooey cheese paired with the savory beans.
- Pickles/Relishes: Bread and butter pickles and pickle relish provide acidity to balance the beans.
- Slider Buns: Serve the beans as hearty sloppy joe-style sandwiches on soft slider buns.
Storage And Reheating
- Storage: These Traeger BBQ baked beans make for fantastic leftovers! Let them come to room temperature then place in an airtight container and store them in the fridge for 3-5 days.
- Reheating: Place the beans in a saucepan and gently reheat over low heat until warmed through. If they have thickened quite a bit you can add some bone broth or water to help loosen it up.
Recipe FAQs
While a Traeger grill is highly recommended for that smoky flavor, you can still make this in a regular oven. Just adjust the cooking time and temperature accordingly.
The beauty of this method is that the beans benefit from a long, slow cooking time. On a smoker, you'll cook them for 2-3 hours at a low temperature to achieve that perfect tenderness and infuse them with smoke.
Definitely! They freeze incredibly well, so feel free to make a large batch and enjoy the leftovers for weeks to come.
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Traeger Baked Beans
Ingredients
- 6 slices Bacon diced
- 1 Onion diced
- 1 Bell Pepper diced
- 1 Jalapeno diced
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon Tomato Paste
- 2 tablespoon Honey
- 1 tablespoon Coconut Aminos
- 1 tablespoon Mustard
- ½ cup Barbecue Sauce
- ¼ cup Ketchup
- 1 tablespoon Paprika
- 2 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 15oz cans Pinto Beans rinsed and drained
- ½ cup Filtered Water
Instructions
- Preheat your pellet smoker to 250 degrees f with the lid closed.
- Cut your bacon into bite-sized pieces and add to a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
- Once the bacon pieces are just shy of crispy, remove the bacon and place the bacon pieces on a paper towel. If you have an excessive amount of bacon grease you can strain the fat from the pan, but leave 2-3 tablespoons of bacon fat as it will provide so much extra flavor to the dish.
- Lower the temperature to medium heat and add the diced onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno. Cook for 10-12 minutes until the veggies soften.
- Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 30-60 seconds, stirring everything together.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add the honey, coconut aminos, mustard, barbecue sauce, ketchup, paprika, and apple cider vinegar. Stir everything together to combine.
- Wash and drain your pinto beans and add them to the sauce along with the ½ cup water, and the cooked bacon. Stir everything to combine.
- Place your cast iron pan directly on the grill grates of your pellet grill and smoke for 2-2.5 hours. You will want to stir every 45-60 minutes until the beans are thick and saucy and have developed a deep smokey flavor.
Notes
- Stir Frequently: Make sure you stir your beans every 30 minutes or so. This will help distribute the sauce and make sure they don't dry out.
- Grill Temperature: The temperature on pellet grills can vary depending on the weather. You may need to adjust the cooking time.
- High-Quality Ingredients: Use the highest quality ingredients that you can. Organic beans, unsweetened ketchup, uncured organic bacon, and wild organic honey will serve you well.
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