Vegetarian Boston Baked Beans
I find that people tend to be amazed that I make baked beans from scratch. Maybe they find the 5+ hours of baking time intimidating. But have no fear – baked beans are actually super easy to make.
However, they do require one big decision up front: whether to include ketchup or any other tomato products. Anyone from New England will be solidly in the no-tomato camp. In other parts of the country, you not only find ketchup in baked beans, but cinnamon, apple juice, soy sauce and kinds of other crazy stuff. Me, I’m from upstate New York – that’s not quite New England, but today I’m siding with the Bostonians. My recipe is traditional in its tomatoless-ness, though nontraditional in its meatless-ness. I used smoked paprika – my secret weapon – and a bit of olive oil as a stand-in for bacon or salt pork. I think the result is good enough to satisfy your friendly neighborhood meat eater – and I don’t think anyone will really miss the ketchup.
This recipe makes a huge batch of beans, but you will be very happy to have a lot of leftovers. In fact, if you’re anything like my father, you might find yourself eating them cold for breakfast, along with some eggs and toast.
Vegetarian Boston Baked Beans
2 pounds dried navy beans
1 tablespoon dry mustard
2/3 cup molasses – I used blackstrap, but you can sub. “full”/”robust” for a slightly sweeter flavor
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Spanish smoked paprika
1/4 cup cider vinegar (use gluten-free vinegar if you prefer)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (can substitute vegan version)
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch cloves
2 large onions, sliced
2 bay leaves
Soak the beans overnight, or use the quick soak method (bring the beans to a boil in a pot of water, boil 2 minutes, cover and remove from heat for 1 hour. Drain.)
Place the soaked beans in a large saucepan and cover with water by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until nearly tender, about 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on your beans. (If your beans are still rock hard after an hour, discard them – they are probably too old and may never soften, or will do so at the expense of your patience.) Drain the beans, reserving the cooking water.
Heat the oven to 300 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine the mustard, molasses, brown sugar, garlic, paprika, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, cloves, olive oil, salt and pepper. Put a third of the cooked beans in a large covered bean pot or dutch oven, and cover with half the onions. Repeat, then top with the final third of the beans. Tuck the bay leaves into the pot. Pour on the sauce, then add bean cooking liquid to cover generously (about 6 cups; if you don’t have enough bean cooking liquid, add water.)
Cover and bake for 4 hours, checking occasionally to make sure the beans aren’t getting extremely dried out – add hot water if they are. After 4 hours, taste and add additional salt if you feel it’s needed, and bake uncovered for an additional 45 minutes to one hour, until sauce is thickened and beans develop a bit of a crust on top. (Note that beans will thicken significantly as they cool.) Remove bay leaves and serve, or serve later at room temperature or cold right from the refrigerator.
Serves 16-20
I will testify that these were great. I’m a ketchup-centric bean baker who uses salt pork, but I’m tempted to try this recipe.
What’s a good size for a large bean pot, 4 quarts or 6 quarts?
I think mine is 4 quarts and it seems plenty big.
They’re in the oven now…so excited! Thanks!!
Michelle, I can’t wait to hear how they turned out. Great, I hope.
They were SUPER yummy!! I’ll be making them again for sure
I want to make this so my vegetarian husband can eat with me while we watch the football game on Sunday. My only question is this: can I use regular paprika? I can’t seem to find teh spanish smoked kind.
You can leave out the paprika altogether. Or throw in a canned chipotle chili for that smoky flavor!
This recipe was a HUGE hit, even with my carnivore friends and family. It took me two days to make because I made the beans from scratch in my slow cooker, but, oh, so worth it! Just one question: do you have the nutritional information anywhere? Love, love, love your website by the way.
Glad you liked the beans, Laura! No, I don’t really do nutritional information, because I just don’t have the time to figure it out. Sorry!
Hi Cathy,
Is there anything you would recommend to substitute the worcestershire sauce? I’m trying an allergy diet and it seems I have to avoid the corn or soy in it…dilemma!!
You can just leave it ou, no problem
Hi Cathy, I have no idea how I stumbled upon your blog but I did, and I wanted to thank-you for sharing this recipe .. I made it last Friday with a few substitutions to use what I had on hand, and it was delicious!
That’s great, Clare Marie! Glad you found me, too.
Thank so much – I’m planning on making a big batch with a few substitutions from what I have in the pantry, but I am SO excited to find a recipe that doesn’t have any tomato. I am allergic to berries, cherries & tomatoes – I KNOW, horrible right? Even worse, we just found out that my 21-month old daughter is as well, so I am always on the hunt for good recipes that both she and I can eat that her daddy will enjoy as well. I’m hoping this will satisfy a southern boy who’s addicted to all the tomato goodness we can’t have in the house anymore!
I know these are supposed to be baked, but can I do them on top of the stove? I need to make a huge quantity for a gathering and don’t have an appropriate pan to use in the oven.
I’m sure you could do them on the stove, simmering them for maybe two hours, but I’m not sure how much water to suggest. I guess just start by covering the beans by a little, and add more as needed.
Thanks, Cathy! I have these going right now, and they are seriously the best beans I have ever eaten. OMG!!!
Do you know how many cooked cups 2lbs of dry beans translates to so I can make this good lookin’ recipe with beans I’ve already cooked?
Also, I can’t find smoked paprika but I do have Liquid Smoke – could I use some of that?
Should be 10-11 cups of cooked beans. Good luck!
Just a side note: The vinegar is already naturally gluten free; what you need to be aware of is that the Worcestershire sauce contains gluten – use gluten free sauce.
We just made your recipe today. We cut it in half so it would fit in our bean pot, but that was the only change we made. It was GREAT – flavorful with just the right amount of spices! Being gluten-free, tomato-free (and with many other food sensitivities), it can be very difficult to find a recipe that is completely okay for my diet, but this one just plain works. Thanks so much.
Glad you liked it, Stacey! It’s one of my faves.
Hi
Should these be stored in the fridge afterwards and how long do you think they will last?
Thank you.
Yes Tony, they should be stored in the fridge and should be good for four days.
[…] Baked Beans […]
Great recipe! But just an FYI- Worcestershire isn’t vegetarian/meatless. It usually has beef broth or anchovies or both.
Hi Cathy. Can I use black kidney beans and pinto beans to substitute dried navy beans?
Hi Vienna. No, I personally wouldn’t substitute the beans here. It just wouldn’t be the same at all. Navy beans are best – great northerns would be the only substitute. Good luck!
These didn’t have a lot of taste, and the sauce never really got thick. Not many got eaten so I have a ton of beans left. I will try doctoring them, but we can’t possibly eat them all right now. Can these be frozen?
Deborah, so sorry it didn’t work out -I’ve never had a problem with this recipe. Did you use navy beans? Anyway, yes I think you can freeze.
Cathy, I did use dried navy beans. I followed the recipe exactly. They will make an excellent base for the BBQ baked beans I usually make. I froze 3 containers. And yesterday I doctored some a bit with BBQ sauce and a little more brown sugar. They thickened up and tasted great.
Ok, good. Thanks for your input. I’m going to make this dish again and see if I need to make adjustments to improve!
[…] Vegetarian Boston Baked Beans – What Would Cathy Eat? […]
I enjoy making these and have done so with great success, several times! Today I’m going to try substituting maple syrup for the molasses. Have you tried that?
It might be a much milder flavor, but it’s certainly worth a try!
Nice tasty recipe but unless you want to eat extra farty food then you should NEVER use the water you cook beans in as it contains a lot of the toxins that makes beans gassy to begin with. Always discard and rinse beans well for less stomach discomfort!
Instead of using fresh beans can I use canned instead?
Hi Wendy, sorry for the late reply. No, this recipe is not designed for canned beans, so I wouldn’t recommend that at all.
I became allergic to nightshades about two years ago. I omitted the paprika and added quarter teaspoon of tumric, I was able to have baked beans again! Yum!!!!!
These beans are awesome! I just made some and had to use a few substitutions because I didn’t have some of the ingredients on hand. I am also allergic to onions and black pepper so I omitted those. I made them in my instant pot in about 15 minutes! This is the best bean recipe I have found! I will be making these a lot!!
I did read your previous comments about bean substitution, so I am sorry to ask another version — could I use cannelli beans? Or should I hold out until I get to the store again? It looks like a great recipe! I can’t have nightshades or gluten and my kiddo loves baked beans. Looking forward to trying these!
Hi Laura, I don’t think they will have quite the same soft texture. If you use navy or great northern beans, I think you will have a better result. That said, I’m sure it would still be pretty good.
This recipe turned out amazing!!! Thank you so much!!! I did tweak it just a bit tho. I added vegan veggie boullion and did brown sugar & maple syrup instead of all brown sugar.(my husband is a maple syrup nut) But I’m sure these baked beans would have been just as yummy without the tweaking.
I’m so excited I found your blog/website! Can’t wait to try more recipes!!!!
Hi could I freeze leftovers please. I could freeze in individual portions, so I have plenty. I live on my own, so would never get through a full batch lol. Thanks Fi
I’ve been making these for a few years and have found them incredibly easy and the ingredients flexible. Tonite I forgot about the bay leaf and was out of cloves. Sometimes I’ve tried maple syrup instead of molasses, sometimes I leave them to cook for an extra hour. Doesn’t matter. They’re always good and even people who aren’t baked bean fans, rave.
Great, Cathy! Just happened upon your site here while looking for some ideas for bread using millet flour, walnuts…. Love your recipes, as well as your format, presentation and upbeat vibe!
Happy cooking, thanks for sharing and take good care!
Cathy, I have been making your bean recipe for a Very Long time. I don’t even remember when I discovered it. Needless to say, it has been a Family Favourite for decades. I have not really experimented at all with the recipe because, as far as we are concerned, why bother, when you find “Perfect” ?
Thanks so much Cathy !!
As someone who’s been tomato-free for 30+ yrs (and NOT by choice 😪), I find myself always on the prowl for recipes that I can convert & still enjoy. This sounds like a keeper!! I’ve got my pound of Great Northern beans sorted, cleaned, & in a pot to soak overnite. I’m thinkin’bout putting them in the slow cooker though 😉
Thanx ❤️