Western Beans

Submitted by Dreamgoddess

"This recipe was a big hit at a recent birthday party for a friend. I just had to have the recipe! Enjoy!"

 

• Ready In: 1hr 10mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 4 slices bacon, diced
• 1⁄2 cup chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3⁄4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cumin
• 1⁄4 teaspoon dry red pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can tomatoes
• 1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained

directions

1. Cook the bacon in a dutch oven until done.
2. Remove the bacon from the dutch oven and reserve.
3. Saute onion in the bacon drippings until tender.
4. Add all the remaining ingredients, including the reserved bacon, to the dutch oven.
5. Simmer for 45 minutes.
6. Remove the bay leaf before serving.

Reviews

[Jake Dunlap]

Excellent! This dish is hearty and rich. I didn't feel like whipping out the dutch oven, so I just made it on the stove top and stirred it every few minutes as it simmered. Not that it needed any extra, but I love bacon, so I used 6 slices of chopped bacon rather than 4. This recipe would be perfect for a cold rainy night, or even a camping trip.

 

[arpontius]

this is an excellent recipe which I have used for years on scout trips and family gatherings. It works great in a dutch oven or slow cooker. I do a slightly different variation: I add 1 large onion, 1Tb Cinnamon, 1 Tb Nutmeg, 1 Tb curry, with 1 Tb sugar to blend the spices.

 

[lauralie41]

These beans were very good. I served with Kittencal's Recipe #289826 and Chef #610952's Recipe #285365. For the dry red pepper I used 1/8 tsp of red pepper flakes, thick sliced bacon, and petite diced tomatoes. After 45 minutes the beans looked like they could cook a bit longer so I simmered another 1/2 hour. Nice smokey flavor with just enough zip to make the flavorful and not overly spicy. Thank you for helping us have a wonderful Mother's Day dinner.

 

[justcallmetoni]

I don't think I'll ever eat plain old baked beans again. Despite the long simmer time, these are delightfully easy with a simple and small ingredients list. Despite that, they have a zesty full flavor that that could be the centerpiece of any BBQ. Indeed, I'm planning to have the leftovers over brown rice for lunch tomorrow. I don't eat bacon, so I used 2 slices of Canadian bacon diced into bits. To compensate for the loss in any smokey flavor, also added 1/4 tsp of liquid smoke. As for the question of liquid - I drained my beans a bit without rinsing them. That seemed to be just right. At 45 minutes they were very good, but I lost track of the timing of my meal and cooked an additional 10-15 minutes. The extra simmer took these to another level. Thanks DG.

 

[echo echo]

Having read Evelyn's comments I did not drain the beans before adding. I also used 2 cloves garlic, minced, in place of the garlic powder, adding the garlic with the chopped onion. This made an extremely easy, chili-style supper accented by the smoky saltiness of the bacon. Nice!