Ultimate BBQ Beans

We partnered with our friends at Spicewalla to highlight regional bean varieties and regional BBQ flavors, taken to new heights when paired together. These BBQ beans require minimal effort to whip up, yet they're so incredibly flavorful! Play with the foolproof base recipe by varying the bean and spice pairings. Enjoy with a summery spread of grilled meats, potato salad, coleslaw, watermelon wedges, and (of course) friends.

Why This Recipe Works

What makes these BBQ beans special is the thoughtful pairing of regional bean varieties with regional BBQ spice blends. It's not just generic "baked beans", it's a celebration of how different beans and different BBQ traditions can complement each other when matched properly.

The base recipe is foolproof and flexible. You build flavor through rendered bacon fat, sautéed aromatics, quality spice blends, and a combination of sweet and tangy ingredients (brown sugar, molasses, tomato paste, apple cider vinegar). The beans cook low and slow in chicken stock until tender, absorbing all those wonderful flavors.

The Spicewalla Partnership

This recipe was created in partnership with Spicewalla, a spice company known for freshly ground, high-quality blends. Their regional BBQ blends capture the distinctive flavors of different American BBQ traditions, from sweet and smoky Kansas City style to tangy Carolina mustard BBQ to spicy Texas style.

Pairing these authentic spice blends with regional bean varieties creates something greater than either ingredient alone. It's a celebration of American food traditions, both the beans and the BBQ.

Bean and BBQ Spice Pairings

While the recipe provides a base that works with any combination, certain pairings are especially good:

• Bayo beans + Carolina Mustard BBQ: The creamy, rich Bayo beans pair beautifully with tangy, mustardy Carolina-style BBQ. This pairing includes yellow mustard in the recipe.
• Chaparro beans + Texas BBQ: Firm, meaty Chaparro beans stand up to bold, spicy Texas-style BBQ
• Cranberry beans + Kansas City BBQ: Sweet, tender Cranberry beans complement the sweet, tomato-forward Kansas City style
• Southwest beans + Memphis BBQ: Regional beans with Memphis-style dry rub flavors

The guide allows you to experiment and find your favorite combinations.

The Bacon Foundation

The recipe starts by rendering diced thick-cut bacon in olive oil until crispy. This serves multiple purposes: you get crispy bacon pieces to add back later, you get rendered bacon fat for sautéing the aromatics (which adds incredible flavor), and you set up a foundation of smoky, savory richness.

Don't skip the bacon or substitute turkey bacon, the pork fat is essential to authentic BBQ bean flavor. If you must make it vegetarian, use a generous amount of smoked paprika and extra olive oil, but know it won't be quite the same.

Building Flavor

Diced onion and optional jalapeño sauté in the bacon fat until the onions are translucent and the jalapeño softened, about 5 minutes. Then minced garlic and the BBQ spice blend go in, getting stirred to coat everything evenly and sautéed until fragrant.

This blooming of the spices in fat is crucial, it releases their essential oils and creates a more complex, integrated flavor than just stirring spices into liquid would achieve.

The Long Simmer

Chicken stock, dried beans (no soaking necessary!), and the reserved fried bacon go into the pot. The beans should be covered by about 1-2 inches of liquid, add more stock or water if needed. Everything comes to a boil, then reduces to a simmer.

Here's where patience comes in: the beans simmer covered for 2½-3 hours until tender and fully cooked, and the liquid has reduced by about two-thirds. This long, slow cooking allows the beans to absorb all those flavors, bacon, spices, aromatics, while becoming creamy and tender.

The Finishing Touches

Once the beans are tender, you stir in tomato paste (for depth and slight acidity), dark brown sugar (for sweetness), molasses (for complexity and that characteristic BBQ sweetness), and apple cider vinegar (for brightness and tang).

For the Carolina Mustard BBQ pairing with Bayo beans, you also add yellow mustard at this stage, creating that distinctive tangy, mustardy flavor that Carolina BBQ is known for.

Taste and adjust seasoning, you might want more sugar, more vinegar, more spice blend, or salt depending on your preferences and which pairing you chose.

No Soaking Required

One of the best things about this recipe is that you don't need to soak the beans overnight. They cook directly in the pot during that long simmer, which means less planning ahead and also allows them to absorb more flavor from the cooking liquid.

The 2½-3 hour cooking time is hands-off, you're just letting them simmer gently while you do other things (like prep the rest of your BBQ spread).

Perfect for Cookouts

These beans are ideal for summer cookouts and BBQ gatherings. They're:

• Make-ahead friendly: Taste better the next day as flavors meld
• Feed a crowd: Easy to scale up
• Classic BBQ side: Everyone expects beans at a BBQ
• Complementary: Work with any grilled meat or vegetarian mains
• Substantial: Filling enough to satisfy without being heavy

Serving

Serve these beans warm alongside classic BBQ fare: grilled ribs, brisket, pulled pork, chicken, or grilled vegetables for vegetarians. Traditional sides like potato salad, coleslaw, cornbread, and watermelon wedges round out the spread.

The beans can sit in a slow cooker on warm for serving at a party, or be reheated gently on the stovetop.

Leftovers

BBQ beans keep beautifully in the fridge for up to a week and freeze well for up to 3 months. Many people swear they're better the next day after the flavors have had time to meld.

Reheat gently on the stovetop, adding a splash of water or stock if they've thickened too much. They make excellent quick lunches throughout the week.

Regional Pride

What makes this recipe special is how it celebrates American regional food traditions, both bean varieties grown in different parts of the country and BBQ styles that developed in different regions. It's a reminder that "BBQ beans" isn't just one thing, there are as many variations as there are BBQ traditions.

By thoughtfully pairing regional beans with regional spice blends, you create something that honors those traditions while making them accessible to home cooks everywhere.

Minimal Effort, Maximum Flavor

As the recipe promises, these require minimal effort but deliver incredible flavor. Once you've done the initial sautéing and brought everything to a simmer, it's mostly hands-off. But the result tastes like you spent all day laboring over them—rich, complex, perfectly seasoned, with tender beans and bits of crispy bacon throughout.

It's the kind of recipe that becomes your go-to for summer gatherings, the thing people specifically request you bring to cookouts.

Ultimate BBQ Beans

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Category

Side Dish

Cuisine

American

We partnered with our friends at Spicewalla to highlight regional bean varieties and regional BBQ flavors, taken to new heights when paired together. These BBQ beans require minimal effort to whip up, yet they're so incredibly flavorful! Play with the foolproof base recipe by varying the bean and spice pairings.

Bean and BBQ spice pairing guide:

Bayo beans + Carolina Mustard 

BBQ Chaparro beans + Texas 

BBQ Cranberry beans + Kansas City

BBQ Southwest beans + Memphis BBQ

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 4 oz thick-cut bacon (about 4 strips), diced

• 1 medium yellow onion, diced

• 1 small jalapeño, diced (optional)

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 tbsp Spicewalla BBQ blend of choice

• 4 cups chicken stock

• ½ lb Primary Beans variety of choice, dried - no soaking necessary!

• ⅓ cup tomato paste

• ½ cup yellow mustard (Carolina Mustard BBQ x Bayo beans only)

• ⅓ cup dark brown sugar

• 1 tbsp molasses

• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

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Directions

1. Render the bacon: Heat a dutch oven or large heavy bottom pot over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and diced bacon and sauté, stirring frequently, until crispy, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove bacon from the pot and place on a paper towel lined plate, leaving the rendered bacon fat in the pot.

2. Sauté the aromatics: Add diced onion and jalapeño (if using). Sauté, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent and jalapeño has softened, about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and Spicewalla BBQ blend of choice. Stir to combine and evenly coat the onion and jalapeño. Sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.

3. Simmer the beans: Add chicken stock, Primary Beans variety of choice, and reserved fried bacon. Check to make sure that beans are covered by about 1-2 inches of liquid. If you need more liquid, add more chicken stock or water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for about 2½ - 3 hours until the beans are tender and fully cooked and liquid has reduced by about two-thirds.

4. Finish and serve: Stir in the tomato paste, yellow mustard (if using), dark brown sugar, molasses and apple cider vinegar. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. Serve warm and enjoy!