These easy Vegan Baked Beans transform pantry staple ingredients into a sweet, smoky, and savory barbecue dish. Never settle for canned baked beans again!
For more vegan barbecue recipes, check out my Vegan Potato Salad, Best Veggie Burger, and Watermelon Feta Salad.
Is it really a summer barbecue without the baked beans? I certainly don’t think so! Luckily, being vegan doesn’t mean we have to skip this saucy, maple-smoked classic or (worse) settle for the canned baked beans.
If you’ve been missing this potluck staple, then you need to try my Vegan Baked Beans. They’re seriously the best and great any time of the year!
These oven-baked beans have the perfect blend of sweet, savory, and smoky flavors and are incredibly easy to make with only 10 minutes of hands-on prep time. Best of all, they’re an instant hit at any barbecue or family dinner (yes, even with the kids!).
Are baked beans vegan?
Baked beans are not usually vegan because they’re often made with pork, like bacon or ham. This is easy to omit, though, making it easy to make a just-as-tasty plant-based version.
My vegan baked bean recipe captures the same smoky, sweet, and maple flavors as a classic baked bean recipe. This is all thanks to canned beans and a sauce made up of mostly pantry staples! You can add crumbled tofu bacon or tempeh bacon in with the beans if you’re missing the meaty qualities but I find that they’re just as good without it.
How to make the best vegan baked beans
Find the complete recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
Sauté the onion in a large oiled pot over medium heat until translucent.
Add the molasses, brown sugar, maple syrup, ketchup, salt, smoked paprika, apple cider vinegar, vegan Worcestershire sauce, mustard, Sriracha hot sauce, and water to the pot. Stir well to combine, then add in the drained and rinsed navy beans.
Transfer the bean mixture to a large casserole dish and cover it with foil or a lid. Alternatively, use an oven safe pan/Dutch oven for both sautéing and baking.
Bake the beans for 1 hour, then remove the foil and continue baking until the sauce has thickened and is beautifully caramelized on top (about 30 minutes).
Serve your warm vegetarian baked bean casserole with your favorite BBQ sides and enjoy!
Frequently asked questions
I can’t think of a better way to serve baked beans than at a summer barbecue. Their smoky and sweet flavors make them the perfect partner for Vegan Macaroni Salad, BBQ Jackfruit Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Vegan Collard Greens, and Vegan Cheese Grits. Make sure you bake a batch of my Vegan Cornbread, too. It’s perfect for soaking up the sauce!
You can also serve vegan baked beans as a side dish with any comforting dinner. Think Vegan Mac and Cheese, Roasted Potato Wedges, Veggie Burgers, etc.
I haven’t personally tried cooking the baked beans in a crockpot; however, other readers tried it and had great results! I’d recommend sautéing the onions on the stove before combining them with the rest of the ingredients in your slow cooker and cooking the beans on Low for 5 to 6 hours.
This recipe was originally published as an Instant Pot recipe but I changed it after readers were getting burn notices. This usually happened during the last part, when the sauce was added to the pot.
Here’s how I make vegan baked beans in the Instant Pot without getting a burn message: Add 1 pound of dried navy beans and 6 cups of water to the Instant Pot. Seal the lid, close the steam valve, and set to the bean setting for 25 minutes. Do a natural release, then drain the beans.
Next, whisk the sauce ingredients in a bowl (except for the onions) and sauté the onion in the oiled pot using the sauté setting. Turn off sauté mode and stir in the sauce and beans. Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes, then do a natural release.
Baked bean recipes are traditionally made with small navy beans, but other white beans work just as well, like cannellini, lima, or Great Northern beans. Pinto beans are also a delicious option!
You can, but it will take longer. To make this with dry navy beans, soak 1 1/3 cups of navy beans in water overnight. Drain and rinse the next day, then add them to a large pot with just enough water to cover the beans. Gently boil the water for about 1 hour or until the beans are tender. Continue with the recipe as normal.
The cooled baked beans can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let the frozen leftovers thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat the beans on the stovetop or in the microwave.
The Best Vegan Baked Beans
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion chopped small
- 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup ketchup or tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1-2 teaspoons Sriracha hot sauce to taste
- 1/2 cup water
- (2) 15-ounce cans small navy beans drained and rinsed, see Notes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large pot, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and stir for about 5 minutes, until translucent.
- To the pot, add the molasses, brown sugar, maple syrup, ketchup, salt, smoked paprika, apple cider vinegar, vegan Worcestershire sauce, mustard, Sriracha hot sauce and water. Stir well, then add the drained and rinsed beans.
- Transfer to a 2-quart casserole dish (or use a dutch oven or other oven-safe pot) and cover with foil or an oven-safe lid. Bake for 1 hour, then remove the foil/lid and cook for 30 more minutes.
- Keep warm until ready to serve.
Notes
- If you like your baked beans less sweet, omit or reduce the brown sugar, and use canned tomato sauce in place of the ketchup.
- Baked beans will keep in the refrigerator for 4-5 days, and can also be frozen.
-
May use dried and cooked small navy beans from scratch instead. I keep it easy by using canned beans.
Nutrition
This is my go to recipe for baked beans! I have made this many times and they are a big hit! Delicious, as all your recipes are!
Please post original recipe too. I have made it multiple times with no burning but now need the ingredients for the insta pot.
Hi Nora, Love your recipes, always a success when I make one.
A question on the baked beans, can you make this with uncooked navy beans ? I don’t use canned typically and I am wondering how long I would need to cook them over the stated time for canned ?
I am guessing I could pre cook them (I use an instant pot) then process them, but is it possible to skip this step?
Thanks for your help and inspiration !
Hi Michelle. Thank you for the recipe love and support! It means a lot to me! For the baked beans – yes, you can use dried beans and cook them first per the instructions in my Notes for the Instant Pot version. I hope this helps! Happy cooking!
Add butter beans and or kidney beans.
Why navy beans opposed to pinto or any other bean?
You can use another bean if you want, but some sort of small white bean like navy beans are best in my opinion for baked beans.
Hello!! I am making these on Tuesday for my work party and then again on the 4th. It is going to be so hot that I am not going to want to turn on my oven. How would these be in the crockpot??
I’m sure they would work well in a crock pot. Great idea!
Thank you Nora!! I know i can always count on you for delicious recipes! I really appreciate your response. I realized after I posted yesterday that you had already answered other people’s questions about the slow cooker. I guess i should have looked a little harder 🤣