These Vegan Skillet BBQ Bake Beans are incredibly delicious and SO much better than the canned version! These are healthy, homemade, oil-free and refined sugar-free. They are smoky, sweet and perfectly balanced in flavor!
You know when a recipe is so good you are all fighting over the last bite. That is how these Vegan Skillet Barbecue Baked Beans are. Even my 4 year old was shouting “yummy!” from the rooftops. It’s no secret that my favorite flavor ever is BBQ. I think it tastes good with practically anything, but there is something so amazing and classic about barbecue baked beans. I grew up eating these, but they of course were usually made with bacon. Well, these are not only vegan and plant-based, but they are totally oil-free and super low-fat.
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN SKILLET BBQ BAKED BEANS
Guess what, you don’t need bacon. Using 2 very key ingredients that make these beans to-die-for, is vegan worcestershire sauce and liquid smoke. Without these 2, you will not reach this rich, deep flavor. Liquid smoke gives that same amazing, rich, smoky flavor. Not only that, but I found THE most amazing liquid smoke, called Lazy Kettle, I have ever tasted. It is soooo flavorful, so authentic and honestly smells and tastes just like a wood chip from a barbecue pit from the days my Dad barbecued growing up. It was just a lucky find at Homegoods store of all places.
No need for soaking these vegan barbecue baked beans. There’s no need for all of that extra time. These beans are so easy and quick and ready in about an hour and yet, they taste like they have been simmering for hours. SO GOOD. Your house will smell straight up like a BBQ restaurant, no exaggeration.
Other BBQ Sides to serve:
Vegan Skillet BBQ Baked Beans
Ingredients
For cooking the veggies
- 1/2 cup (64g) chopped green bell pepper
- 1/2 packed cup (67g) finely diced white onion
- 3 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
For the remaining ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups tomato puree/sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon liquid smoke (I used Lazy Kettle brand which is amazing in this, if you are using another brand, start out with just 2 teaspoons and add more if desired)
- 1/4 cup vegan worcestershire sauce (found at Whole Foods or Amazon)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cans great northern beans drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Add the ingredients under just veggies to a large skillet, bell pepper, onion, garlic, water and just 1/4 teaspoon salt. I used my 10 inch iron skillet. Turn to medium heat and once simmering, cook for 5 minutes until beginning to get tender and basically all the water should be gone.
- Preheat an oven to 325 degrees.
- Add the remaining ingredients except the beans....tomato sauce, other 1/4 cup water, syrup, liquid smoke, worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Stir well until thoroughly mixed. Now gently stir in the beans.
- Add the skillet to the oven and cook for about 30-45 minutes until it is bubbling and the sauce has thickened some, but still some liquid remaining. Remove and serve.
ALWAYS a summer favorite! Growing up we were a big “Campbells Canned Beans” family and always had them with extra syrup and ketchup for out cookouts in the summer (so gross!!!) Hahaha!
Seriously, the best summer dish right!
Love it!!! I swear there was a point in my life when I was living off beans, and beans were the blood in my veins 🙂 And the liquid smoke…I’m sooooo getting that, been seeing lots of recipes recently with the use of it, and yours just convinced me to get some ASAP!!! Great as always Brandi! xxx
Thank you Anna! I live off beans too, basically daily I eat them! Absolutely love them. Oh and liquid smoke I use in a TON of my recipes, it’s one of my favorite ingredients.
Wow this looks incredible. I haven’t had baked beans since I was a kid but I always loved them. I am sure your version is way better and more sophisticated then the ones I had growing up. My mouth is watering. I certainly want to make these. I haven’t had much chance to comment on your blog lately cause work has been insane busy. But I have definitely been looking at your post on my phone when I get home and everything looks so incredible. The BBQ sauce recipe seriously looks genius. I have to make that. I have been taking a little bit of a break from cooking because I am having some issue that I want to straighten out. I have a feeling it is because I have been allowing myself to eat things that I normally avoid because it had a negative impact on my health in the past. I thought maybe it wouldn’t be a big deal to have it once in awhile but apparently it is. Speaking of, is their a soy free alternative to the Worcestershire sauce in this recipe and the BBQ sauce recipe? If not I will have to wait until I sort stuff out before I try these recipes. But they look seriously insane. Your are absolutely incredible. Thank you for sharing your recipes.
So very sweet of you Christina! I love reading your comments, they are always so thoughtful. Sorry to hear you’ve been so busy, but hey, job security, right? haha! These are so so good, I’m telling you, I wanted to eat the whole skillet myself.
Sorry to hear you’ve been struggling…definitely do whatever you need to do to reach peace and comfort in your life, that is most important.
There really is not a sub for worcestershire sauce in this recipe because there is a whole 1/4 cup and it’s pretty crucial to the flavor, but I think A1 steak sauce would be the closest sub to it. It is quick a bit thicker than worcestershire from what I remember, but it has a very rich flavor though. It’s worth a shot and it is soy-free. Sometimes if there is just a tbsp or so, then red wine vinegar with some salt can sub, but not in this case. So sorry! Worcestershire sauce is just such a distinct flavor that in my opinion, is what makes bbq sauce taste best.
Christina,
You can make your own soy free Worcestershire. Chef Sky Conroy has a delicious recipe in his ‘Seitan and Beyond’ cookbook. As I have a soy allergy I will be using it to make this great baked bean recipe. (I hope it’s ok to mention an other chef in answer to this question!)
Hi Brandi, I love this recipe so much! I’ve always used canned beans but am wanting to try soaking my own dry beans from scratch this time. How many ounces are the cans of northern beans referred to in the recipe? Thank you!
Hi Lauren! They are 15 ounce cans!
Thank you for this amazing recipe, sounds perfect for Labor Day weekend! I was just wondering if this can be made in an instant pot pressure cooker, and for how long?
Hi Angie! I have no idea since I don’t have one of those, but based off of the fast prep and simplicity of this recipe already, I really wouldn’t suggest it, because the beans are already cooked in the cans, you are just slow cooking them in the oven a bit so the sauce thickens and they reach a deep flavor. Honestly, the recipe is SO fast, you just cook the onion and bell pepper and garlic for 5 minutes and then put in the oven, there is very minimal hands on work, not much more than a pressure cooker.
These look absolutely perfect! The skillet, the checkered napkin, the smokey saucy beans–all the cookout vibes! My mom used to buy us pinto beans growing up, but once I discovered baked beans I was like forget that, I want the sweet ones lol. The sweet/savory/smokiness altogether is SO good! And liquid smoke at Homegoods, who would’ve though? You are always tackling the seemingly tricky, usually meat filled faves, and completely transforming them into something actually really healthy. Amazing!
You are so sweet, thank you so much Natalie! I was going for that outback barbecue look, lol! I know, it was such a fantastic find at Homegoods, seriously sooo good! thanks so much girl, I love to enjoy classics and just because we are vegan doesn’t mean we should just live off salads!
Brandi, I love your recipes and I can’t wait to try this one! I’ve been mostly vegan for about 5 years and I’ve tried many of your recipes–the zucchini corn cakes with cashew lemon pepper sauce is one of my absolute favorites. Thank you for all the amazing recipes!
Thank you so much Karen! That makes me so happy to hear you are loving my recipes, thank you very much! Hope you love these beans, too!
I’m hungry, Brandi! This looks so full of flavor, a big bowl for me please! I could only imagine the delicious bbq flavors in your kitchen when you’re making this! The addition of liquid smoke and vegan dorchester sauce take these to all whole new level. I love those meals that you can just cook and it’s done. These are perfect for any summer gatherings or get togethers I’m pretty sure these are a big hit!
I’m drooling and for now I wish I had bowl, yum!
This was such a big with my family that I have made it twice in two days. First time with black beans and the second time with black eyed peas. Both were fantastic, but the black bean version was the favourite with my family.
I’m so very happy you loved these so much Barb! Thank you so much for the awesome feedback!
I haven’t had a chance to make any of your recipes in a long while because I’ve been too busy! This quick and easy recipe was just what I needed! I used pinto beans that I had made and froze, and since I didn’t defrost them in advance, they got kind of smashed when I was trying to get them unfrozen, so my beans turned out a little more like refried beans, but still soooo good!! I also used a whole onion and a whole bell pepper because they needed to be used up. Lastly I used dates for sweetening, I took a guess with 6 medjool dates, and blended them into the tomato sauce. It came out perfect! Thank you for the amazing and easy recipe! I L😍VE baked beans, and these are way better (not to mention healthier!!) than the canned ones, I won’t feel compelled to buy them ever again!!
I’m so happy to hear you loved these so much April and that the dates worked, that is wonderful!
Love all the protein in these!! Beans are SO SO good. I’m not usually a fan of baked beans, but I’ve only had the ones that were NOT homemade (kind of gagged when I tried them to be honest) so I am sure that this version is lightyears better! I need to try them again but this time homemade!
Well, I think anybody would gag on the canned version because they are nothing but corn syrup, gross! Thankfully, these have been a huge hit with readers and are absolutely delish!
What a great recipe to incorporate before Memorial Day Weekend! I love having as many options for my vegetarian and vegan friends during cook outs and bbq’s. This is perfect for everyone’s eating preferences!
Thank you Mary!
I made these tonight with cornbread. I have never been a fan of baked beans, but these are delicious. Thanks, Brandi!
Awesome! So happy to hear you loved them Lindsey!
Looks amazing! If I dont have a iron skillet can I cook in a casserole type dish?
Yes, definitely! 🙂
Just made these amazing beans!!!! So good! Thanks for the share!!!
So happy to hear that Jessica, thank you so much for letting me know!
OMG Brandi these are to-die-for! My husband is a firm Bush’s-baked-beans-in-a-can guy so he whined the whole time I was making these “why are you making those?” why can’t we just have canned beans?” “I won’t like those”. I finally told him it was your recipe so he would calm down! You should have seen his face when he tasted the first bite! It was priceless! He had seconds and licked his plate! These were so easy and absolutely excellent! No more cans for this family!
Yay! Love to hear that so much Diana! Haha, so funny, I used to love those Bush’s baked beans too, so I totally understand. So glad these were a hit!! We absolutely love them here!
I made this the other night and it was gone so fast! So delicious, sweet and smoky- Thanks for a wonderful recipe that we will keep coming back to.
So very happy to hear that Anna, thank you so much for the feedback!
Hi Vegan8 this look wonderful to the mouth, i have a question. Is 1/4 cup Vegan worcestershire sauce needed. seems like alot to me. does it taste to strong?
Hi Ciera! Yes, I’ve added that much because I felt it was needed for that strong BBQ baked beans I grew up on. All readers have loved the recipe as is, but you could always start with 2 Tbsp first and add more for your own personal taste. It definitely works though because it is what gives depth of flavor, otherwise it’s just sweetened tomato sauce 🙂
Can’t wait to try these beans! Can I use a casserole dish as I don’t have a skilled that can go in the oven……Thanks!
Hi Susan! Yes, a casserole dish will work just fine!
At the top left, it reads, ‘Yields 3’. What does that mean?
Also, there’s just two of us; can we portion and freeze the rest? I’d rather not halve the recipe. Can’t wait to try.
Hi, that just means 3 servings. I’ve never tried freezing this personally but I would assume it’d be ok. It doesn’t really make a huge amount so it’s not really necessary. You can just store the rest in the fridge and eat the rest during the week.
How many servings does this make? Can we freeze leftovers?
My whole family absolutely loved these! We all agreed these are the best baked beans we’ve ever had! Goes exceptionally well with cornbread!
I’m so happy to hear that Brandy, thank you so much for the lovely review!
This recipe sounds so good to me!
Absolutely love beans 😍
Lots of love,
Bianca ❤️
Thank you so much Bianca!
Thank you so much Bianca!!
Just made these a couple days ago and they are awesome! The sauce is perfect, and the green bell pepper is a perfect touch. They are gone already and I want to make another batch very soon, however I just received your beautiful cookbook and am anxious to try out the great variety of recipes in that. BTW, I recently read that 2019 is supposed to be the year of the vegan!
Thank you so much Darrell for this wonderful review and taking the time to leave it, so very happy you loved these!!
Hands down the BEST baked beans recipe ever!! Way better than the ones I used to make before I was vegans. My in-laws tried it and didn’t even miss the bacon. Phew!!
Delicious- great spice and a little touch of heat.
Saucy and such an awesome BBQ flavor with easy on hand ingredients.
I thought for sure I’d commented but I see it not. ;). This is our second time making this wonderful dish and it was just as good. I didn’t have bell pepper so I added carrot and celery this time and liked it just as well. The flavors are so yummy and it worked perfectly for a night when I had just made an instant pot full of beans and happened to have a couple sweet potatoes already baked. Presto, instant dinner!
Wonderful Elyse, so happy to hear how much you enjoyed these!!
So delicious, so easy, with ingredients we already had on hand! A new favorite – thank you!!!!💚
So happy to hear that Beth!!
This was such a good recipe; I made it for the first time a couple of years ago for a BBQ and I’ve made it about 10 times ever since. I keep coming back to this recipe!
I can’t wait to try this recipe! I couldn’t find Great Northern beans and I’m wondering, would Cannellini beans make a good substitute?
Yes, that works!