For years I’ve heard about Britain’s obsession with beans on toast, beans on baked potatoes, beans on everything! I’ve never really understood it, American baked beans are sooo sweet, I can barely eat a couple spoonfuls. But then I thought, what if they weren’t so sweet? What if they were tomato-y, and only slightly sweet, with hints of bbq sauce and a little heat? These sweet and spicy bbq beans are everything I hoped for and more; I’ve now eaten them on toast, on baked potatoes (my personal favorite), and on rice with roasted veggies. And I’m obsessed.
This recipe for sweet and spicy bbq beans is made in your Instant Pot, but can also be made in a crockpot or on the stove. I have yet to write down those cook times, so I will add a note to this recipe once I’ve officially tested each method out! And because this recipe makes such a large portion, you can easily freeze the beans for meals later in the week! For best-least-gassy results, be sure to soak your beans overnight in a large bowl of water and drain them before following this recipe.
Sweet and Spicy BBQ Beans (Instant Pot Friendly)
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 8 cups great northern beans- soaked overnight 1 lb. dried
- ½ large red onion- diced
- 6 cloves garlic- minced
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- ¼ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup bbq sauce of choice I use a smokey garlic bbq sauce
- 1 tbsp mustard
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp harissa paste or hot sauce of choice
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 3 cups water
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in your Instant Pot and stir well. Cover and seal the lid.
- Cook on high pressure (press PRESSURE COOK) for 15 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally, then let it sit on the KEEP WARM setting for 60 minutes. I like to let mine sit for as long as possible to let those flavors really develop. Mine take about 2 hours, start to finish.
- Serve on top of crusty toast, baked potatoes, over rice, for breakfast with fried eggs and avocado, or however you like!
- Allow leftovers to cool completely before storing in an airtight container in the fridge.
