Easy Baked Beans with Ground Beef

Southern baked beans are a classic side dish for bbq dinners, summer parties, and large family gatherings. And this easy recipe is excellent because it’s great as a main meal or a side.

Why You’ll Love It

This is a good dish to make for a last minute cookout. With less than two hours, you can make these tender beans!

• Quick & Easy to make
• Delicious & Hearty
• Side dish or Main dish

If you’re in the camp that thinks the best baked beans have traditional sweet flavor, try my sweet and spicy baked beans with bacon and ground sausage.

Serving Suggestions

While you can serve regular baked beans at room temperature, I recommend serving this bean casserole warm because of the addition of ground beef.

• Serve over Texas toast or with Jiffy cornbread casserole.
• Add some tortilla chips or potato chips on the side.
• Serve it at a backyard bbq or summer cookout. 
• It’s the perfect side dish for a juicy hamburger, grilled hot dogs, kabobs, or grilled chicken.
• It’s great to serve for an at-home graduation party menu.
• It makes a wonderful side dish to take to a potluck party or family reunion.
• Make these cowboy beans for a Western theme party.

Ingredients & Tips

• Pound of ground beef. Look for lean meat that’s at least 80% lean, but higher is better because you won’t have to drain as much fat off after browning it. 
• Pork and Beans. Make sure you use the whole can with the bean sauce; don’t drain them like we do with other beans.
• Black beans. These are ideal for the Mexican flavors we’re adding. Make sure to drain and rinse them.
• White beans. Look for Great Northern beans, Navy beans, or Cannellini beans. Either is great but the Great Northern beans are a little smaller than cannellini. Drain and rinse the beans.
• Salsa. Use your favorite brand and variety, from hot to mild to chunky. Chipotle salsa is also great here and imparts a smokiness. 
• Taco Seasoning. Use a taco seasoning pack for this or you can find cans of it in the spice section. It’s a terrific shortcut as it has essential spices like chili powder, cumin, onion powder and paprika already measured. I used Old El Paso brand.

Substitutions & Variations

• Use ground breakfast sausage instead of the hamburger meat.
• You can swap out the white beans for pinto beans instead.
• To enhance the tex mex flavor add some diced jalapenos.
• Cook some diced yellow onion with the hamburger for extra flavor.
• Add some diced green or red bell pepper to the dish. Cook them with the ground beef to soften before adding them in.
• Change the flavor profile by using a smoky bbq sauce instead of salsa.

How to Make It

Use a ceramic baking dish with a lid or dutch oven to cook meaty baked beans in the oven.

1. Break up the ground beef in a large skillet and cook over low-medium heat. Add salt to season the meat as it cooks. TIP: Cooking the ground beef over lower heat will give you small bits of meat while cooking over medium heat will give you larger chunks of meat.
2. While the meat is cooking, open the cans of beans, drain and rinse the black beans and white beans and add to a large bowl.
3. Once the meat is no longer pink, drain the excess grease. Add the meat to the mixing bowl with the beans and add salsa and taco seasoning. Mix well to combine and pour into a baking dish with a lid or use aluminum foil to tightly cover and bake.

Storage

Leftovers. Refrigerate in an airtight container for 3-4 days. They will become thicker, but still tasty. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove top on low heat. 

Freeze. Use a ladle to fill a freezer zippered bag with the cooled beans. Label it with the date to keep you on track and freeze for up to 3 months. Lay the bag flat in the freezer for easy stacking. Thaw in the fridge overnight. 

More Recipes with Ground Beef

• Make cheesy baked spaghetti using ground beef, chicken or turkey.
• You simply MUST try my Mexican pasta bake that combines the best of both styles.
• Easy cheeseburger bake with Bisquick is a hot comfort dish that’s hearty and satisfying.
• For an alternative to baked casseroles, cook up a batch of the best spaghetti meat sauce for a crowd.

Next time you need a great recipe for parties, mix up these hearty baked beans with lean ground beef. It’s got the perfect texture and flavor!