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Cowboy Baked Beans are a great side dish you’ll make all year round. Ground beef and a variety of beans simmer in a rich and tangy sauce.
My mom frequently made this version of baked beans as a potluck side dish or for summer cookouts. At the simplest, cowboy beans can be served as a main dish alongside air fryer bacon wrapped hot dogs.
For another bean dish variation, try my old fashioned pork and beans recipe.
What are cowboy beans?
Cowboy beans are a variety of baked beans, with an addition of ground beef.
The whole bunch of beans is simmered in a homemade bbq sauce. And let me tell you, it tastes delightful! You may have also heard of this dish as calico beans.
Another hearty recipe you'd love is cowboy cornbread casserole!
Ingredients
- ground beef - I like to use lean ground beef in the recipe.
- onion
- beans - A few type of beans go into this cowboy baked beans recipe. Butter beans, lima beans, kidney beans and old fashioned old pork and beans.
- brown sugar
- white vinegar
- molasses
- yellow mustard
- ketchup
- Worcestershire sauce
- liquid smoke - if you'd like add a smoky flavor to your baked beans (optional). A little goes a long way with this! I recommend you avoid measuring this ingredient over your pot in case you over pour.
Substitutions
Use cannellini beans in place of the butter beans.
Use ground turkey or ground pork in place of the ground beef when making these cowboy beans.
How to make cowboy baked beans
- Step #1: In a Dutch oven or other large pot, brown the ground beef and onion over medium heat until the beef is no longer pink.
Drain any fat and return to the pan.
- Step #2: Add all remaining ingredients to the Dutch oven. Stir to combine and add the lid.
Cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Step #3: Remove lid and cook for another 25 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minute to ensure nothing on the bottom of the pot burns.
Serve and enjoy!
Variations
You can doctor up these baked beans with hamburger by adding:
- cooked and crumbled bacon
- chopped green bell peppers
- a dash of hot sauce
You can also cook these hamburger baked beans in the slow cooker. To do so, brown the ground beef and onion in a skillet. Drain and return to the slow cooker.
Add all ingredients to a slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
For a fun variation try this ground beef baked beans dish.
What to serve with cowboy baked beans
Cowboy beans by themselves make a great side dish.
Farm friends, this is a great recipe to serve alongside pull apart sliders as a field meal!
Or, serve the beans over Instant Pot baked potatoes for a filling main dish.
How to store leftovers
Store leftovers, refrigerated, in an airtight container. This is one of those recipes where leftovers taste even better the next day, so enjoy!
Cowboy baked beans can be frozen for later use. After cooking, allow the beans to cool completely. Transfer them to an airtight container or freezer bags, leaving some space for expansion. Label and date the containers, then store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
When you make this cowboy baked beans recipe, leave a recipe review or comment below. I'd love to hear from you!
Cowboy Baked Beans Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small onion diced
- 15 ounces canned butter beans drained
- 15 ounces canned lima beans drained
- 15 ounces canned kidney beans drained
- 15 ounces pork & beans
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 Tablespoon ketchup
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke optional
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven, brown the ground beef and onion over medium heat until the beef is no longer pink. Drain the grease and return to the pot.
- Add all remaining ingredients to the pot. Add the lid. Cook on low for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove lid and cook for another 25 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minute to ensure nothing on the bottom of the pot burns.Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
This Farm Girl Cooks is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
