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Boston baked beans in a beanpot, glossy with molasses.
Cooking in a Dutch Oven

Boston baked beans

Prep 20 min Cook 5 hr Total 13 hr Servings 8

By Lukasz Jagiello

Published Oct 12, 2026 · Updated Oct 12, 2026

Photo: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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About this recipe

I only post recipes that I have tried and verified and are good to my taste — all taste may vary.

A short simmer sets the skins, then a covered slow oven finishes the beans in molasses without boiling them into mush. Uncovering at the end thickens the sauce.

Ingredients

Method

  1. 01

    Cover the beans with plenty of cold water and soak them 8 hours, or overnight. Drain.

  2. 02

    Put the beans in a pot, cover with fresh water, and simmer 30 minutes, until the skins wrinkle and the centers are still firm. Drain, and save the cooking liquid.

  3. 03

    Heat the oven to 300°F. Put the salt pork and the onion in a beanpot or a Dutch oven. Add the beans. Stir in the molasses, brown sugar, mustard, salt, and pepper. Pour in enough bean-cooking liquid to just cover the beans.

  4. 04

    Cover and bake 4 hours. Once an hour, add a splash of hot water if the top looks dry.

  5. 05

    Uncover for the last 45 minutes so the top darkens and the sauce turns thick and glossy. The beans should be tender, not soupy.

Notes & swaps

  • The total time includes the overnight soak. The oven work is the 5 hours.
  • These are the Saturday-night supper beans. The candy of the same name is a different thing.
  • No tomato. The color comes from molasses.

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