Typically made with salt pork, we’ve used lardons for ease in this Boston Baked Beans recipe. The aim is to just keep the beans covered with liquid, but not swimming, or you won’t form that thick shiny, glaze-like sauce.
Preparation Notes: Plus overnight soaking
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Total Time:
5 hrs 15 mins
- 500 g dried haricot beans, soaked overnight in cold water
- 2 onions
- 1 carrot, roughly chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 200 g smoked bacon lardons
- 125 g black treacle
- 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. cider vinegar, if needed
- Step 1Drain the soaked beans and put into a large pan. Cut 1 onion into quarters and add to pan with the carrot, bay leaves and garlic. Cover well with cold water. Bring to the boil over high heat, then simmer for 45min (topping up with water as needed), until the beans are tender but not falling apart. Using a slotted spoon, lift out and discard the onion, carrot and garlic. Reserving the cooking liquid, drain the beans.
- Step 2Meanwhile, finely chop the remaining onion. Heat oil in a large casserole dish over medium heat and fry the lardons for 5min until golden and crisp. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5min until onion is softening.
- Step 3Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. Add drained beans and bay leaves to the casserole dish. Measure the treacle into a large jug and mix in mustard and enough of the reserved cooking water to make it up to 700ml (reserve remaining cooking water). Grind in plenty of pepper and add a few large pinches of salt.
- Step 4Stir the treacle mixture into the casserole dish and smooth the beans into an even layer. If needed, add more reserved cooking water to just cover the top of the beans. Bring to a simmer on the hob, then cook in the oven, uncovered, for 4hr. You’ll need to stir every hour or so and top up with reserved cooking water if the top beans aren’t submerged. The beans should be completely tender with a few bursting, and there should be a dark brown crust on the surface (avoid stirring in final 1hr of cooking to let this form). The beans take a long time as the treacle slows down the rate of cooking. If your cooking water runs out, use just-boiled water to top up.
- Step 5Remove from oven and stir beans well to allow a thick starchy sauce to form. Check seasoning, adding a splash of cider vinegar, if needed. Serve.
Get ahead: Make up to 3 days ahead. Cool, cover and chill. To serve, reheat gently on the hob, adding just-boiled water, if needed, to loosen. Check seasoning.
Per serving (if serving 8):
- 350cals
- 18g protein
- 8g fat (3g saturates)
- 43g carbs (15g total sugars)
- 15g fibre
The GH Kitchen Team are Good Housekeeping’s resident recipe developers and all-round food obsessives. GH Kitchen Director Sarah Akhurst is our resident hosting pro and loves nothing more than putting on a foodie feast for friends. Our GH Kitchen Manager Linzi Pucino is our very own Italian food expert (originally hailing from the North East of Scotland!) and can be found working her way through midweek recipes that cover all bases, from haggis to ragu! Our Kitchen Editor Nadine Brown loves digging into the stories behind her favourite foods and enjoys applying her eclectic tastes to more modern, flavour-forward recipes - just don't give her too much chilli! Our Junior Food Content Produce Frankie Prichard combines a love of beautiful presentation and flavour-led, seasonal cooking in her recipe development, along with a passion for bringing people together through food. With a wealth of professional kitchen experience between them, they’re dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work every single time
