Slow Cooker "You'll Never Miss the Bacon" Vegetarian Boston Baked Beans
No bacon necessary! This meatless Boston baked bean recipe makes a tender, tasty, barbecue-worthy side that the vegetarians and the vegans at the party can enjoy along with everyone else. But the meat-eaters will love 'em, too!
Ingredients
1pounddried small white beans or navy beans
Water for soaking beans
1medium yellow oniondiced
1medium green pepperdiced
1cupvegetable broth or water
1/2cupmolassesI use Grandma's original
1/2cupdark brown sugar
1tablespoonolive oil
2teaspoonsdry mustard
1/2teaspoonsmoked paprika
1/8teaspooncayenne peppermore or less to taste
3teaspoonskosher salt
1/4teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper
1bay leaf
5-6dashes Tabasco sauceoptional
Instructions
Soak. Rinse the beans and sort through them, discarding any beans that look "off" or any foreign objects. Place beans in Crock Pot and cover with 3-4 inches of water. You can also add them to a pot or bowl; I just like to use my Crock Pot stoneware because in the end that's one less dish to clean. Cover and let soak overnight or for at least 8 hours. Pour the soaked beans into a colander and rinse well. Rinse out the Crock Pot. Set soaked beans aside; you'll add them back to the Crock Pot in a minute.
Assemble. Add onion, pepper, broth, molasses, brown sugar, olive oil, dry mustard, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper to Crock Pot. Mix until combined. Add back your soaked and drained beans and stir until combined. Add bay leaf.
Cook. Cook on high for 8-10 hours or on low for 12-14 hours. Note: Slow Cookers can vary, so the first time you make this, you may want check on it periodically and see if you need more broth or water after the first few hours. But don't worry, your beans shouldn't turn to mush! The molasses helps to prevent that.
Leftover beans keep up to three days refrigerated in an airtight container. They also freeze well.
Notes
Prep time includes 8 hours soaking time and about 15 minutes hands-on time.