Loaded Baked Beans and Crispy Bacon

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon, or more to taste
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, or more to taste, diced
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 (15 ounce) cans pork and beans
• 1 (16 ounce) can light red kidney beans
• 1 (16 ounce) can butter beans
• 1 cup ketchup
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon liquid smoke

Step 1

Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat, turning it every now and then until it’s nice and crispy, which usually takes around 10 to 12 minutes. Once done, drain the bacon on some paper towels and save the bacon grease in the skillet. When the bacon has cooled enough, crumble it into bite-sized pieces.

Step 2

Add the chopped onion to the bacon grease in the skillet and cook over medium heat until the onion softens, about 5 minutes. Toss in the garlic and cook for another minute until you can really smell it. Scoop the onion and garlic mixture, including all that flavorful bacon grease, into your slow cooker.

Step 3

In the same skillet, brown the ground beef over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks, until it’s fully browned and crumbly, around 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the beef to the slow cooker with the onion mix.

Step 4

Now, add the pork and beans, kidney beans, butter beans, ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and a splash of liquid smoke to the slow cooker. Give everything a good stir to combine.

Step 5

Set your slow cooker to low and let it cook for about 4 hours. When it’s ready, sprinkle the crumbled bacon over the top before serving. Enjoy!