The Most Amazing Beans You’ll Ever Taste

Ingredients

• 2 pounds thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• ¼ cup water
• 3 bunches green onions, diced
• 1 (16 ounce) package golden brown sugar
• 1 (12 ounce) bottle tomato-based chili sauce (such as Heinz®)
• 3 (15 ounce) cans pork and beans in tomato sauce (such as VanCamp's®)
• 3 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, drained
• 3 (15 ounce) cans lima beans, drained

Step 1

Cook the bacon in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Turn it every so often until it’s nicely crispy, which should take about 5 to 6 minutes. Once done, drain the bacon on some paper towels, but make sure to save 3 tablespoons of the bacon grease and toss the rest.

Step 2

Pour about 1/4 cup of water into the pan and bring it to a boil. Use a spoon to scrape up all those tasty browned bits stuck to the bottom as the water evaporates. Then add the reserved bacon grease back into the pan along with the chopped green onions. Cook everything together until the onions soften, around 3 to 4 minutes.

Step 3

Now, stir in the brown sugar little by little, about a quarter cup at a time. Keep cooking and stirring until the sugar starts to caramelize and turn golden, which usually takes about 5 minutes. After that, mix in the chili sauce and let it cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.

Step 4

Pour in the pork and beans, kidney beans, and lima beans, and stir everything so the beans are evenly coated with the sauce. Then, crumble the cooked bacon back into the pot and give it another good stir to combine all the flavors.

Step 5

Cover the pot, lower the heat to a gentle simmer, and let it cook for about an hour and a half to two hours. Remember to stir it every now and then to keep it from sticking or burning. This slow simmer lets all those flavors meld together beautifully.