Whilst living in Indonesia, I would sometimes crave baked beans but Heinz 57 Varieties were not to be found in the supermarkets. These cravings were strange because even though I enjoyed baked beans occasionally, they weren’t a passion. And so my recent sudden desire to have beans-on-toast made me smile as it reminded me of these old hankerings. Back in Indonesia, it didn’t occur to me that I might be able to bake my own —now I can 🙂
You might be thinking opening a tin is so much easier. And it is, but the way the beans are cooked inside the tins, the high level of sugar and sometimes preservatives too, make them less than desirable. My recipe is super easy, needs little supervision, but does take some time. So I’d like to suggest making the quality below to see if you like it. If you do, then next time, double, triple or quadruple the recipe, then portion and freeze it. I also cook beans in large bathes then freeze them too, in this way I always have cooked beans to hand when I need them. Freezing either the plain cooked beans or your own home-made baked beans gives you the convenience of a tin, and yet they are tastier and more nutritious.
INGREDIENTS FOR HOME-MADE BAKED BEANS
Portion: Makes the same as 1 tin
- 250g of cooked haricot beans*
- 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
- 1 large garlic clove – chopped finely or crushed
- 1 heaped tablespoon of sun dried tomato puree**
- 1 desert spoon of maple syrup
- Good grinding black pepper
* I prefer to cook beans from dried – but if time is of the essence, use a 400g tin/packet/jar of cooked beans ensuring they have no horrible additives. To cook beans from dried, soak 100g beans overnight or for at least 6 hours. After soaking, drain, rinse and pour into a saucepan add plenty of water. Bring to the boil. Skim off scum. Refresh the water and add a scant ¼ teaspoon of salt (ideally rock or sea). Bring back to the boil. Then turn down the heat to its lowest setting and simmer slowly for 40 minutes. Check half-way through – and if necessary add more water.
Dried beans are typically sold in bags of 500g – if you have a very large pan, you could cook 500g which will provide you with 1,250g of cooked to freeze or make a super large batch of baked beans.
** I use Gia Sun-dried Tomato Paste and you need approx half a tube. Zest is another brand I trust.
METHOD
Simply place all of the ingredients into a large casserole dish. Mix well. Add the lid (or make one using greaseproof, parchment paper or foil. Place into at oven at 200° or gas mark 6 and cook for 40 minutes. If you have a fan assisted over, lower temperature and check on the beans after 30 minutes.
When cooked, serve on a slice of toast, or if you wheat intolerant like me, see my easy-to-make wheat-free flatbreads which can be made whilst the beans are cooking.
When I made my Clean Eating version of Beans on Toast, as photographed above, I also sprinkled it with just a little feta.
Create portions of your baked-beans and freeze them for later use.
Eat Well—Be Well 🙂
