Homemade baked beans for this week’s fiesta!

Today it is my honour to be co hosting Fiesta Friday again, along with the lovely Julie from Hostess at Heart – check out the fabulous bread she’s been making recently – we hope you will join us for the party, join the chat, and see what everyone is bringing along 🙂 

For me, I’ve got several dishes ready to share with you all so I’ve had to be tough on myself and get decisive. And I decided to go for the beans!  

I’m afraid I don’t like tinned baked beans. I realise that may be sacrilege to many, but for me, they’re just too sweet, and have never been very appealing. I do cook many cans of the Heinz variety, however, as they are very popular with my menfolk, and, weirdly, whenever my Grandmother laid on a ‘salad’, she thought it was the height of sophistication to (in amongst the standard iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber) include a bowl of cold baked beans as part of the selection!!! It couldn’t be further from my idea of a salad really…however, that is not what I’m here to debate…

I’m here to share my homemade ‘baked beans’. A very yummy dish, perfect for the cold weather, perfect to eat on their own, as a side dish, on toast, or over grains, as I did. Hot or cold, they’re good. And being homemade, there’s no chance of any hidden sugar or nasties.

I made my beans with black eyed beans because that’s what I had to hand, cannelini or haricot beans would be more typical, but really, I’d pick whatever beans you like! 

Ingredients

Coconut oil, 1-2 tbsp

1 red onion, chopped 

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 x 400g tin of your chosen beans, rinsed and drained OR 1 full cup of home cooked beans, drained 

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes or passata 

1 tbsp tomato purée

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 heaped tsp smoked paprika 

Salt and pepper to taste

Note: Many recipes for homemade baked beans include some of sweet element like honey or maple syrup, or indeed sugar, but I didn’t, and the dish didn’t appear to be missing anything to me. 

Method

Heat the coconut oil in a pan over a medium heat, once melted, add the onion and cook for a few minutes until it softens

Add the garlic and cook briefly 

Add the beans, tomatoes, tomato purée, sauces, paprika and seasoning

Simmer for 5-10 minutes

Eat however you like! I ate the beans over a few days as I made double the amount above, including with eggs on one occasion.. 

These beans were inspired by the lovely dish that Jhuls made for my What would you feed me? guest series last year – I just wish I’d made them sooner! 

Grab a fork and dig in! Enjoy!!

Have a great weekend and enjoy Fiesta Friday xx