Easy 5-Ingredient Baked Beans

This super easy and fast recipe for stovetop baked beans is a favorite for lunch! Serve on toast with optional mushrooms. Five basic ingredients: beans, tomato puree, maple syrup, mustard and starch. Salt and pepper to taste.

Prep Time2

Cook Time7

Total Time9

Servings: servings

Author: Kathy Patalsky

Equipment

soup pot

Ingredients

1 ½ cups navy beans drained and rinsed

Baked Beans Sauce:

¾ cup tomato puree - or tomato paste sub (see notes)
2-4 tablespoon maple syrup
2-4 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoon corn starch or arrowroot powder
salt + pepper to taste

Optional:

2 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
½ cup mushrooms chopped
smoked paprika or cayenne to taste

Instructions

Warm up a soup pot over medium heat. If adding the EVOO + garlic, do this first. Saute for a few minutes to lightly brown the garlic. If you are adding in mushrooms, now would also be the time to do so. cook until tender. turn heat to high is cooking mushrooms.
Over medium heat, add in the tomato puree, maple, dijon and starch, using a wooden spoon, briskly stir the sauce together to combine and dissolve the starch.
Add in the beans and turn heat to high as you fold everything together. Keep folding to marinate the beans with sauce.
Turn heat to low and do a taste test. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add in optional smoked paprika or cayenne to taste - starting with a pinch at a time.
You can also add more of ANY of the sauce ingredients as you see fit. For example: the tomato will make it more tomato-y and saucey. The Dijon will bring some brightness and saltiness. The maple adds more sweet and stickiness. the starch will further thicken the sauce. (I use very minimal corn starch and sometimes none at all.)
Do one last taste test and adjust salt and pepper or sauce ingredients. Turn heat off.
for toast: Toast bread - sourdough is my fave - and add beans on top of toast to serve.

Notes

tomato puree sub: ¾ tomato puree can be subbed with 2-4 tablespoon tomato paste and ⅓ cup water. This is adjustable to your preferences to how tomato-y you want it. Also how runny you like your beans and sauce to be.

Nutrition Estimate