The Best Ever Bean Bake Recipe - easy delicious bbq baked beans loaded with beef and bacon flavor in the oven or slow cooker.

This easy bean bake recipe first appeared on my site in 2011 as "Grandma Curly's Bean Bake" - but we've given it a bit of a facelift, as well as directions on how to make these baked beans in an Instant Pot, slow cooker, and the traditional oven method - so it works in whatever situation

These beans have been my favorite family recipe for years - they are loaded with flavor and one of my favorite game day recipes, thanks to my great Grandma Curly and her knockout recipe!

These beans are really adaptable - you can bake them, or make them in the slow cooker or Instant Pot - and they can use different sauces, herbs, or seasonings depending to your preferences (try using some Aleppo pepper for a knockout smoky-spicy twist that turns up the heat!)

We love making these beans for cookouts, BBQs, and big parties - and the leftovers even get better as they store, too!

We hope you love this recipe for my Grandma Curly's baked beans as much as we do.

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To make this bean bake in the slow cooker, you will use the exact same method as the baked beans version, but add it all to a slow cooker instead of casserole dish - and cook for 4 hours, instead of 1 in the oven.

Making these beans in the slow cooker brings the exact same flavor - I taste-tested the two ways side by side, and found zero difference - so go ahead and pop in the slow cooker if kitchen space for your party or big game watching is limited on space.

For our traveling slow cooker (pictured, in red), click here.

For a slow cooker that has a temperature probe to check your food as it cooks, click here.

For a simple small slow cooker that is perfect for beans or drinks, and easier to store than big slow cookers, click here.

If you'd like to make this easy recipe in your Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi, please follow our directions below to make the conversion:

• Brown bacon and beef using saute function of pressure cooker. Be sure to scrape up any browned bits.
• Add pan to instant pot, and place over trivet with 1-2 cups water in the Instant Pot.
• Stir beans into pot insert, close lid, and cook at high pressure in the soup/stew function for 40 minutes.
• Let naturally release.

If you're planning a big cookout with baked beans, you need some hearty meat dishes to go along with them!

We love our crispy baked pork shoulder (pulled pork with a crispy, crunchy skin outside and tender juicy meat inside), our knockout smoked ribs, a delicious juicy smoked brisket, or our baked chicken drumsticks that taste like they are grilled - right from the oven!

For more deliciously easy side dishes, please visit our side dish recipe index here.

For more delicious BBQ recipes, please visit our BBQ archives here.

The Best Ever Bean Bake Recipe

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