Smoked Baked Beans in a Cast Iron Skillet

These baked beans have a nice smoky flavour and perfect for your next BBQ. These beans go great with ribs, chicken, pulled pork and so much more!

BBQ beans that are straight out of the smoker.

This week I was smoking 3 chickens and I had some room on the upper rack above the chickens and debated what to throw up there. There is a philosophy I use when smoking – if there is an empty rack, you need to fill it with something. I figure that if I am using the wood, I might as well fill my smoker up to make the most of it!

Smoking baked beans is just incredible. The sweet smoky flavour is so amazing and beans go really well with smoked meat like chicken, ribs and more. So, since that upper rack is shallow without a lot of room between it and the top of the smoker, I figured the best way to put the beans up there was to use my cast iron skillet.

Wow – this turned out to be an amazing discovery for me and will quite likely be my new method for smoking baked beans.

These baked beans have a nice smoky flavour and perfect for your next BBQ. These beans go great with ribs, chicken, pulled pork and so much more!

I have always been selective regarding what dishes I use to smoke stuff in the smoker. The smoke can discolour the dish and I have proven that with a couple of white baking dishes that are quite yellowy now from all the smoke.

The great thing about a cast iron skillet is that it is basically indestructible and will not be discoloured or negatively impacted by being in the smoker. On top of that, I love that I can fry the bacon, onion and pepper in the skillet on the kitchen stovetop. Then throw the rest of the ingredients in the skillet, mix it all up and it can go straight into the smoker. No need to dirty other dishes.

I love that! On top of that, the cast iron skillet can go right to the table. It looks great served just like this! It goes from the stovetop, to the smoker, to the table.

Overhead picture of baked beans

These smoked baked beans are the ultimate side dish. They are so addictive that they could almost be a complete meal by themselves. But, if you are like me, a plate of BBQ is filled with lots of stuff! Here are a handful of my favourite recipes that go very well alongside a side of beans:

Closeup picture of cast iron skillet beans

Smoked Baked Beans in a Cast Iron Skillet

How to make baked beans in a cast iron skillet and smoker
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Easy recipe for making baked beans in a smoker with a cast iron skillet. Bacon, beans, onions and pepper with a lots of a nice sweet bbq type sauce.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours
Servings: 8

Ingredients

  • 5 bacon strips , cut into small pieces
  • 1 onion , minced
  • 1 sweet pepper (yellow, red or orange) , cored and diced
  • 3 cans navy beans (19oz/540ml cans) , rinsed and drained
  • 2 cups ketchup
  • 3/4 cup bbq sauce
  • 2 tbsp prepared mustard
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tbsp hot sauce
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

Instructions

  • Fry bacon in a cast iron skillet on stovetop over medium heat. Stir the bacon around regularly to prevent burning.
  • Once the bacon is starting to brown, stir in the minced onion and pepper. Saute for a few minutes, or until the onion goes transparent. Remove from heat.
  • Add the drained navy beans and the remaining ingredients to the cast iron skillet. Stir very well to ensure that everything is well mixed and coated in the sauce. 
  • Set smoker to 250F using wood chips of choice (cherry, apple, hickory and maple all work excellent for these beans).
  • Place the cast iron skillet full of beans in the smoker and smoke for 2 1/2 hours. Serve.

Nutrition

Per serving:

Calories: 553kcalCarbohydrates: 107gProtein: 19gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 2305mgFiber: 12gSugar: 59g

Nutrition Disclaimer

Categories

BBQ beans that are straight out of the smoker.

Did you try this recipe?

Leave a comment and let me know how it turned out. Or, take a picture to share on Instagram and tag me @theblackpeppercorn.

5 from 3 votes (1 rating without comment)

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Recipe Rating




25 comments

  • If you don/t have a smoker would the oven do

    • Reply
    • Hmm, I have not tried these in an oven. Do you have a slow cooker? They are excellent for making baked beans. Obviously, it would not have the smoky flavour like these coming out of the smoker. But, they still taste amazing.

      • Reply
    • Put a little liquid smoke in them

      • Reply
  • Are you talking Prepared Mustard or dry Mustard for the two TBSP.

    • Reply
    • I mean prepared mustard, the condiment. I updated the recipe to clarify that. Thanks!

      • Reply
      • Thank You!!

        • Reply
  • Made it…loved it! I didn’t want to buy molasses for the small amount so just used a little extra brown sugar. I don’t have a smoker so just used my Weber grill. Lit some coals, dropped enough wet apple wood chips on them and smoked for almost two hours. I only have a 10″ Lodge and reduced the beanage a little but otherwise kept the ingredients as listed. Just awesome. Thanks!

    • Reply
    • So glad you enjoyed it and thank you for sharing how you cooked it on your grill!

      • Reply
    • I am cooking these as we speak. I used overnight soaked dry beans. Used 3 types, black,pinto, and black eyed peas. I hope it works. Your recipe is interesting and love it.
      I also used green bell peppers and no molasses instead, did not have molasses.
      Thanks

      • Reply
  • Clean your white bowls with a magic eraser sponge. Look like new.

    • Reply
    • Thanks for the tip!!

      • Reply
  • 5 stars
    This looks incredible!!! What size canned navy beans did you use?

    • Reply
    • Thanks! I use 19oz/540ml cans. I updated the recipe to include that info.

      • Reply
  • What about making these ahead of time? Will this reheat well?

    • Reply
    • It reheats very well. We often have some and they make amazing leftovers!

      • Reply
  • Are you using a 12″ skillet for this recipe? It looks really good and I want to make sure that I use the correct size skillet. Much to my wife’s displeasure, I have cast iron skillets in almost every size from the 3 inch up to the 15 inch.

    • Reply
    • LOL – I have the same problem! Yes, this is a 12 inch skillet

      • Reply
  • Sounds awesome Steve. But… What kind of hot sauce?

    • Reply
    • I just use something similar to Frank’s Red Hot.

      • Reply
  • I have always cooked my beans, with a similar recipe, in an old crock right on the bbq…. this sounds WAY better!! I CANNOT wait to give this a go!! I just love my old cast iron fry pan that my dad gave me years ago…. so this is perfect!!

    • Reply
  • Should these be covered with foil when put into the smoker or leave uncovered? Thank you?

    • Reply
    • They should be uncovered in the smoker. If you cover them, then the smoke flavour will not be able to infuse into the beans. Hope you enjoy them!

      • Reply
      • Sounds awesome Steve. But… What kind of hot sauce?

        • Reply
        • I just use something similar to Frank’s Red Hot.

          • Reply
      • 5 stars
        These beans are so delicious! I have made them three times and my family loves them! Thank you for the recipe.

        • Reply

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