Summer Baked Beans

Cook time: 3 hr 30 min                Total time: 15 hr 30 min

These are NOT Boston Baked Beans but a much lighter, fresher tasting side dish.

This recipe uses dried beans so must be started the day before.

Ingredients

• 12 oz dried Great Northern or white navy beans
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium sweet green pepper, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 12 oz beer (or use no/low sodium beef broth)
• 4 cups water

Sauce

• 16 oz no salt added tomato sauce
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (sodium reduced)
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp no sodium mustard (Westbrae)
• 3-4 drops liquid smoke (or more to taste)
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions

1. Rinse the beans and place them in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Cover them with a couple of inches of water and let them soak overnight or about 12 hours.

2. In the morning, drain the water. Place the beans back into the Dutch oven and add the vegetables, beer or beef broth and 4 cups of water. Place the pot on the stove and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and let the beans simmer for 3 hours or until they are tender and the centers of the beans are no longer chewy. If there is no liquid left in the pot, add a cup of water so the beans don’t burn.

3.Remove from the heat and drain. Place the drained beans into a 1 1/2 quart baking dish.

4. Mix together the ingredients to make the sauce and pour over the beans. Mix the sauce into the beans and vegetables.

5. Place the baking dish, uncovered, into a 350°F oven. Bake for about 30 minutes.

6. Remove from oven and place on a protective mat. Serve as a side dish.

Makes about 16 half cup servings, each serving has about 102 calories, 27mg sodium and 20.7g carbohydrates with the ingredients used.

Author unknown, rewritten and adapted for low sodium.