What Are Baked Beans?

Beans, beans, the musical fruit. The more you eat, the more… I forget how the rest of that poem goes, but I’m sure it is very funny and/or informative. Baked beans are that reliable old standby. You keep a couple of cans in the pantry for whenever you need a cheap dinner, a tasty side dish, or you’re going camping. I appreciate baked beans for the good commercials they’ve produced. Like that talking dog that says, “Roll that beautiful bean footage.” But what are baked beans? What kinds of beans are baked beans? What beans are used in baked beans? Are baked beans a vegetable? Let’s get down to baked bean biz. 

What are baked beans?

Baked beans are a savory and sweet and saucy classic dish with an instantly recognizable reddish brown color. Baked beans have been a popular food going back to the early days of the U.S. But their true origins may be more ancient than that. According to the New England Historical Society, some folks say the original baked beans recipe came from indigenous Americans cooking native beans in earthenware pots. But others say there’s no proof of tribes using earthenware pots. And there’s some evidence that the methods could have come from North African and Spanish Jewish groups.  

Whatever baked beans origins, the dish was a staple in the diets of early American settlers, and remains a signature of New England cuisine. 

What is in baked beans?

Baked beans are typically made with something bean-y (aka beans), something sweet, and something pork. That pork element can come from bacon, ham, or salt pork, and that sweetness can come from maple syrup, molasses, or brown sugar. 

In early American history, a British sugar tax pushed people to use molasses, and a classic dish was born. These beans were especially popular in Boston, which became known as Beantown. And this specific variation of baked beans (baked beans made with molasses) are called Boston baked beans. 

What kind of beans are baked beans?

What beans are used in baked beans? Well, there’s a couple of types that you can use. The beans used in baked beans are usually from a variety known as common white beans. Navy beans, also known as haricot beans, are a very popular white bean used in baked bean recipes. You can also use the slightly smaller great northern beans. 

How are baked beans made?

Way back when, people used to make their baked beans in a bean hole—essentially a stone fire pit. They would nestle a cast iron pot of beans into the coals, then cover it all up in dirt to cook overnight. These days, baked beans are usually made by parboiling the beans, meaning boiling them until they’re a little tender, then cooking them slowly in the oven at low heat. But most canned baked beans are actually cooked with a steam process rather than baking. 

Are baked beans vegetables?

You know how your mom is always yelling at you to eat more vegetables and you tell her that you had some beans and she says that’s not good enough? Do beans count as a vegetable? The answer is not as simple as you’d think. Vegetable is a culinary term, not a botanical or scientific one. 
In botanical terms a fruit is a “ripened ovary of a flowering plant, enclosing the seed or seeds.” But vegetables are kind of all the edible plants lumped together into a category for cooking. Within vegetables, there are stems, leaves, seeds, tubers, and more. So, where do beans fall in all this? Are baked beans vegetables? Beans are indeed considered vegetables under the legume category. According to the USDA Dietary Guidelines, legumes are classified as vegetables. But if you’re trying to eat more veggies for specific dietary or health reasons, beans may not count as part of your vegetable intake. Because of their protein content, they may count more as a protein serving than a vegetable serving.