Crockpot Calico Beans

Take these hearty and flavorful calico beans made right in the crockpot as a side dish to your next summer party or picnic!

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SUMMER! It has felt like summer for the last few weeks (anyone else already sick of the heat and humidity?) but today is officially the first day of the season.

It has already been crazy busy like summer usually is, too, although it’s mostly because of exciting activities and friends and family get-togethers. If you have a family picnic, barbecue with friends, pool party, or any other get-together involving fun and food, why not make a dish you can prepare then let the crockpot do the rest of the work?

I actually made these calico beans for Father’s Day this past Sunday and they went super well with some grilled pork chops and vegetables. My dad and I enjoyed a few IPAs too, of course. It was a wonderful little Father’s Day picnic!

The recipe for these calico beans came from my mom and I made just a few changes to help them be a bit healthier. Instead of ground beef, I used ground turkey; instead of ketchup, I used tomato sauce; instead of sugar and brown sugar, I used maple syrup; and instead of a can of pre-made pork and beans, which is basically beans, corn syrup, sugar, tomato paste, and spices, I just left it out and added another can of plain beans with the rest of the ingredients.

When choosing your beans, it honestly doesn’t matter which ones you use! I never realized how many types of beans exist. There’s black, butter, cannellini, garbanzo, great northern, kidney, lima, navy, pinto, and even more than that. While each has their own flavor, texture, and size, I always just try to choose a variety when making this recipe. Most recently I’ve used butter, great northern, kidney, and navy beans.

The beans mix with other ingredients like ground meat and bacon, tomato sauce, spices, and maple syrup, and ends up being like traditional baked beans but even more flavorful and healthy.

It takes a bit of work initially to brown the meat and cook the bacon and onions, but then you just add it all to a crockpot and let it cook!

Crockpot Calico Beans

From The Small Town Foodie at https://www.thesmalltownfoodie.com/calico-beans/

https://www.thesmalltownfoodie.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/CalicoBeans5small.png

Prep: 20m

Cook: 5h

Yield: Serves 6-8 people

Total: 5h 20m

Take these hearty and flavorful calico beans made right in the crockpot as a side dish to your next summer party or picnic!

You'll Need...

• 3 - 15 oz cans beans, or about 5 cups cooked dry beans*
• ½ pound bacon, diced
• ½ pound ground turkey
• ½ cup diced onion (about ½ small onion)
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• ½ cup pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon paprika

Directions

1. Brown ground turkey in large pan over medium heat, breaking chunks apart.
2. Drain any grease and move the meat to a crockpot.
3. Add diced bacon to the pan and cook over medium heat until all pieces begin to get crispy.
4. Remove bacon and add to a paper towel lined plate (keep the bacon grease in the pan).
5. Keep pan over medium heat and add diced onion. Saute for 1 minute.
6. Add garlic to the onion and saute another 1 minute.
7. Add onion and garlic to the paper towel to soak up grease, then add the bacon, onions, and garlic to the crockpot.
8. Add the remaining ingredients to the crockpot--tomato sauce, maple syrup, vinegar, dry mustard, and paprika. Mix well.
9. Cook on low for 5-6 hours or high 2-3 hours. Stir occasionally if possible.**

Additional Notes

*Usually I use three different kinds of beans, like kidney, great northern, or navy. You can really use whatever beans you want!
**All the ingredients are already cooked, so you don’t have to worry about anything being raw, but cooking it in the crockpot incorporates all the ingredients together. The sauce thins out but will thicken as it cools.
***This recipe fills about half a large crockpot, serving 6-8 people as a side dish. I suggest doubling the recipe for larger crowds!

Generated with ♥︎ by Matcha Print

Pin this recipe: