Eventhough this recipe has been modified to support a balanced meal plan, it contain molasses and may not be suitable for anyone who abstains from sugar. More info on balanced meals.
| Makes 7 servings. One serving provides about: 6 oz beans Aprx Nutrition For One Serving Cal: 317 Pro: 15.6g Carbs: 62.7g Fat: .8g Fiber: 13.4g |
Ingredients
- 16 oz dried beans*
- 8 oz onion, diced
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 8 cups water
- 2-3 bay leaves or ½ tsp bay leaf powder
Ingredients for the sauce – do not add until after the beans are cooked
- 1 can tomato paste (156 ml)
- ¼ cup molasses
- ¼ cup dark balsamic*
- 1 Tbsp dry mustard
- 1 ½ tsp liquid smoke
- 1 – 1 ½ tsp salt, optional
Instructions
- Sort and wash beans then add them to crockpot along with the water, onions, garlic and bay leaves. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 5-6 hours.
- When beans are tender, remove bay leaves. Evaluate the amount of cooking water. If it seems excessive, ladle some out and keep it aside in case you want to thin down the sauce after adding the sauce ingredients.
- Add tomato paste, molasses, balsamic vinegar, dry mustard, liquid smoke, and salt. Mix well into the beans. While leaving the lid off, leave beans for a minimum of 30 minutes and as long as a couple of hours. This will allow for excess water to evaporate and flavors to meld. Depending on the crockpot temperature and how much water was left with the beans, the longer the beans are cooking they will being to stick on the bottom so take care to stir occasionally. I usually leave them simmer until the beans are just nicely beginning to stick.
- Enjoy these beans warm or cold. They also freeze well.
Notes
- For BBQ Calico Beans use a mixture of two or three different kind of beans. I like to use red kidney, great northern, and baby lima beans. (Nutrition and calories are similar).
- Flavored vinegars. I use Costco dark balsamic. I have also used Vermont Maple dark balsamic from Evoolution.
- If too much liquid, allow the beans to cook, uncovered, and the liquid will slowly evaporate. To prevent beans from sticking to the bottom of the crockpot be sure to stir occasionally. Alternatively, if the sauce is too thick, add some of the bean water that you saved.