Easy British baked beans. Homemade tasty baked beans in just 15 minutes from just 5 ingredients. So much healthier than canned beans!
This easy british baked beans recipe is one you can easily make from just a handful of store cupboard ingredients.
You can choose to have your British baked beans on toast for lunch (my favourite) or as part of a full English breakfast.
Baked beans also make the perfect side dish and are also an excellent filling for a baked jacket potato.
These baked beans are suitable for vegetarian diets and can easily be made vegan (see below).
Baked beans are often the ultimate comfort food. But rather than shop bought ones this great recipe means you can easily make your own!
This best British baked beans recipe serves 2 but the quantities can easily be changed to cater for more and for the whole family.
I find that making my own homemade baked beans is actually often cheaper than buying canned ones (Heinz being the most famous).
Not only that if you actually look closely at a tin of Heinz british baked beans ingredients you'll see that it contains sugar.
Here I replace the sugar with a couple of teaspoons of honey. That's all that you need to sweeten it up a little.
You can choose to leave the honey out of course or put more in if you want it sweeter.
This British baked beans recipe can also easily be made Vegan by substituting the honey with a suitable vegan alternative.
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Ingredients
- Tomato Passata
- Tomato Paste
- Honey
- Smoked Paprika
- Cannellini Beans
- Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Detailed instructions are in the recipe card below. But here is a quick step by step guide of how to make these easy British baked beans:
Step 1
- Heat the tomato passata and tomato paste together in a saucepan until warmed.
Step 2
- Stir in the honey and smoked paprika. Continue to heat gently.
Step 3
- Stir in canellini beans into sauce.
Step 4
- Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add extra honey if required.
Step 5
- Serve your baked beans on toast (or how you would like them!)
Substitutions
- Tomato Passata - any kind of pureed tomatoes will do.
- Tomato Paste - any kind of basic tomato paste will do. Add more if you want to increase the sauce thickness.
- Honey - to make vegan use an alternative like maple syrup. If you use sugar this will change the nutritional label.
- Smoked Paprika - you could omit but it gives the beans their unique flavour.
- Cannellini Beans - I use tinned Cannellini beans to make this quick and easy recipe. Tinned haricot beans and jarred navy beans will also work. As will dried beans (see FAQ's).
- Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper
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FAQ's
What's The Difference Between British Baked Beans and American Beans?
British baked beans are made without meat in a tomato sauce. American baked beans are cooked with molasses, pork and brown sugar so their sauce is much sweeter and thicker.
Can I Use Dried Beans to Make These Baked Beans?
Yes. This will take longer though. You will need to soak your dried beans in a large bowl covered in cold water for roughly 8 - 10 hours.
Then rinse them thoroughly before using. The cooking time will be longer so I suggest cooking over a medium heat and stirring often.
How Long Do Homemade Baked Beans Last?
Store any leftover British baked beans in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 - 3 days maxiumum.
Can I Freeze Baked Beans?
Yes. You can easily make these beans and freeze them. I like to make a batch and divide them into individual containers and then freeze.
How To Reheat Baked Beans?
These baked beans can easily be re-heated gently on your stove in a small saucepan. Or in a bowl, covered in a microwave.
More Bean Recipes For You To Try
📋 Easy British Baked Beans Recipe
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Ingredients
- 140 g tomato passata
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoon honey*
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 400 g can cannellini beans in water drained and rinsed
- Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
- Place the tomato passata and tomato paste in a medium sized saucepan and heat gently for a couple of minutes until warmed.
- Stir in the honey and smoked paprika and continue heating gently until sauce thickens and begins to simmer.
- Once the sauce is simmering stir in the beans and cook for 4 to 5 minutes stirring every now and then.
- Season to taste and serve on toast.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Label
Nutritional information provided below is calculated using paid for online tools and the exact ingredients and quantities used above.
Rate The Recipe
If you’ve made this easy British baked beans recipe, or any other recipes on Neil's Healthy Meals, then please let me know.
I’d love to hear what you think of my recipe in the comments below and please do rate my recipe 5* if you like it! 🙂
David @ Spiced
Ah I love a good British breakfast! These baked beans are such an easy and classic recipe - and serving them on toast is the perfect comfort food for a fall morning. Adding these to the list for sure!
Neil
Thanks David! Sometimes you just can't beat a British breakfast. I mean I love an American breakfast of pancakes from time to time too, but if I had the choice....I think British breakfast would still win. Beans on toast for lunch though. Yum!
Sherry M
i love baked beans. this sounds tasty and easy too. yum
Neil
Thanks Sherry. I'm glad you like it. I've tried to make it as easy as possible. ๐
Ben | Havocinthekitchen
While it's so good to make baked beans fully from scratch, the cooking process is sooooo long. That's why I am in support of canned beans ๐ Looks great!
Neil
There's a lot of baked bean recipes that take too long I agree Ben. This one is super quick and simple though!
Chef Mimi
We really enjoyed the full English breakfast when we visited England. But I assumed the beans were actually prepared canned beans! they taste very similar to a canned bean variety we have here! But I love your ingredients!
Neil
When I worked in catering the beans were canned. They came from a huge can! You can't beat a breakfast without the beans can you? ๐
Michelle
These British baked beans look so much more healthy and delicious, compared to the ones I had for breakfast in London!! I'll have to give this one a try, Neil! I just happen to have some canned cannellini beans too ๐
Neil
They are definitely more healthy than those ones you had in London! Thanks Michelle. Hope you enjoy them!
Raymund | angsarap.net
Nothing is better than making your own baked beans at home, sometimes the canned version dont make it. Making them homemade gives you the flexibility to add your own stuff, nice!
Neil
My wife much prefers my home made version to the canned version. I think she's got used to the fact there's no actual sugar in my recipe. I don't mind having the canned version from time to time but she turns her nose up at them now! ๐
Jeff the Chef @ Make It Like a Man!
This is all very interesting, Neil. I've had beans that are roughly similar to these, but only roughly. I had to look up what a full English breakfast is, and I'm all for it! I have to say that I've not ever put beans on toast, although my grandmother used to. I don't know why I haven't, because it sounds obviously delicious.
Neil
I do recommend a full English breakfast now and then Jeff. It's delicious (but also not so healthy!). But if you make it yourself and grill everything instead of frying it and also make these beans then you've definitely got a much healthier English breakfast. Or have a Scottish breakfast where we add Haggis. Ha ha!