Vermont-Style Baked Beans
These baked beans take several hours to cook, and while they cook, they fill your whole house with a wonderfully sweet maple aroma, leaving you anticipating the sweet and savory delicious dinner that is coming. I like to use Marfax beans for this recipe. This heirloom variety is easy to grow and offers the best creamy texture of any bean, but really any kind of dry bean will work wonderfully.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Marfax dry beans
- 4 slices bacon
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2–3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup canned tomato sauce
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- For the best results, soak the beans in 1 quart of water and 2¼ teaspoons of salt overnight. Once done soaking, rinse the beans thoroughly to remove salt. Cover the rinsed beans in water and bring to a boil. Simmer the beans for 30 minutes to partially cook them.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Drain the beans, but save 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
- Slice the bacon into ½-inch pieces and cook over low heat in a Dutch oven until crispy. Add onions and garlic and sauté for another 1 to 2 minutes. Add tomato sauce, maple syrup, vinegar, partially cooked beans, and 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, remove from the heat and cover with a lid.
- Place the pot in the preheated oven and bake for 3 to 4 hours, checking every hour and adding more water as necessary. The beans are done when they are soft and creamy.
- When the beans have finished cooking, add in the salt and pepper and serve.
Notes
Recipe and Photography courtesy of and reprinted from The Vermont Farm To Table Cookbook: Over 50 Fresh & Local Recipes For Every Season | By Nora Rice and Jenna Rice | Photographs By Jenna Rice | Published By Hatherleigh Press, Ltd., 2025
