An oft-repeated tale describes how baked beans evolved from a centuries-old food of Indigenous tribes in the Northeastern US. Native Americans prepared early versions with bear fat and maple syrup, and when Pilgrims came to colonize New England, some unnamed tribe—reason would assume some faction of the Wampanoag Nation—taught them how to cook these “baked beans.” Eventually, the newcomers swapped maple syrup for molasses and bear fat for salt pork, forging the path for the type of baked beans more familiar to most Americans today.
According to Meg Muckenhoupt, the real story is more complicated. In The Truth About Baked Beans: An Edible History of New England, Muckenhoupt writes, “As I began researching Boston baked beans, I rapidly realized most of the origin stories about sweet bean recipes were clearly false.” She points to the scant availability of molasses, among other inconsistencies, as to why the story is unlikely to be true. “The recipe for Boston baked beans wasn’t an ancient gift from forgotten Native Americans,” Muckenhoupt writes, “but the result of a series of conscious efforts in the late 19th century to create ‘New England’ foods that happened to coincide with a drop in sugar prices that supersized New England’s sweet tooth.”
Some experts trace the lineage of baked beans to an English dish called pease pudding, which is not unlike dal, while others link it to cassoulet. From these murky origins, homemade baked beans began putting down roots in American cuisine—you’ll find early recipes in The American Frugal Housewife from 1829, The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book from 1896, and more.
The canned version became a massively popular pantry staple across the pond thanks to Heinz, which started selling its version in 1886 in the UK. More than a century later, Heinz is far from the only saucy bean in the game. Grocery stores pack their shelves with cans upon cans of baked beans, each one ready for your next cookout or a hearty breakfast. We tested nine brands of canned baked beans to find our favorite.
How we picked the products
When we began assembling a roster for our canned baked beans taste test, we started with the brands we’ve seen excel in our previous roundups: Amy’s Kitchen (the winner of our refried bean taste test) and Westbrae Natural (the winner of Epicurious’s chickpea showdown). Then we scoured online reviews and features to identify the most beloved brands—and, hopefully, discover a few newcomers who might be ready to disrupt the baked-bean-iverse.
Finally, we took a scroll through r/Beans, a subreddit created by bean lovers for bean lovers, to see which brands enthusiasts recommend. It was there we first learned about Serious Bean Co.’s Dr Pepper–flavored baked beans, a brand we otherwise would have missed. If you haven’t checked it out, there’s some incredible stuff happening over there.
How we set up our blind taste test
Unlike revenge, baked beans are a dish best served warm. We microwaved each sample of beans separately, in anonymized containers, until heated through. We then asked a panel of Bon Appétit staffers to sample a spoonful of each contender and recorded their thoughts after each round.
How our editors evaluated
According to our panel, the best baked beans have specific parameters. First, texture: Our tasters insisted on a sauce that was neither watery nor syrupy. They wanted a glaze that clung to each bean without becoming clumpy. The beans should be well-cooked: tender with a little resistance, not mushy or tough.
Flavor was also important. Baked beans are typically sweet, sometimes cloyingly so. Whether the source of sweetness was molasses, maple syrup, cane sugar, or something else, our tasters wanted restraint in this area and balance through savoriness and acidity. Other desirable ingredients might include some form of pork (bacon, salt pork, or ham hock), tomatoes, onions, garlic, vinegar, and/or a hint of spice.
Bold and Meaty Beans: Bush’s Best Homestyle Baked Beans
Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, Prop Styling by Linden Elstran
