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Smoked Cowboy Beans
These Cowboy Beans are smoky, sweet, hearty, and loaded with bacon, ground beef, jalapeños, and rich BBQ flavor. Slow cooked until thick and bubbling, this is the ultimate BBQ side dish for cookouts, tailgates, and backyard gatherings.
Ingredients
- 3 15 oz cans baked beans, not drained
- 1 15 oz can red kidney beans, drained
- 1 15 oz can cannellini beans, drained
- 1 lb bacon, diced
- 1 tbsp reserved bacon grease
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 jalapeños, diced
- 1 lb ground beef
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup BBQ sauce
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp yellow mustard
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat your smoker or oven to 350°F, preparing for indirect heat if using a smoker. This allows the beans to slowly thicken while picking up extra smoky flavor.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and cook the diced bacon until crispy, stirring occasionally for even browning. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve about 1 tbsp of the bacon grease in the pan.
- Add the diced onion and jalapeños to the skillet and sauté for 4–5 minutes until softened and fragrant. Stir in the ground beef and garlic, cooking until the beef is fully browned and cooked through.
- In a large foil pan or cast iron skillet, combine the baked beans, kidney beans, cannellini beans, cooked beef mixture, and crispy bacon. Stir everything together thoroughly until evenly mixed.
- Add the BBQ sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and apple cider vinegar. Mix until all the beans and meat are fully coated in the sauce mixture.
- Place the pan onto the smoker or into the oven and cook uncovered for 30–45 minutes, stirring once or twice during cooking. The beans are ready once the sauce thickens and becomes rich and glossy before serving warm.
