Servings: 12 servings
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb dried navy beans or 4 cans
- 14 oz kielbasa, diced
- 3 ribs celery, diced 140g or 5 oz
- ½ small yellow onion, diced 85g or 3 oz
- 1 cup maple sugar, packed 185g or 6½ oz
- ⅓ cup molasses 80g or 2⅔ oz
- ½ cup tomato sauce 115g or 4 oz
- 3 TBSP apple cider vinegar
- 2 TBSP Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
- 2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- neutral-flavored oil for sautéing
Instructions
- Add the navy beans to a bowl and cover completely with water. Allow the beans to soak overnight or for a minimum of 6 hours. Add enough water to allow for the beans to at least double in size.
- Bring a dutch oven up to medium-high heat and add the oil.
- Add the diced the kielbasa (or your choice of meat), the celery & onions to the dutch oven and sauté until the kielbasa is lightly browned.
- Once the kielbasa has browned turn the heat down to the lowest setting. Add the maple sugar, molasses, tomato sauce, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, garlic, ground cloves, liquid smoke, salt & ground black pepper to the dutch oven. Stir to combine.
- Add the navy beans to the dutch oven along with the soaking liquid. If using canned beans add them along with the liquid; do not drain. Add water as needed to ensure all the beans are completely covered.
- Cover the dutch oven and allow the beans to cook for 4 hours or until tender. If you are using canned beans they only need to cook for 20 minutes! Check on the beans every 60-90 minutes to ensure they don't dry out adding water as needed.
- Serve hot!
Notes
- Save on time by using canned navy beans! Dried navy beans are the economical choice but they do take longer to cook, especially compared to other beans like red beans. With canned beans since they are already precooked the baked beans are ready in under 30 minutes!
- Use a heavy pot. I opt for a dutch oven like this one - it retains heat well making it perfect for stews like this especially if you opt to start from dry beans.
- If you like, you can make this bean recipe in a crockpot! If your crockpot doesn't have a sear option simply sauté the sausage and the veggies quickly on the stove then you can transfer to your crockpot along with the rest of the ingredients!
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A note on substitutions:
Maple sugar - use an equal amount of pure maple syrup or brown sugar
Tomato sauce - use an equal amount of ketchup
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