Boston Baked Beans

This satisfying supper dish is a simplified version of a traditional recipe made with dried cannellini beans and a piece of salt pork. Here canned beans are used and simmered with ready-cooked mini pork sausages.

Serves 2

1 small red onion, finely chopped, or 25 g/1 oz frozen diced onion
100 ml/3½ fl oz/scant ½ cup hot (not boiling) vegetable stock
1 whole clove (optional)
1 bay leaf
400 g/14 oz/large can of cannellini beans
15 ml/1 tbsp tomato ketchup (catsup)
7.5 ml/1½ tsp black treacle (molasses)
7.5 ml/1½ tsp dark brown sugar
5 ml/1 tsp Dijon mustard
12 cooked mini pork sausages
Salt and freshly ground black pepper


  1. Put the onion in the ceramic cooking pot and pour over about half the stock. Add the clove, if using, and the bay leaf. Cover with the lid and switch on the slow cooker to Low. Leave to warm for a few minutes while measuring and preparing the rest of the ingredients.
  2. Tip the beans into a sieve (strainer) and rinse under cold running water. Drain thoroughly. Stir the ketchup, treacle, sugar and mustard into the remaining stock until blended.
  3. Put the beans in a layer on top of the onions, top with the sausages, then pour the stock mixture over. Re-cover with the lid and cook for 3-4 hours or until the onions are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  4. Spoon half the Boston baked beans into a bowl or freezer container and allow to cool. Serve the remainder at once with warm crusty bread or a jacket potato.


Second serving
Either cover the cooled Boston baked beans and chill in the fridge for the following day, or freeze for up to a month. If frozen, allow to defrost in the fridge overnight. To serve, gently heat in a saucepan with an extra tablespoonful of stock or water, bubbling for a few minutes to ensure that the sausages and beans are piping hot.


Cook's tips
Black treacle gives the beans a rich flavour and dark colour, but you can use maple syrup instead, if you prefer.
For a vegetarian version, leave out the sausages and serve sprinkled with grated cheese.