Cowboy Baked Beans with Sausage and Ground Beef
Sneak Preview: Cowboy baked beans made with sausage, ground beef, and bacon in a bold, smoky-sweet sauce. A hearty side—or meal—in about 75 minutes.
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These cowboy baked beans are built for hungry people. With sausage, ground beef, and bacon stirred right into the beans, they’re hearty enough for a meal but just as welcome as a side at cookouts, potlucks, or family dinners.
My good friend, Larry, once declared them the best baked beans he’d ever had—and since he’s a good cook himself, I took that as a compliment worth sharing.
Ingredients & Substitutions
• BACON: Use regular, thick-sliced, peppered, or turkey bacon. Avoid jarred bacon bits.
• GROUND BEEF: Any kind works if grease is drained; I use 88/12 from Costco.
• SAUSAGE: Hot or mild breakfast sausage adds great flavor.
• ONIONS: Fresh is best, but frozen or dried work in a pinch.
• BELL PEPPERS: Use red, yellow, or orange for sweetness; green is more bitter.
• PORK AND BEANS: Cheap brands with more liquid give the best results.
• BARBECUE SAUCE: Any brand works; we like Head Country Original.
• BROWN MUSTARD: Substitute with prepared yellow mustard if needed.
• BROWN SUGAR: Use light or dark; or mix white sugar with molasses.
How To Make Baked Beans with Sausage and Ground Beef
⬇️ Jump to the recipe below for exact amounts and detailed instructions.
Read This if Your Beans Seem Too Dry
- Don’t drain the liquid that comes with the beans.
- Expensive pork and beans often have less liquid (I prefer the cheaper ones for this recipe).
- Your oven temperature may run high, so try lowering it.
- A thin glass baking dish can cause overbaking or burning. Turn the temperature down 25˚F.
- Fix dry beans by stirring in hot water until you reach your desired consistency.
Cowboy Baked Beans with Sausage and Ground Beef
Video
Ingredients
- 5-6 slices (110 g) bacon
- ½ pound (226 g) ground beef
- ½ pound (226 g) sausage (I like the HOT variety)
- ½ cup (80 g) onion, finely chopped
- ½ cup (74 g) bell pepper, finely chopped
- 2 16-ounce (908 g) cans pork and beans (undrained)
- ½ cup (143 g) barbecue sauce
- ½ cup (120 g) ketchup
- 2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 4 tablespoons (50 g) brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F (170˚C).
- Fry 5-6 slices (110 g) bacon in a large skillet until crispy. Remove from pan and discard grease.
- Brown 1/2 pound (226 g) ground beef and 1/2 pound (226 g) sausage, then drain off the excess grease. Add 1/2 cup (80 g) onion, finely chopped and 1/2 cup (74 g) bell pepper, finely chopped. Cook until vegetables soften. Add 2 16-ounce (908 g) cans pork and beans, 1/2 cup (143 g) barbecue sauce, 1/2 cup (120 g) ketchup, 2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 4 tablespoons (50 g) brown sugar to the meat and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Transfer beans to a greased 2-quart dish. Crumble bacon over the top.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake for an additional 10 minutes. Rest 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Cheap pork and beans work best as they contain more liquid, making the beans “juicier” after baking.
- Baking time will vary according to the depth of the baking dish you choose. Flatter dishes require less time. Beans will thicken after being removed from the oven.
- If you prefer using a slow cooker, here’s how: After assembling the recipe, cook it in a slow cooker on LOW for 3-4 hours.
- The flavors improve after time in the fridge. When reheating, just be sure to add some water, as the beans will absorb moisture.
Equipment
Nutrition
All images and text ©️ Paula Rhodes for Salad in a Jar.com
What Should I Serve with Baked Beans?
Our favorite way to eat them is with potato chips, using the beans as a dip. If this practice is socially unacceptable, please don’t tell me and ruin the fun.
They are also good picnic food alongside potato salad, deviled eggs (without mustard, or sandwiches.
Final Thoughts
These cowboy baked beans are one of those recipes that earn their place on the table again and again. With sausage, ground beef, and bacon cooked right into the beans, they’re hearty, satisfying, and flexible enough to serve as either a main dish or a dependable side.
If you enjoy this style of comfort food, my Ground Beef Goulash or this Easy Ground Beef and Bacon One-Dish Supper—are worth a look, too.
— Paula
Home Economist
Food Worth Sharing
These beans work. Another vote for hot sausage and hatch chilis!
I also added some pinto beans and some black beans and let them sit in my smoker for about 4 hours along with several racks of baby backs.
highly recommended. No leftovers.
Hi Fred,
My mouth is watering just thinking about your additions!! Thanks for sharing.
Just what I was looking for! Thank you.
You’re welcome, Sandy. Thank you for the 5-star review.
I liked it. This will be my go to for a dish to pass. I like spicy. So I used Hot sausage.
Also I preferred the Bush’s BBQ Beans.
I like your version. I must give it a try. Thanks for taking the time to write and share.
Wow! Love these. I didn’t follow your recipe exactly, was I assumed 1 lb of beef and sausage each, so had to double things. Used 2 different BBQ sauces, ran out of the one I chose initially. Didn’t have the hot sausage, nor the spicy brown mustard. Subbed sweet Italian, and whole seed mustard, plus some ground to the mix. Added some good sauce a friend made too, that helped bring a little heat. Will need to use more. I really like how this is a great base recipe, there are a lot of things I want to try with it. Add some Hatch chillies, maybe smoke it instead of baking too. The possibilities are endless.
Hi Greg! So glad to hear this. I latched on to your last idea–smoking instead of baking. YES! I’m betting that would be fabulous.
In Texas, we call these “Cowboy Beans”. Since moving to NC, we’ve introduced these beans to many friends. They are especially good with bread machine sourdough bread, smeared with butter on a crisp fall night.
Hi Vickie,
Do you toast that sourdough bread? Sounds delicious to me.
I used turkey sausage, good bacon, and shredded chicken because it was what I had. Delicious!
Made this tonight for church pot luck tomorrow. Not sure it will make it to the pot luck! The family has already eaten a fair share of it. YUMMY! Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome Cheri. Good choice for a potluck.
Hi Paula, this is Diana from TasteSpotting!
These beans sound amazing! The perfect thing to warm up with on a cool fall day. 🙂 Have you thought about submitting the recipe for the $1000 grand prize in TasteSpotting’s Johnsonville Sausage recipe contest? You can find out more details here – http://www.tastespotting.com/features/sausagespotting-win-1500-dollars-johnsonville-recipe-contest
Would love to have you participate – cheers!
Wow! This recipe is so amazing (and so are your photos) that I had to share it with my blog readers, too! I know they will love it as much as I do. Thanks for the recipe!
I just made the beans and while putting them together, I discovered I was out of Brown Sugar. Too tired to go to the store, I used Maple Syrup and they are still better than mine and a lot easier. I normally start with dried beans, but why bother?
Larry, I’ve tried starting with dried beans several times too. But they are never quite as good. Not sure what I’m doing wrong. You said it right, “Why bother?”
Recipe looks great and very similar to one that I make with turkey products rather than beef. I use ground turkey, turkey bacon, baked beans as well as kidney and butter beans. May not sound as good but the other items make the dish very good- or at least we think so!!
This pictures is making me hungry. Adding bacon is a great idea!
your favorite grandson would LOVE these!
I haven’t had baked beans in….. [that long]. Wow, what a great way to spice up some regular cans of beans. I especially love the hot sausage and the bacon. I bet it’s even good cold – as a dip! Love the action shot!
this looks fantastic!! reminds me of chili! I’d scoop it with fritos scoops!! yum-o!
My daddy would love these beans! I’m definitely making them the next time my folks are up for lunch!
this sounds interesting! looks really yummy!
Have a nice day!
Paula
Whenever there is a family picnic, I am appointed to bring the beans. I will try this recipe, I am sure they will all love it! Nice photos!